Issue No. 5 | April 21, 2020
Dealing With Stress is a Lesson We All Can Use
Let's be honest, in today's current situation, stress is something we are all learning how to cope with in our lives. From the stress of jobs, responsibilities, safety and the uncertainties of how our lives and world will be different, we all have a heightened level of stress. We know our students do as well. As part of our continuing commitment to providing a well-rounded education for our students, we host Mental Jump Sessions with lessons applicable to their everyday life. We wanted to share one of these lessons with you so you can not only see some of the education outreach going on with our students, but maybe, just maybe, there is a lesson in here you might be able to use as well.
// CONNECT AND SHARE WITH US //
PARENTS ARE PLEASED AND GRATEFUL FOR OUR WORK

We made a commitment to our students during this time that we would continue to be engaged and connected with them through this time. We have shown you videos of them and how they have been committed to their continued growth towards physical, mental, educational and developmental goals, just as if they were in our facilities. What we are now getting is feedback and messages of appreciation from the parents of the students! We have taken a few of the comments and put them into a video with some of the students who we have featured over the past 5 weeks. We are an extension of these children's homes and it is great to hear from their guardians that what we are doing is not only working, but a vital part to helping them get through these challenging times.
Yom HaShoah, also known as Holocaust Remembrance Day, is being observed all over the world on April 20-21. While this provides us an opportunity to remember the innocent 6 million Jews and millions of other people who fell victim to Nazi persecution, it is also a time for us to make sure their voices, though silenced, are ALWAYS heard.
Many commemorate Yom HaShoah by lighting yellow candles to keep alive the memories of the victims.
For our centers, like the one pictured here from Samson Family ITEC - Be'er Sheva from last year, each center staged a memorial to commemorate this day of observation. Most synagogues, organizations and communities gather together to mark the day through worship, music and testimonies from survivors.

While today's limitations prevent that from doing in person, here are some ways you can spend a moment in reflection, offering up a prayer to those who perished by keeping their memory alive with these online gatherings.
US Holocaust Memorial Museum
Virtual Ceremony
Tuesday, April 21st (11:00am ET)
The Jewish Agency
"Remembering at Home" Ceremony
Tuesday, April 21st (8:00pm ET)
Hans Felius, our ITEC National Tennis and Social Impact Director, continues in his mission in "Holding Serve," with his daily journal. Enjoy some of his entries from this past week:

April 16, 2020
" The days start to roll together. When you are 29 days in a row at home, you have to double-check which day of the week it is and which date. It more or less blurs into more of the same but we continue on to make things as normal as possible for our students.

Eyal Taoz and Rakefet Binyamini not only sent exercises to the Junior Development and Social Impact program children, but added a survey for the parents. We wanted to know if we are not sending too many videos and exercises for this group and how our educational efforts have been being received by the parents. We don’t want to overwhelm them with information, but we want them to feel connected to their ITEC family. The responses we got back were very positive. Parents are very appreciative of the way we are staying in daily contact with the children, helping them establish a routine and the children pick their videos that they like, which makes it fun for them to have a "choice" in their learning."


April 18, 2020
"One of the most critical programs we have for girls is our Girls at Risk Empowerment program, delivering a curriculum that not only focuses on their educational development, but giving them the confidence to be leaders in the community. This program strengthens them as individuals, making them stronger and more confident in their abilities to leave a lasting, positive impact through their talents, actions and ideas. We recently received the following letter from the teachers of one of the schools where our Girls Empowerment program is implemented. It is a testament to the impact we are making on these girls but also, the world around them."
Contact Jackie Glodstein
516-512-2062
Contact Yoni Yair
954-778-0940