Scholarships Totaling 635,000 NIS to 120 Students
New Large Scholarship Program Launched with Foundation’s Major Partners
The Jerusalem Foundation’s higher education scholarships program, now in its 15th year, is growing. On Monday, June 11 at the Cinematheque, the Foundation awarded 635,000 NIS in scholarships to 120 students of the arts, engineering and technology at Jerusalem’s higher education institutions.
“Keeping young creative people in Jerusalem, crucial to the economy and diverse social fabric of Jerusalem, is among our highest priorities”, says Anat Tzur, the Jerusalem Foundation’s Director General. “For this purpose the Jerusalem Foundation continues to devote significant resources and raising funds from friends who share our concern for the city’s future.”
The scholarships are made possible by friends of the Jerusalem Foundation, among them the Worms family of the UK and Israel, the late Louis Edelstein of the United States, the Rein family of Switzerland and Israel the Cheshin family of Israel. The recipients, including many students from the Arab and ultra-Orthodox sectors reflecting the cultural mosaic of the city, are recommended by the higher education institutions and awarded on the basis of economic need, academic excellence and social involvement.
In exchange for the scholarships, students integrate in social and community projects throughout Jerusalem, “giving back”, generally in their fields of study. Thus, for example, Bezalel art students work with special needs youth on the joint creation of art; students from the Academy of Music and Dance operate a youth music center in Kiryat Menachem; students at the Azrieli College of Engineering taught children computer applications, volunteered with elderly Holocaust survivors and taught them basic computer skills.
The Foundation’s annual scholarships award ceremony was attended by the Cheshin and Rein families who met with their students. The ceremony was MC’ed by Uriah Georgi, a talented young student in her second year at the Nissan Nativ Acting Studio and a scholarship recipient volunteering through the Young Academics project at the Tali Geulim Elementary School. A student at the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance volunteered this year at the Yellow Submarine, replacing a teacher on maternity leave and producing the finale event of the citywide high school music track. Such a valuable member of the team there, He was asked to return as a teacher next year, literally finding his professional niche in Jerusalem.
Anat Tzur also announced that beginning this year, the Foundation will manage Jerusalem’s largest ever higher education scholarship program for students at institutions across the city. The new program, established by the Jerusalem Municipality in partnership with Mifal Hapayis – the Israel lottery, will award 4 million NIS in scholarships per year. It signals a new, concerted effort lead by the Jerusalem Foundation to pool resources and encourage young academics to pursue their higher education while integrating into everyday life in Jerusalem. Looking ahead to next year, the Foundation has already issued a tender to civil society organizations and cultural institutions throughout the city, seeking high quality community involvement projects for many more scholarship recipients.