Need: The figures on poverty in Israel point to growing inequality between the Center and the Periphery. The result: a growing number of children and youth at risk.

Solution: Youth Futures is a national program based on a partnership between Diaspora Jewry and Israelis. We hope that by the year 2010, the program will be operating in around 50 localities in Jerusalem, the Negev and the Galilee with the goal of improving the situation of youth at risk in both the geographic and social periphery in Israel.

Goal: To provide youth at risk with an equal opportunity to develop their unique skills, both academic and social, and to break out of the cycle of poverty and underachievement.

Target Population: Children and youth at risk from elementary school to high school.

Program Components: Youth Futures is aimed at creating a holistic and integrative support system for the children in the various communities. The program has three main components: TRUSTEES, ALUMNI TRUSTEES and COMMUNITY SUPPORT NETWORK:

1. Trustees

Trustees for elementary and middle school children:
Aimed at developing motivation, self-esteem and self-confidence among the children and improving their scholastic achievements while also developing their ability to set goals for themselves and achieve them. This component involves personal and group support by the Trustee, a role model for the child who coordinates between the authorities dealing with the child.

2. Programs For Graduates Of Trustee Stage

Graduates - children who have continued to high school and/or have become independent of their Elementary Trustees.

Ensures that none of the children are left without support after completing work with their Trustees. The Trustee for Graduates will support where needed to ensure that they are setting new goals and achieving them - especially in studying for the matriculation diploma.

3. Community Support Network

A support network in the community, capable of meeting the needs of the children participating in the program and recruiting the community as a whole to the commitment for its children's future.

This component aims at recruiting the community through its volunteer members and organizations, which can be recruited to help complement the existing resources available to the children and teenagers. The network of volunteers will encompass the private, public and third sectors.

Facts and Figures (as of March 2008)

• 27 operational localities
• 10 localities awaiting approval
• Over 5,800 children and some 370 Trustees