A New Way To Experience Israel After 55

Recently, my husband and I saw a Facebook advertisement about an opportunity to volunteer in Israel. We were immediately interested and decided to apply. What started with a simple advertisement has now turned into an exciting journey, and we wanted to share our experience so others in our 55+ community will know that opportunities like this exist.

After registering for the program, we completed the application process, submitted the required documents and paid the application fee and a portion of the travel costs through the Taglit-Birthright Israel program.

The next step was a telephone interview. My husband and I were interviewed separately by a very pleasant representative who spoke with us in English. She asked about our backgrounds, personalities, reasons for wanting to volunteer and what motivated us to participate.

During the interview, we also learned more about what to expect in Israel. Volunteers generally work approximately four to five hours a day, in addition to transportation time. Depending on where help is needed, assignments may include packaging and organizing supplies in a warehouse, assisting in a hospital or helping with agricultural work.

After completing our daily volunteer responsibilities, we will have free time to explore Israel independently. Participants can also join organized group excursions for an additional cost.

After completing all the requirements and interviews, we were very happy to learn that we had been accepted!

We were then registered through the Taglit-Birthright Israel website, where our group of 24 participants was formed. We began introducing ourselves and sharing information while the organizers continued providing updates and important details about our upcoming trip.

A direct flight was arranged from Miami to Tel Aviv, making the journey especially convenient for those of us traveling from Florida.

One of the things that impressed me most was the diversity of our group. Participants range in age from approximately 25 to 78. Additional volunteers will be joining us from Texas, including a Chabad rabbi and his wife. People of different ages, backgrounds and professions are coming together with one common purpose: to volunteer, contribute and help Israel.

We are very much looking forward to meeting everyone who will be traveling with us and sharing this meaningful experience.

The main reason we wanted to tell our story is to let members of our 55+ community know that volunteer opportunities in Israel are not limited to young adults. Many people are familiar with Birthright Israel primarily as a program for younger generations and may not realize there are opportunities for older adults to participate in volunteer programs as well.

Being over 55 does not mean our opportunities to travel, contribute, meet new people and make a difference are behind us. On the contrary, this stage of life gives us something extremely valuable to offer: our experience, skills, maturity, compassion and willingness to help.

For anyone in our community who has ever thought, “I would love to help, but I didn’t know there was a program for people my age,” we hope our story provides some encouragement.

We are now beginning our journey and look forward to discovering what this volunteer experience will truly be like.

After we return, we hope to share another article with the community about our experience, including the volunteer work we performed, the people we met, the places we visited and what we learned along the way.

Perhaps our journey will inspire someone else in our 55+ community to join a future volunteer group and experience this opportunity for themselves.