As part of the Partnership 2000 project of the Jewish Agency, dozens of gift packages loaded with sweets for the soldiers of the IDF were packed by volunteers from Washington and the kindergarten children of Beit Shemesh

Twelve volunteers from the Jewish community in Washington recently arrived in Israel in order to help in rehabilitating the North. Last weekend, the volunteers took a break and returned southward to their Partnership community in Beit Shemesh in order to take part in a pre-Rosh Hashanah volunteer activity.
 
In order to sweeten the New Year for the soldiers of the IDF, a large amount of sweets was purchased for gift packages to be sent to IDF bases. Helping the volunteers were the children of the Nurit and Rakefet kindergartens in Beit Shemesh.

The children of the kindergartens prepared a particularly warm welcome for the volunteers which included merry songs and dances. The children and volunteers worked together to prepare the gift packages which included Rosh Hashana greeting cards that they wrote and decorated themselves.

The Association for Soldiers' Welfare sent several soldiers from the Duchifat Battalion to pick up the packages. The arrival of the soldiers was very exciting for young and old alike. With the help of the kindergarten teachers, everyone sang and danced with great enthusiasm and in two languages.  

The activity was an opportunity for volunteers from the Partnership community to meet soldiers from the Duchifat Battalion personally and to ask them questions about their service in the IDF and about the fighting in the North. The activity ended with Kabbalat Shabbat in the kindergarten and from there the volunteers continued on to a visit in Jerusalem and hosting with families in Beit Shemesh.