Diving into things!

Shalom all!

In the midst of touring and exploring, I had the chance to go to Tel Aviv Port, which is a beautiful site right by the Mediterranean Sea. Suffice to say, I wanted to stay there for hours and simply take in the sights, the sounds, the feelings, and the people.

However, other than getting acclimated to my settings and the environment around me, I had a chance to meet with my internship supervisors, whom I will be working with during the upcoming months. As I mentioned in my last blog post, I wanted to come here in order to really dive into what nonprofits do, how they work, and gain a better understanding of why they do what they do, in the hopes of potentially considering a career in the nonprofit industry. Of course, I would need a myriad of experiences to truly have a certain idea since each nonprofit is different, but as a starting point, I think that this is a huge step and an even bigger career move for the future.

We discussed some of the duties that I would be doing. In particular, Tel Aviv University wants to start up an Institute for Philanthropy, so I am helping them investigate successful academic institutions based on philanthropy in the United States. For example, my very own University of Maryland has a Center for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Leadership! My supervisors want to investigate those models, how they do things, and in the future, replicate those successes to usher in a new wave of philanthropic culture in Israel and potentially, the Middle East.

In a word, I'm a bit excited to get into this, since I've never really delved into this study before! But come what may, I will be committed to this study until I see some results! Now, onwards to my other internship: Olim Beyahad - a nonprofit institution in Tel Aviv that helps Ethiopian-Israelis integrate into Israeli society through helping the latter find professional work. Should be interesting.