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Tzeva is a social-educational initiative that operates volunteer run enrichment centers throughout Israel, providing educational, social and behavioral-emotional support for children in the 3^rd to 6^th grades, with the goal of reducing the growing inequalities in Israeli society while giving every child the opportunity for self-fulfillment. The children involved with Tzeva receive individual and group support to improve and practice their learning, social and emotional skills. Tzeva works to achieve these goals in cooperation with school staff as a part of the informal education system which comes in addition to the formal school curriculum.

The program is composed of two central parts. The first part is a learning hour where learning materials are used to practice and transmit social, behavioral and learning skills as part of the interpersonal relationship between the volunteer and the child or group of children. The second part is a social hour where the volunteers transmit content based on social values, enrichment, teamwork and development of communication skills through creative activity, discussion, games and reading.

Tzeva’s activities are conducted in enrichment centers twice a week in the afternoons for two hours throughout the school year. Groups of 25 children from 3^rd-6^th grades, are selected in collaboration with the school’s educational team, attend meetings with our diverse team of 20-30 volunteers on a regular basis. Every child has a permanent volunteer (one for every day of activity). They get to know each other, and it is due to the personal bond that takes root between them, the accompaniment of the professional Tzeva center coordinator and the learning and social activities that the child advances and grows according to his/her needs.

Tzeva works with children who are not located on either extreme of the learning or behavioral spectrum and for whom accompaniment and a relationship with a permanent adult figure could be beneficial in different areas where they require reinforcement, and could also help better integrate the children into the classroom environment (socially and educationally). Children who have social, learning or behavioral difficulties which show up in their functioning in the classroom or among their friends.

We, at Tzeva, believe that every person is capable of conducting life and making educated choices in the learning and social environment. Our main goal is to give every participant the opportunity to be exposed to different experiences and to accumulate successful experiences, which contribute to their sense of self-esteem as capable people. By giving a personal example and using respectful communication association educators (volunteers and staff) create a stable and safe space generating experiences for the participants which build responsibility, increase their capacity to choose and recognition of their own abilities and individual value.

We aim to enrich the world of the children and transmit pro-social values, which encourage listening, responsibility, tolerance and respect for others. Practice and teach 21st century skills; practice and convey social, behavioral and learning skills. “Focus on the strengths”—locating the strengths of every participant and fulfilling their needs. By building a direct, personal relationship between the child and an older role model, we give children the opportunity to learn different models from the volunteers and, of course, we encourage a relationship based on dialogue, trust and encouragement.

Our approach to volunteering and the community is based on research that shows that volunteer activities have numerous effects on people and their environment. It was shown that exposure to volunteering and social involvement develops a higher sensitivity to social needs, increased recognition of others and a desire to influence one’s close environment and community. Individuals who realize that they are capable of contributing to the greater good will also feel more capable in other areas of life. Their circles of influence expand and the chance that they will choose volunteering as a lifestyle increases. Volunteering is a central goal in TZEVA, and the volunteers comprise one of the two target audiences that we work with.

We invest significant resources in recruiting volunteers for our enrichment centers out of the belief that every person is able to volunteer, contribute and touch the lives of others. Every volunteer enjoys individual and group mentoring provided by the center coordinator, a professional in educational work and volunteer team management. The volunteer group undergoes a yearlong process whose goal is to develop a mission-oriented social group; this increases their sense of the value of their work and strengthens their connection to the center and the children. We work to identify the basic motivation that drives each volunteer and work with him or her to develop opportunities to put it into practice. We work to create a proud, confident team which senses and recognizes the added value that it contributes to ongoing activities.