This year, the Central Galilee's Volunteer Forum initiated a special Chanuka activity. Approximately 150 chanuka gifts were sent to our partner Federation in Michigan. The volunteers recruited families from the region who filled in a special form with personal information (name of the family members, where they work, age of children and e-mail address). These chanuka packages will be distributed to 150 families in the Detroit and Ann Arbor Jewish communities for Chanuka, with the hope of initiating new relationships across the ocean. The letters were accompanied with the following information sheet:

Hello and Happy Chanukah!

Partnership 2000 is an innovative way to build bridges -- human bridges -- between regions in Israel and Jewish communities in the Diaspora. We, from the Central Galilee (Nazareth Illit, Migdal Ha'Emek and the Jezreel Valley), are privileged to have the Detroit - Ann Arbor, Michigan communities as our partners. Under the auspices of the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit, and through the Jewish Agency, with whom we have been working for close to 5 years, our projects address a variety of areas of interest (education, Jewish Identity, economic development, health, community leadership, women's empowerment and more). These projects are aimed to enhance the quality of life in our communities as well as to strengthen the identification and bonds between Jews on opposite sides of the globe.

The Partnership 2000 volunteers of the Central Galilee region are happy and proud to be the sponsors of this Chanukah project which we hope will be the first stepping stone for you to become involved in a true Partnership by and for our communities here and abroad.

Thank you, welcome, and Happy Chanukah!

  December 1999