Good People Fund grantee English B’Yachad, the flagship mentoring program of Skilled Volunteers for Israel founded by Marla Gamaron, was the subject of a lovely first-person Times of Israel blog post this week by volunteer mentor Dvorah Richman, “English B’Yachad: Building Ties, Improving Opportunities.” The program pairs North American volunteers with young adults from Israel’s Ethiopian community, and, more recently, with IDF reservists transitioning to civilian life, for weekly one-on-one English conversation practice aimed at building the confidence and language skills needed to compete for professional positions. Since its 2020 launch, English B’Yachad has connected more than 600 volunteer mentors with over 1,000 Israeli students, and now counts roughly 350 active mentor-student pairs. Richman’s essay captures what Marla calls the program’s “secret sauce”: relationships that outlast the ten-week commitment and turn language practice into lasting, cross-continental friendship. We are proud to support Marla’s vision of bridging Israel and the Diaspora, one conversation at a time.
Grantee Program(s) Featured in This Article:
English B’Yachad*(English Together)-Skilled Volunteers for Israel
