The winning essay in the first essay contes was "Houses are deemed to sink, they are not deemed to stand" (Nathan Alterman) by Yonadav Samet (class of 2022). Yonadav chose to donate the 1,000 shekel prize to the "Yeruham Charitable Foundation". The full essay (in Hebrew) is available at the bottom of the page.

Here are a few words from Yonadav about the "Yeruham Charitable Foundation":

I decided to donate the prize to the Yeruham Charitable Foundation. The foundation aims to help families and individuals in financial distress - not by making one-time donations, but by providing close support to those in distress.

The foundation hopes to help these people find their way out of a distressful situation. The Corona outbreak, put together with the ongoing economic crisis, led many to face difficult financial situations and therefore reach out for financial aid.

On a more personal note, I'd like to add that during the years I've spent in Yeruham, I have volunteered at the foundation. Through the volunteer work I became aware of the foundations special importance and I observed on a firsthand basis that the donations are utilized in the best possible way. In my opinion, the power of the foundation lies in its ability to create a communal safety net, while altering its form of aid in order to suit each applicant personally. For example, the fund operates a grocery store that allows those who are being supported by it to come and use their coupons and buy their favorite products at cost prices, instead of getting a readymade food basket. I hope that the prize money will join other donations and help the volunteers in their important work

Thank you to the judging committee - Noa Noy (class of 2023), Ofir Mohaban (class of 2022), and Assaf Gabai (class of 2021) - and to the contest organizer, Nitay Askenasy (class of 2021)!