The Maccabi Family is Mobilizing for the Lone Soldiers

A mother’s hug, a talk with father, financial security and warm family support. There are currently over 6,500 Lone Soldiers in Israel who have no home to return to. The Maccabi Tel Aviv FC Foundation along with The Lone Soldier Center in Memory of Michael Levin have started a project where the Maccabi family of fans are being mobilized for the Lone Soldiers.

מכבי ת”א מתגייסת למען החיילים הבודדים


Lone Soldiers are composed of several populations where half are from families who live outside of Israel while the other half are Israelis who were born and grew up in Israel, however, due to various reasons they are not in touch with their families and parents.

How can you help them become part of the Yellow & Blue family? There are a number of ways:

From a weekly phone call to meeting every couple of weeks to daily basis support, participating in family events, mentoring and advising all the way to their release and vocational guidance.

Enter the registration page, choose how you’d like to help a Lone Soldier and The Lone Soldier Center in Memory of Michael Levin will find a new member for your family.

Alberman: “I’m happy that more people are enjoying sports”

The Tel Aviv Marathon takes place this Friday and just before thousands of runners take to the streets, the Yellow & Blue players got into the excitement surrounding the big happening. Ten players visited the Official Adidas Store at Kikar Rabin, met with the fans, took pictures with them and checked out the latest technology that the sports manufacturer has available for its customers.

Gal Alberman was one of those present and spoke about the event: “It’s great to hear that there are so many people taking part in the marathon. This isn’t the first time that we’ve come here and the interest just keeps increasing. As a sportsman, I’m happy that the more people are enjoying sports.”

And what’s the differences between the Marathon and football? “It’s a totally different discipline than ours. Our pace changes many times and that’s a huge difference. The 42 kilometers that are run in a marathon is about the same amount that we do in training plus the match itself.”

Maccabi Room Returns: Waking up to Yellow & Blue

In order to be part of a big club you have to be organized and efficient. Last season, Eli won a brand new Yellow & Blue room and now, once again Maccabi Tel Aviv is looking for the messiest fan out there to try and help them make a drastic change. Send us a picture of your room and we’ll pick the most disastrous one and turn it into a “Maccabi Room”.

Maccabi Room 2015/16

Maccabi’s room: כשאזולאי וריקן עשו את המהפך

How?
Click on the “Fans & Maccabi FIRST” button between March 20-14, 2017.

Then add a picture of your room on the “FANS WRITE” area of the page along with submitting your complete name and address.

We’ll then pick the picture of the messiest, most disorganized and disastrous room. Then together with two Maccabi players we will help you turn your room into a “Maccabi Room”.

IMPORTANT! In order to participate you must be a Maccabi FIRST member.

For the rules and regulations, click here

Recycle, Reuse & Renew Maccabi Foundation Style

The Kiryat Shalom neighborhood branch of Chinuch L’Psagot, Educating for Excellence, took part in an extra special Maccabi Foundation Tu B’Shvat program that was specifically designed to teach the 3rd-6th graders about the environment and the importance of Recycling, Reusing & Renewing.

With the 3 “R”s in mind, Tu B’Shvat expert Sharona led an arts & crafts project that taught the children how to make trees out of newspapers while also playing a holiday board game made from cereal box cartons and bottle caps. In addition, everyone had a chance to sample the seven species and fruits of Israel. Of course what would a Foundation activity be without Maccabinio who came to the delight of all the kids to end off a terrific program.

Josh Halickman, Foundation Head talked about the importance of strengthening ties with the local community: “The Kiryat Shalom branch of Chinuch L’Psagot is a perfect opportunity for the Foundation to support local initiatives in the neighborhood. We host the children at the Kiryat Shalom Training Facility twice a month for training sessions with the Maccabi youth department coaches and now was a chance to be with the same group inside the classroom. It’s important for us to work with the next generation both on and off of the pitch.”

Yellow & Blue Special Olympics Holiday

The Maccabi Tel Aviv FC Foundation along with Special Olympics got together for Tu B’Shvat, the Holiday of Trees at Maon Etgar located in Kibbutz Lahavot Haviva for a unique event which featured singing, dancing and more. The athletes put on a concert for over 120 residents of the facility which also included a band and a dance ensemble all decked out in Yellow & Blue.

Sharona, an expert on the Holiday spoke, about the seven species and fruits including figs, dates, olives and pomegranates as the athletes tasted them all with musical accompaniment. To top off the activity, Maccabinio took pictures with everyone as Maccabi dairies were handed out to all in attendance.

