Achievements

Soup Kitchen "Pina Hama"
We successfully launched a soup kitchen in downtown Tiberias starting in August, 2003. The soup kitchen, "Pina Hama" (in Hebrew meaning a warm place or corner), is open Sunday through Thursday for hot lunches. "Pina Hama" feeds needy individuals on the premises. "Pina Hama" is both run and supplied by a core of volunteers, thus involving the community in the needs of serving the underprivileged members of the community. The soup kitchen is also being supported by Meir Panim, a non-profit organization which provides support to the needy and operates a network of soup kitchens in Israel.

Soup Kitchen

Summer Day Camps for Needy Children
Provided the means for about 700 needy children, to take part in summer day camps during July and August 2003 in Tiberias. To many of these children, coming from disadvantaged families, this was their first opportunity to participate in a camp and enjoy the recreational activities offered within the framework of the day camp.

Summer Day Camp Children

UCLRP School Lunch Program
Project UCLRP, which stands for Underprivileged Children's Lunch and Rehabilitative Program, is a school lunch program supplying nourishment to over 600 needy school children daily at school and providing steady work for the physically and mentally disabled adults of the local Ma'as Teveria Rehabilitation Work Center. This creative solution to feed hungry schoolchildren their daily school lunch while providing daily work and income for the mentally and physically challenged adults of Ma'as has proved very successful. The significance of this project is enhanced by its great ethical and social value, since Ma'as participants are the ones who prepare the sandwiches for distribution to the schools. We are thereby both assisting in the participant's rehabilitation, as well as extending assistance to needy children in Tiberias.

Pen Pal and Video Exchange Program
The Sister Cities Program, in conjunction with the Great Neck School District and the Tiberias Municipality public school system, has developed a pen pal and video exchange program between elementary school students of Great Neck and Tiberias. The Great Neck School District established a 3rd grade class in Lakeville Elementary School, one of Great Neck's four elementary schools as the first school to start a pen pal and video exchange program with Tiberias. The exchange program introduces students and countries. The students learn about culture, geography, economy, language and more. Besides writing pen pal letters and sending photographs of themselves with many questions to ask of their pen pals, the students also participated in a video exchange program, to further learn about each other's favorite foods, music, school activities and hobbies.

Principal Raber, Lana Bakhash and Mayor Celender with Lakeville children

Warehouse Program
We are setting up a central logistic center and storage space to supply household goods to assist needy families. This is a joint effort with the Koach Latet (Power of Giving) Fund. The center will collect, restore and distribute furniture, electrical appliances, clothes and such other used goods upon demand by the municipal welfare department to needy families.

Other Assistance Programs

Provided funds to develop an air conditioning system for a senior citizen day care center (Beit Hakashish) serving Tiberias. While a new wing provided building area for recreation, relaxation and program needs, it was not constructed with air conditioning, thus rendering the rooms too uncomfortable to be utilized in the warm months. Great Neck Plaza Sister Cities People for People Inc. came to the aid in providing the necessary funds to contribute towards air condition this wing of the center.

Beit Hakashish Day Care

Assisted Poriya Hospital, a regional hospital serving Tiberias, and its specialized cardiac care and full range of medical services. It is the mission of our two cities to increase public awareness of this wonderful facility and its expert doctors as a regional hospital serving the general regional and including the City of Tiberias.

Dr. Farbstein at Poriya Hospital's new catheterization unit

Working to establish a Maimonides Heritage Center to promote tourism, revitalize Tiberias and disseminate information on the Maimonides grave site and his importance in the cultural heritage of Tiberias and Israel.

Maimonides Tomb

Future Plans
The Tiberias Children's Fund is dedicated and committed to continue and expand its endeavors on behalf of the people of Tiberias. Future plans include:

	Develop the Soup Kitchen into a Nourishment Logistics Center. Presently, the soup kitchen only supplies meals on premises. Many elderly and handicapped, though in need, are unable to arrive to the soup kitchen as well many needy infants and children, which are not recommended to be fed in soup kitchens. House to house deliveries have to be planned and carried out.
	The lunch program serves presently only about 600 rations daily. The need is much larger, up to 1,000 to 1,200 lunches daily, and Ma'as Teveria is unable to supplement the enlarged demand. The demand will be carried out through the logistics center in collaboration with the Ma'as and the soup kitchen lunch deliveries.
	The board will review project requests on a regular basis. Should the Board decide that the requests conform to its mission statement, new projects will be adopted.