After a very warm fall and Chanuka season, winter (and a possibility of snow) has finally hit Israel. The DROR girls are connecting to their commitments and enjoying their time together. We've also made amazing progress organizationally, over the past few months, and we are so proud of our achievements.
Our annual Chanuka party was a huge success. The event was organized by our wonderful staff members, Tali Himmelman, Naomi Morgenstern, Yocheved Morgenstern, Talia Maurice, and others. The nearly 40 girls enjoyed a night of dance, games, contests, and delicious soup!
December ended off with a bang--our incredible Program Director, Esti Zecharia, is engaged to Tzemach David Schloss of Bet Shemesh. We wish them happiness, health, and many amazing years together.
We're proud to announce is that we hosted our first Parent's Night at our new office space-TeamUp Bet Shemesh. What a beautiful location where we can properly host meetings and focus on planning. The parents shared their excitement for their girls' training for the Jerusalem Marathon and were eager to sign themselves up as well! They wholeheartedly praised DROR for its positive impact on their daughter's lives. This meeting was the beginning of a new era-a closer relationship between our organization and the girls' families. We aim to keep in touch via a WhatsApp group and further events throughout the year.
Our volunteering and sports programming is going really well. The girls continue to show initiative with the kids at the community center and are planning a Purim party at the end of February. The learning is amazing too, and to put it as one mother did-"My daughter doesn't usually show up to commitments, except for her DROR ones". This is the kind of accountability and responsibility we aim to achieve for our young women.
Finally, the DROR girls were treated out by Rav Chen theaters in Modiin last week. We were awarded 50 free tickets to a screening of the movie "Wonder". DROR girls and staff members got to spend a fun evening together and finished off with a Q&A session. We so appreciate the generosity of Rav Chen Modiin and their gift to our girls.!
If you haven't yet signed up to run the Jerusalem Marathon with #TEAMDROR on March 9th-get to it today! Visit our website or email esther@drornow.org for more information.