treasured educational journey for Washington Heights’ aspiring young scientists and oers enormous benefits for local public-school students as well as YU students. Toward the end of each school year, the program holds a celebration on the Wilf Campus with hundreds of schoolchildren, YU’s START Science! student-volunteers, the Bicko family, and university faculty and administrators in attendance. The event, designed like a science fair, features hours of hands-on learning and a mobile science lab. The program oers YU students the opportunity to put the university’s values into action and give back in a meaningful way. In fact, with nearly 240 undergraduate volunteers, START Science!
START Science!: Bringing Local Elementary School Students and YU Undergraduates Together To Share a Love of Science For more than a decade, START Science!, a YU student-run program, has brought science enrichment to local schoolchildren through weekly in-class demonstra- tions on such topics as biology, chemistry, physics and engineering. Active in various Washington Heights schools, START Science! primarily works with students in grades four to seven. Each YU student volunteer is dedicated to a specific team that works with the same class throughout the semester. Thanks to the generosity of the Bicko family, START Science! has become a
A special event held by Counterpoint students for the children of Sderot left the town’s mayor, Alon Davidi, visibly moved. He told the students how much their presence and solidarity meant to the beleaguered residents. Despite the war, Counterpoint Israel was at capacity, making YU extraordinarily proud as its students demonstrated their commitment to supporting and rebuilding Israel at this most crucial time. “Counterpoint Israel provides YU students an opportunity to engage with Israeli society through immersive volunteering in ways and areas where the need is greatest,” said Stephanie Strauss, executive director, Yeshiva University in Israel. “Especially during this challenging time for Israel, whether farming produce, entertaining Israeli youth or comforting those in pain, our students are there to contribute.”
Counterpoint Israel: YU Students Volunteer To Help the People of Israel The Counterpoint Israel program, an integral part of YU’s Israel summer oerings since 2006, looks to inspire long-lasting positive change in disparate communities across Israel. In summer 2024, 20 Counterpoint participants from Yeshiva University worked tirelessly on farms in Israel’s south that were left abandoned after the Oct. 7 attacks. They painted and repaired houses in Gaza border towns and supported survivors by listening to their stories about the horrors of that day. They also visited key memorial sites, including the Nova Music Festival grounds and the Sderot police station, to bear witness and show their support for survivors of the tragedy.
boasts one of the largest memberships of all YU student-run clubs.
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YU Today | Leadership with Purpose
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