Shinshinim group of volunteers distributing goodies to patients in the Pediatric Psychiatry Department at Galilee Medical Center.
The American Friends of Galilee Medical Center is very proud of the Shinshinim volunteer program in the Galilee Medical Center’s Pediatric Psychiatry Department. The Shinshinim program began as a pilot in the Pediatric Psychiatry Department in 2019, and has been extremely successful and well-received by the patients, staff and the volunteers. The Shinshinim volunteers at the Galilee Medical Center are from the nearby municipality of Matte Asher, and live together very close to the hospital during the year of their volunteer service at the GMC.
Increasing numbers of Israeli youth choose to take a “gap year” and volunteer after high school, before their military service. During this year they perform community service in various fields and sectors of Israeli society. This is known as Shinshinim, which is a Hebrew acronym for shnat sherut, or “year of service.”
The young volunteers work under the guidance and supervision of the Pediatric Psychiatry Department’s professional and medical staff at the Galilee Medical Center, which is the only one of its kind in the north of Israel, and one of only three in the State of Israel. The Pediatric Psychiatry Department at the GMC provides medical psychiatric treatment and therapy and addresses developmental, emotional and family-related needs of children ages 6 – 18. There is also an on-site school called Afik in the Pediatric Psychiatry Department, through the Ministry of Education, for the hospitalized children and youth who are patients of the Department.
The Shinshinim volunteers interact with the young patients, serving as role models, and support the patients emotional and social needs. This personal interaction is extremely meaningful and helpful for both patients and the professional staff, and has had a tremendous impact on the volunteers and the children who participate. In 2021 there are eight participants in the Shinshinim program in the Pediatric Psychiatry Department.
Please consider making an online donation today in honor of Pesach to support the wonderful and meaningful impact of the Shinshinim volunteer program on the patients in the Pediatric Psychiatry Department at the Galilee Medical Center.
