IVN's 2010 Annual Gathering
The Social Ventures Fair  With an amazing turnout of almost 160 guests, IVN held its 2010 annual gathering - The IVN Social Ventures Fair - on October 31, 2010, at the Peres Center for Peace in Jaffa. With the generous sponsorship of the Silicon Valley Bank Financial Group, Israel and Mintz Levin Israel Business, the evening was a marvelous opportunity to showcase 9 of our social ventures. We have since received wonderful feedback regarding the sense of community that the evening created together with a renewed sense of enthusiasm. Our keynote speaker, Mr. Isaac (Bougie) Herzog, Minister of Welfare and Social Services, expressed his heartfelt appreciation for the work IVN is doing: "You [IVN] are changing Israel's social landscape." On November 1, 2010, in continuation of the annual event, IVN arranged a field trip for 30 of its members and guests down south. The trip provided an amazing opportunity to see a number of the IVN supported ventures in action. The morning began with a delicious breakfast at Gvanim in Askelon - IVN's newest venture which runs's a restaurant, providing employment opportunities for adult with mental illnesses; a visit to Duroos Learning Center in the Bedouin town of Rahat - the Center offers in Arabic, to students from 3 years old to adults, English and mathematics courses as well as help with matriculation examinations (bagruts) and preparation for university entrance exams; a tasty lunch at Ringelblum in Beer Sheva - a restaurant that employs at-risk teenagers, both in the kitchen and as wait staff.
 | | IVN members enjoying a delicious lunch at Ringelblum |
For pictures from the event, click here. For pictures from the trip, click here. |
IVN's New Social Ventures
IVN's new Social Venture Program is the next generation of our highly successful Social Entrepreneurs Program.The Social Venture Program, launched in July this year, supports and incubates social ventures dedicated to developing and implementing innovative and systemic solutions to social problems and challenges through mentoring, capacity building and financial support.
We recently completed our 2010 Spring candidate selection, and recently issued our 2010 Fall Call for Candidates. IVN is thrilled to announce the selection of three ventures to our new Social Venture Program. We are very excited by their level of innovation and impact potential.
Spotlight on Women and Their Bodies (WTB)
 | | Women and their Bodies team with their IVN mentor, Rina Shianski |
WTB , founded in 2005, is an NGO of Jewish and Palestinian-Israeli women working together to promote comprehensive social change in the health attitudes and behaviors of women in Israel.
To learn more about WTB - click here
Spotlight on Al-Bir (The Well)
 | | A workshop at Al-Bir's Center |
Cultivating culture and community in Wadi-'Ara, Al-Bir seeks to create a welcoming environment that nurtures, encourages and presents the voices and activities of Palestinian-Israeli women, and broadens the spectrum of activity and influence of women within the community and the society at large.
To learn more about Al-Bir - click here
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Spotlight on Gvanim
Gvanim Association is an organization for social change with more than 40 active projects and programs for disadvantaged
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Gvanim's coffee shop and event center in Ashkelon . |
populations throughout Israel. Within the framework of IVN's Social Venture Progam, we shall be suporting 2 of those projects: a coffee shop and event center in Ashkelon that employs adults with mental illness and a catering business in Sderot that employs people with physical disabilities. These jobs are changing peoples lives and restoring their sense of self-worth, as well as affecting the families and
communities in which they live.
To learn more about Gvanim,click here
To learn more about other IVN supported ventures, click here |
