VOLUNTEER ISRAEL

We have provided the following sample itinerary to give you a better sense of this experience. The actual program may vary, and an itinerary will be distributed no later than two weeks before the program begins. Even after the itinerary is sent, adjustments may still be made in coordination with tour guides and the tour operator—both leading up to and during the program—based on local conditions.

DAY 1 | DEPARTURE FLIGHT
Meet your staff and teens at the airport before traveling together to Israel on an overnight flight. Once we land, your trip officially begins! We’ll break the ice with some engaging activities that sets the tone for this impactful experience so that you get to know everyone in the group. To learn more about how we organize travel to and from the program, click here.

DAY 2–6 | TEL AVIV
Welcome to Tel Aviv! We'll begin with a picnic-style lunch at a park in Tel Aviv before checking into our accommodations. Then, the group will view the “Walls of Hope” street art in Tel Aviv’s Florentin neighborhood. Walls Of Hope is a project of 38 murals painted for the hostage children that were held—or currently are being held—in Gaza. After, we'll have our first dinner together at a restaurant in Jaffa before preparing for the next day's volunteer activities in the community.

After an early breakfast, we'll split into two volunteer projects: one group will help support the Israeli harvest at Beerotiim packing warehouse while another helps Israelis in need at Pitchon Lev, a humanitarian organization focused on breaking the intergenerational cycle of poverty in Israel. We'll have lunch before continuing with two additional activities. One group will spend the afternoon volunteering at the Jaffa Institute to support Israelis in need while another works with children who have traveled to Israel for life-saving treatment with Save a Child’s Heart. After our hard day's work, we'll return to Tel Aviv for time to unwind and possibly some beach time along the Mediterranean before indulging in gourmet Ethiopian cuisine and hearing an inspirational conversation with the female founders of the restaurant.

DAY 7–11 | JERUSALEM
Our next day begins with an early breakfast and check out of the accommodations before our morning volunteering project picking cherry tomatoes. Then, express your solidarity visiting Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square and possibly meet with family members still waiting for their loved ones to return home. Hostages Square is a public plaza located in front of the Tel Aviv Museum of Art. Since the October 7 attacks, families of the hostages taken during the attack have encamped in the square, due to its proximity to the Israel Defense Forces headquarters.

After our solemn visit, we'll enjoy the Nahalat Binyamin Street Festival and the Carmel Market (shuk) for lunch before departing Tel Aviv and traveling to Jerusalem. Upon arrival, we'll check into our hotel and prepare for our Shabbat together in the Jewish homeland. The trip guide will have us enter the Old City at Zion Gate and wind through the Jewish Quarter to the Kotel—or Western Wall—where teens will have time for personal reflections and an opportunity to join Kabbalat Shabbat prayers at the Kotel. Then, the group will eat Shabbat dinner in the Jewish Quarter before walking back to the accommodations.

On Saturday, we'll spend the morning relaxing with the option for Shabbat prayers and other BBYO programming before lunch at the accommodations. Then, teens will enjoy some pool time before heading to Jerusalem's Saker Park for the afternoon. If time permits, our Israeli Madrichim and teens will lead a walking tour of Jerusalem to show the group the community through their eyes. After, we'll engage in a geopolitical seminar discussion with an expert on the Middle East before dinner and Havdalah. The group will end the day by expressing themselves through a Guru Zuzu “silent rave” at Ben Yehuda Street Pedestrian Mall.

Our work continues on Sunday with the group splitting into two activities. One will have an emotional visit to Mt. Herzl National Cemetery to honor the memory of those who were lost on October 7 and its aftermath while the other prepares meals for soldiers on duty with “Our People” in Jerusalem. We'll have time for lunch and shopping at Jerusalem’s Mahane Yehuda marketplace, then continue our afternoon with volunteering at Pantry Packers—supporting Israeli food security—and supporting Israel’s food security at Tachlit. Spend the evening cooling off with a water activity in a park outside of Jerusalem, then eat dinner before hearing a moving testimony from an Israeli guide and survivor of the Nova Music Festival.

DAY 12–15 | NEGEV DESERT
Enjoy breakfast at the hotel before checking out and heading into our final few days of volunteer work. We'll head back to "Our People" and Mt. Herzl National Cemetery, switching groups from our previous visit so that all teens have a chance to experience both activities. Then, the group will depart Jerusalem and travel south toward the Negev Desert. We'll stop in the Bedouin community of Rahat to meet with Bedouin Israelis who heroically helped save Nova Music Festival attendees on October 7, then have lunch and check into our accommodations in the desert near Tzin Canyon overlook. Everyone will get to enjoy an evening poike pot dinner and desert outdoors experience before heading to bed.

After breakfast the next morning, we'll split into groups for our final two volunteer activities. One group will travel to the Gaza border frontier and visit Kibbutz Magan to meet teens who had been displaced by the October 7 attacks and are now rebuilding their lives in the Gaza border region. Together, we'll help renovate public places damaged then eat lunch at the kibbutz with Israeli teens before stopping for a solemn visit to the Nova Music Festival Memorial site. The second group will spend the morning preparing sandwiches for IDF soldiers at Hamal Shel Revital at Shuva Junction. After a packed lunch, we'll then travel to Sderot to gain a deeper appreciation for what it means to live along the Gaza border region and what the community experienced on October 7—including a visit to the JNF bomb shelter playground.

Both groups will stop to view the Kerem Shalom border crossing—the primary entry point of humanitarian aid to Gaza—before we drive back to accommodations for dinner and processing time.

On our last day in Israel, we'll have an early breakfast at the accommodations before checking out. Both groups from yesterday will switch activities, feeling the impact of their work once more before we return home. We'll head back to Tel Aviv for a final group processing session, swimming time, and a closing dinner together at Dekel Tel Aviv Country Club. then, we'll head to Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport for an overnight flight back to the U.S.

DAY 16 | RETURN FLIGHT
It’s never goodbye, just see you later. Give your friends one last hug and part ways once your flight arrives at the airport. While your summer trip with us is over, the memories you’ve made will last a lifetime!

Our most frequently asked questions about this program are answered below. Additional program-wide FAQs are also available. Still need something? We’re here to help! Contact us.

Looking to combine two experiences for an extended summer of adventure, learning, and self-discovery? BBYO makes it easy! This independent trip can connect to one of our Israel Journey departures, making it our Volunteer Israel Journey program.

Learn more about our trip connections.