Parent-Child Centre - Outdoor Balcony Expansion

Who you will help

The Jaffa Institute serves parts of Tel-Aviv where 50% live in poverty, 30% regularly receive welfare services, and many are unemployed. This socioeconomic distress leaves families particularly vulnerable to crime, violence, substance abuse, and food insecurity. Many parents, and especially single mothers, work multiple low-paying jobs, are less often at home, and struggle with their own mental health needs. While most new mothers and fathers want to be good caregivers, many have never experienced a healthy parental model in their own lives and lack the skills and resources to create a nurturing family environment. This further results in poor family relationships, dire educational gaps, and a generational cycle of poverty that continues without intervention. Each year, the Parent-Child Center serves approximately 400 disadvantaged families with children ages six and younger, proudly serving families from secular and religious backgrounds; various faiths, ; the former Soviet Union and Ethiopia; as well as asylum seekers and foreign workers. The Center is supported by a professional staff comprised of social workers, psychologists, graduate students, and experts in dance, art, speech therapy, and occupational therapy. The Center's primary focuses are on early childhood development, providing parents with a diverse support network, and skills and training to improve their caregiving, emotional awareness, and parent-child relations.

Location

In Tel Aviv-Yafo, an area with one of Israel's most diverse populations.

Your donation will fund 

In the shadow of COVID-19, the Parent-Child Center must extend the indoor playroom to an outdoor balcony area, in order to resume serving all 400 families with the Center's therapeutic play and counseling services. The space will also serve as a meeting point for community activities. Beyond COVID-19, this outdoor space will remain a staple of the Parent-Child Center, allowing the program to serve more families and exist as a permanent community gathering area. Your donation will fund the complete renovation of the outdoor space to make it safe and play-ready for families. This includes electrical and lighting fixtures, air-conditioning and heating unit, water lines, recreational equipment, rubber flooring, and shade structure and outdoor storage.

About The Jaffa Institute 

The Jaffa Institute was established in 1982 in Jaffa Daled - one of the most diverse neighbourhoods in Israel - as a private, non-profit, multi-service social agency to assist severely disadvantaged children and families in the area. They serve more than 4,000 community members annually. JNF Canada is a proud long-time partner and supporter of The Jaffa Institute.