The Jerusalem Foundation recently broke ground on a new coeducational vocational training youth center in the Kiryat Yovel neighborhood in the Israeli capital.
The new center will be built next to the Polinsky School for Vocational Training in Jerusalem and will facilitate integration into the workforce for hundreds of youth from the special education system. Next door, the Jerusalem Municipality has pledged to build an additional facility to house a rehabilitation center for special education youth and young adults ages 13 to 21, who have communication and emotional and psychological disabilities.
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The construction of the new vocational training center was made possible with the significant support of the Polinsky-Rivkin family of the United States and the Jerusalem Foundation.
The late Abraham B. Polinsky, who emigrated from Russia to the United States, embarked on his own journey as a youth working on the streets and eventually became extraordinarily successful in business despite a lack of formal education. After meeting the mayor of Jerusalem and Jerusalem Foundation founder, the late Teddy Kollek, in the early 1980s, the two formed a special bond and Polinsky promised Kollek to help him build a better future for Jerusalem's children and youth.
Polinsky sought to provide youth with the opportunity to complete their formal education, earn high school matriculation and gain a profession, the same ticket into the workforce that he himself was lacking. Through today, the Polinsky-Rivkin family has continually kept the promise of their grandfather and his daughter and son-in-law, Jeannie and Arthur Rivkin, and assisted Jerusalem youth.
Established in the 1980s, today the Polinsky School serves a total of 130 pupils with learning disabilities who benefit from vocational training through workshops in a variety of fields. The school is the flagship institution in the sphere of vocational training for special education youth in Jerusalem.
The Jerusalem Foundation expects the new center to help enable special education graduates to build independent lives as young adults, integrated into the workforce as contributing members of the community, rather than being solely dependent on government assistance.
The Jerusalem Foundation is a nonprofit foundation that promotes Jerusalem's development by raising funds for social, cultural and beautification projects. Established in 1966 by then-Jerusalem Mayor Teddy Kollek, it has contributed hundreds of millions of dollars to the city's budget and established parks, gardens, forests, recreational sites, theaters, and museums; restored ancient sites, synagogues, mosques, and churches; funded community and social centers, preschool centers, and health clinics; and sponsored archeological excavations, scholarships, and cultural events.
The Jerusalem Foundation is considered unique in its mission, as it funds municipal projects with private donations from international sources.
The ceremony, held last Thursday, was attended by Jerusalem Mayor Moshe Lion, Jerusalem Foundation President Shai Doron and other executives from the organization, including Executive Chairman James S. Snyder and Director Anat Tzur. The great-grandson of school founder Abraham B. Polinsky, Adam Rivkin, and the family's representative, Helena Galper, were also in attendance.
