Training for National Service Volunteers
What do the volunteers go through in training?
National Service volunteers complete a comprehensive, dedicated training track that opens with an intensive start-of-year seminar lasting several days. The seminar gives them a deep understanding of the principles of educating hospitalized children and the first practical tools for working in the field. Throughout their service, they also take part in training days, workshops, and professional seminars designed to provide additional practical and emotional tools to support them in the face of the changing challenges in the children's wards.
During the training days, the volunteers acquire skills for running a range of enrichment programs, including using play and creativity as an educational and therapeutic tool, working with children's literature, and leading activities in science and robotics. They learn in depth about the unique world of the hospitalized child and practice techniques for effective communication within a multidisciplinary team of educators and medical staff, in order to ensure they provide the most precise and sensitive response to every child.
The goal of the training
The overarching goal of the training is to give the volunteers a professional, pedagogical, and emotional toolkit suited to the complex and challenging environment of Israel's hospitals. We aim to ensure that the volunteers can provide a high-quality educational response, adapted to a range of ages and medical situations, while preserving educational continuity and a positive learning experience that supports the children's recovery and return to routine.
Alongside the professional skills, the training is designed to strengthen the volunteers' personal resilience and equip them with the ability to cope with the emotional weight that comes with working in children's wards. Our goal is to enable every volunteer to grow and develop in her own right, as she becomes a mature and caring figure — a "big sister" — who brings with her an attentive human presence, moments of routine, and light for hospitalized children and their families.
