VOIS- Volunteer in Israel

Volunteers coming to Israel for the VOIS program assist several vulnerable population groups: senior citizens, Holocaust survivors, children and adults with cognitive and/or physical disabilities, children and adults on the autistic spectrum, youth at risk, and women at risk. Volunteers support the institutions’ full-time care staff, facilitating workshops, accompanying residents to activities in the community and on excursions, and more.

Over the course of their placements, volunteers develop personal relationships with the individuals they care for, and the institutions they volunteer within benefit from their youthful, happy spirit. Volunteers do not replace the personnel required to run the social service institutions, but, rather, supplement and assist their workforce.

Volunteering placements range in duration from 6-24 months and are available across 100 different institutional frameworks around the country, including boarding schools, senior homes, hospitals, daycare centers, women’s shelters, and community centers.

Volunteers must be aged 18 and older, and have included individuals, couples, families, and pensioners. 

Volunteers work 35 hours each week and receive accommodation, food, professional supervision, and activities to make the most of their time in Israel. Most of the volunteers are not Jewish, and, for the majority, their period of volunteering is their first in-depth experience of Israel, including its history and the local culture.

Their long stay enables volunteers to accrue experiences and friendships with the people they volunteer with and from outside the program while developing their professional skillsets and broadening their world-view.

The Department of International Relations in collaboration with the Department of Volunteering are responsible for operating and managing the VOIS volunteer in Israel program.
The Department of Volunteering offers volunteers guidance and  assistance in finding volunteering placements, issuing entry visas, volunteer insurance, alongside supervision over the placements.

The Department of International Relations is in charge of: 

• Developing relations with and overseeing international recruiting organizations. Today, the department holds cooperation with over 50 international organizations from around the world who recruit volunteers for the program. 
• Coordination with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the State of Israel
• Coordination with foreign governments and embassies and promotion of bilateral agreements.
• Branding and marketing of VOIS- Volunteer in Israel program.
• Assistance in the process of receiving entry visa for the volunteers. 
• Assistance in cases of emergency.