April 20, 2010
While their peers were partying and relaxing during Spring Break 2010 in March, more than 50 fraternity and sorority students donned work gloves and braved jet lag to volunteer their time and energy as part of a continuing ICC-JNF initiative. The program, Greeks Build Israel, is a part of JNF’s larger Alternative Break program, and aims to provide college students with the chance to make a meaningful connection and contribution to Israel during their spring vacation. Once the students commit to raising $975 for charitable JNF projects throughout Israel’s Negev region, they are rewarded with an all-expenses paid trip to Israel, during which time they work on volunteer projects in Negev communities and schools.
The partnership on this program between the ICC and JNF began with the first Greeks Build Israel trip during winter break of 2008-2009. That winter, Israel launched Operation Cast Lead the day before 40 fraternity and sorority students were scheduled to fly to Israel. As a testament to their dedication to bettering the plight of those in need in Israel, almost all of the participants went through with their trip, contributing hundreds of hours of labor and over $40,000 to the Sderot Indoor Playground. To follow up on that success, 54 Greek students raised money and went to Israel on their Alternative Break last month. This year, thankfully, there was no war, and in addition to the many sites where our students cleaned up green spaces, built educational facilities, harvested food for the needy and spent time with Israeli citizens, they were able to visit the Sderot Indoor Playground that the previous year’s participants helped to fund.
Along with the demanding physical work of the program, the students learned about the development of the Negev and aspects of Zionist history through the JNF educational curriculum. With each project, the group reflected with discussions on their impact in Israel and elsewhere, frequently comparing and evaluating their volunteer work on campus in relation to their work in Israel. Towards the end of the program, one participant from Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, noted that he had finally come “to realize how important it is, not only to serve [in Israel], but to pay homage and get a broader understanding of our home.”
The fraternity and sorority students took well to the service and philanthropy components of the trip; unlike most college students, those involved in Greek life are expected to participate in charitable fundraising and volunteer projects during the academic year as well. Those pieces made this trip particularly attractive to Greek students, as well as an easy way to translate their work and intentions in Israel to their friends back at home and at school.
For more information about Greeks Build Israel, the alternative break program for fraternity and sorority students, or any of the ICC’s Greek Outreach Initiatives, please contact Alex Shapero at
ashapero@israelcc.org, or 202-449-6508.