ENP's SPACE (School Performance and Community Empowerment) Scholastic Assistance Program provides 7th-12th grade Ethiopian-Israeli students throughout Israel with the tools they need to succeed and fulfill their dreams of a brighter future through after-school hours of scholastic assistance, a lunchtime meal, extra-curricular activities and Ethiopian-Israeli staff who also act as role models for the youth. Due to ENP's success over the past decade - SPACE participants now reach a higher matriculation (74%) than the Jewish national average (69%) - the Government of Israel has asked ENP to expand nationally. In the past year and a half ENP has expanded from 19 cities with 3,413 students to 32 cities with 6,023 students and now includes 20% non-Ethiopian-Israeli students in the program.
With this expansion, our need for funding has grown even more and we cannot provide this life-changing program to all students in need without your help.
Each year, ENP has to raise funds from scratch and if we do not succeed then children are left out of the program.
This year, ENP needs your help to reach our goal.
Currently, ENP must raise $600,000 to ensure that all of the 6,023 students can benefit from the program this year and in future years.
On this Giving Tuesday, ENP's aim is to raise $100,000 which will provide the program for 170 students.
Your gift of just $588 (together with a matching grant from the Government of Israel) will allow one student to participate in the program this year and help provide them with a better future.
An example of one of our student's success stories is below:
“Today, kids don’t really like to study and go to school but for Itai, SPACE has given him the motivation to learn and to succeed.”
Itai is in 9th grade at the Makif Hey school and in his second year as an ENP SPACE participant. He is one of four siblings in a single parent household. Before joining the SPACE program, his mother, Rachel, speaks about how she would receive phone calls every day about Itai’s bad behavior in class and how his grades were slipping. As Rachel says, “Since Itai started in SPACE, I no longer get calls about him and he likes to go to school now. SPACE has given him the motivation to learn and to succeed, even in such a short time. If only I had had SPACE when I was in school – it would have helped me concentrate, because it gives you personal attention.” Itai’s regular class in school is 30 students and if he gets stuck on something in class, his teacher is not able to spend the time working with him on it. What Itai really enjoys about SPACE is the small group interaction and that he can get the help he needs. He likes SPACE so much that he came to all of the study marathons over the Passover break and even asked for more. His dream is to study at the university and one day be a scientist. In Itai’s own words, “I think SPACE is a great program and I would tell other students to join.”
