Adam LeAdam teamed up with an NGO based in Tel Aviv called African Refugees Development Center (ARDC) to send food and medical equipment to African countries.

Adam LeAdam, sponsored by the Jewish Agency, is gearing up to launch a community service program aimed at college graduates and young professionals called Leaders for Tikkun Olam based in Israel and India.

“Adam LeAdam tries to apply the principles of Tikkun Olam and general principals of Judaism to the areas of humanitarian relief and assisting others in need,” said Ben Brewer, the marketing director of the NGO, adding that it offers aid in the aftermath of natural disasters and works to develop projects to improve education, health and welfare for those living in developing countries.

Brewer, 25, who is an oleh chadash (a new immigrant to Israel) from the United States, has been working with the founders of the organization, Yarden Tenenbaum and Uri Amit, since its inception less than a year ago.

He said that part of Adam LeAdam’s mission as a humanitarian organization is to improve Israel’s image on the world stage, and to strengthen ties between Diaspora youth and Israelis by including volunteers – 10 from Israel and 15 from the Diaspora – into the program.

There are three main components of the eight-month program. The first is the Israeli experience, during which participants study, train, and volunteer together for four months in Israel. The following three months are spent in India doing humanitarian work for organizations Adam LeAdam has created partnerships with, and the program concludes in Israel where a month is taken to evaluate and assess it.

“Part of the leaders program is to have people be integrated into Israeli society,” he said, adding that although the Israelis won’t be living with the North American volunteers, every other aspect of the program will be done as a group.

“The Israelis will live wherever they are, but the [North Americans will] participate with them in all the courses and the volunteer work and they get a unique opportunity to meet people their age in Israel.”

Brewer said that the volunteers won’t be living in a North American bubble.

“We do everything we can to have them integrate as much as one can when they are only in Israel for four months and then back in Israel for a month at the end.”

He said that the academic aspect of the program offers the volunteers lectures and courses led by experienced aid workers and academics about the most effective kinds of humanitarian and development programs and how to apply Jewish principles to them.

But the most attractive part of the program, Brewer said, is the three-month stint in India.

“The two founders are in India right now setting up the different connections with different organizations,” he said, adding that the participants will apply everything they’ve learned during the four months in Israel to their work in India.

Brewer said that once the program ends after a month-long wrap-up back  in Israel, if the participants want to use the skills they’ve learned to start a group in their home towns, they will do what they can to assist them.

“We’re not making it a requirement for acceptance that you have to go back home and start the greatest community service program, but if that is what people want to do, or something along those lines, we’ll help them.”

Although the program is sponsored and subsidized by the Jewish Agency and MASA Israel, it still carries a cost to accommodate each volunteer for the eight-month program.

He explained that it costs $13,000 (US) to participate, but there are a number of grants one can apply for to cover much of the cost.

He said for those who are eligible for MASA funding – those who haven’t used a MASA scholarship for another program – will automatically be granted $3,000 and based on special financial considerations, an applicant could receive up to $10,000.

Beyond that, Adam LeAdam also has  a list of organizations volunteers can contact to apply for grants, and Brewer also encouraged people to contact their local federations about being awarded a grant.

The cost covers accommodation in the Tel Aviv area, meals, transportation, academic studies, volunteer opportunities, social and cultural activities, and medical insurance in Israel, as well as flights, visas, accommodation, meals, transportation, and medical insurance in India.

The Leaders for Tikkun Olam is scheduled to run from Jan 1 until July 31 and applications are being accepted until Oct 15. For more information, visit www.adamleadam.org.