JNF’s Alexander Muss High School in Israel Receives $250,000 Grant for Alumni Engagement and Communal Scholarships

January 23rd, 2017

San Francisco, CA — Jewish National Fund’s (JNF) Alexander Muss High School in Israel (AMHSI-JNF) has received a $250,000 grant from the Jim Joseph Foundation for its Israel Continuum programming that furthers alumni connection to Israel and increases scholarship opportunities for children of Jewish communal professionals.

“As AMHSI-JNF alumni go through high school, college, and ultimately enter the workforce, we want to continue and deepen their connections to Jewish life and Israel in all of those environments,” says Rabbi Leor Sinai, AMHSI-JNF co-executive director. “This investment from the Jim Joseph Foundation supports our alumni engagement offerings and helps ensure they are rich with Jewish learning.”

Anchored in the belief and practice of fostering a stronger connection for Jews to Israel, the AMHSI-JNF Israel Continuum empowers JNF-AMHSI alumni to plug into the multitude of engagement opportunities offered by JNF so that they may easily continue their relationship with and support of Israel. JNF offers programming and opportunities for a lifetime of engagement with Israel: from kindergarten, through middle school, high school, college, into young adulthood, and beyond.

“AMHSI-JNF is an immersive, extended Israel experience that influences its participants’ Jewish journeys for a lifetime, says Steven Green, Director of Grants Management and Program Officer at the Jim Joseph Foundation. “The Foundation is excited to support AMHSI-JNF, both as it welcomes more students into program and—equally as important—offers numerous ways to remain engaged and connected after the year abroad.”

The Israel Communal Scholarship Awards will help increase AMHSI-JNF recruitment while simultaneously increasing visibility and collaboration inside Jewish communities and institutions. The scholarships will encourage the children of Jewish Communal Professionals to attend AMHSI, with the expectation that the professionals would support recruitment efforts through various programming.

Israel Continuum programs and initiatives include AMHSI-JNF Alumni & Friends receptions, Campus Care and Shabbat-Holiday Packages (for alumni entering college), JNF’s Positively Israel campaigns on university campuses, enhancing AMHSI-JNF Campus Fellows programming, university mentorships and JNFuture young professional development (for individuals between the ages of 24-40).

Since 1972 Alexander Muss High School in Israel (AMHSI-JNF) has provided a unique study abroad program for high school students where the land of Israel becomes a living classroom. All AMHSI sessions include our Israel Studies curriculum of 4,000 years of Jewish and Israeli history. Students from North America and around the world come together on our campus in Hod HaSharon, just twenty minutes from Tel Aviv, for an immersive Israel experience.  Through informal encounters with Israelis, students are exposed to Hebrew language and local culture.  Additionally students enjoy independence while gaining life skills and forming friendships and memories that last a lifetime.

JEWISH NATIONAL FUND (JNF) began in 1901 as a dream and vision to reestablish a homeland in Israel for Jewish people everywhere. Jews the world over collected coins in iconic JNF Blue Boxes, purchasing land and planting trees until ultimately, their dream of a Jewish homeland was a reality. JNF gives all generations of Jews a unique voice in building a prosperous future for the land of Israel and its people. JNF is a registered 501(c) (3) organization and United Nations NGO, which continuously earns top ratings from charity overseers.

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