Reuven Astrachan, the Special Olympics Israel Executive Director commented: “I want to thank the whole Maccabi Tel Aviv family for this wonderful event. There’s no question that part of the relationship between Maccabi and Special Olympics isn’t just on the pitch but also in the community programming area which is no less important and gives so much more to our athletes.”

Maccabi World Union visits the Foundation at Kiryat Shalom

Interns working with the Maccabi World Union in preparation for this summer’s Maccabiah Games visited Kiryat Shalom for an all encompassing Maccabi Tel Aviv Foundation experience. Coming from the United States, Canada and Colombia, the group was comprised of athletes who participated in past Maccabiah Games along with university graduates in sports related fields.

Along with taking part in Foundation Head Josh Halickman’s presentation about Maccabi Tel Aviv through the History of the Modern Day State of Israel, they also met with First Team keeper Daniel Tenenbaum. The shot stopper immigrated to Israel from Brazil last summer and spoke to them about integrating into Israeli society and culture. The group also had the privilege to speak with Benny Tabak, the Maccabi Legend and current Club manager about football in Israel then and now and also participated in a training session on the Kiryat Shalom pitch with Under-15 coach Amir Sofer.

Halickman commented: “Maccabi World Union is an ideal partner for the Maccabi Foundation as we give those from abroad a taste of Zionism through Maccabi Tel Aviv and Israel via the Club’s rich history. We aim to ensure that each individual goes back home with their ties to the Holy Land strengthened through their Yellow & Blue experience. When they think Israel, they will now think Maccabi!”

Over 2,000 items donated for Foundation Coat Drive

The Maccabi Tel Aviv FC Foundation held a most successful coat drive in conjunction with HaBoydem as over 2,000 items including coats, sweatshirts and sweaters were donated to support the community. Whether it was dropping off a bag at one of the Official Club Stores or at the Netanya Stadium prior to one of Maccabi’s home matches, the fans came out in full force to help make this project a winner!

As an added bonus, anyone making a donation received a 50% Off coupon good towards the Club’s Winter Collection. In fact, when one of the fans saw this opportunity, he literally took the coat off of his back at the last home match and handed it to Foundation Head Josh Halickman as a donation and promptly purchased a brand new Maccabi winter coat.

Halickman commented: “This was an amazing activity that showed how the Yellow & Blue fans from around the country could be counted on to help those in need. The response was absolutely overwhelming and I’m positive that we will see the same reaction by our faithful when called upon to support Foundation projects throughout the year.”

For those that would like to donate clothing on a regular basis, HaBoydem isn’t just a regular clothing store but one whose goal is to create self-sustaining second hand clothing stores which is serviced by people with disabilities who are being trained and empowered to maximize their potential, and integrate back into the competitive workplace.

Eitan Tibi & Eli Dasa package food for Holocaust Survivors

Eitan Tibi and Eli Dasa spent Thursday afternoon putting together food packages for Holocaust survivors in the Jaffa area along with Maccabi supporters as part of Maccabi Tel Aviv FC Foundation programing. After arriving at the Jaffa Institute’s Food Distribution Center, which is located just a short walk away from the Yellow & Blue Training Facility at Kiryat Shalom, the players learnt about the plight of those who survived World War II and now find themselves aging and in need of the organization’s help.

Following the packaging, the boxes of food were delivered throughout the neighborhood as the Foundation volunteers were met with smiles and thanks by the recipients. Foundation Head Josh Halickman said: “In the long tradition of Maccabi Tel Aviv, it was the least we could do to mark International Holocaust Remembrance Day. It was extremely important to show that as a Club we do care about those who not only suffered through one of the Jewish People’s worst nightmares but are now struggling on a day to day basis.”

Avi Cohen’s Widow Speaks to Maccabi “Shachar”

Just prior to kicking off at Beitar Tubruk on Saturday, 12:00, the Maccabi “Shachar” players had the privilege to listen to Dorit Cohen, Avi Cohen z”l’s widow, about her husband’s illustrious career as a player for the Yellow & Blue and beyond.

Cohen tragically passed away just over six years ago due to a motorbike accident. Dorit along with Or Yarok and the Maccabi Tel Aviv FC Foundation are committed to keeping Avi’s legacy alive through programming with the youngsters and youth of Maccabi. Over the course of the presentation Dorit spoke about Avi’s life and times, how he was able to succeed and even have the opportunity to star for the Liverpool. The lecture was so moving that some of the participants began to cry.

Straight from the lecture, the players went to the training pitch and learnt about what type of influence alcohol can have and the dangers that it can cause especially when driving. The young Yellow & Blue put on special “Drunk Glasses” that impair your vision to show what it is like to have had to much to drink as attempted to dribble the ball and shoot at the goal. Here are the results:

פעילות למניעת נהיגה תחת השפעת אלכוהול