Empowering people with Special Needs

Over the past months, Eitan has been diligently working on the expansion of its operations throughout the Shefela (lowland) region of Israel. Communities residing in these regions often lack access to services freely available to inhabitants of the country's central locations. Consequently, disabled members of said communities are deprived of life-changing rehabilitative programs. To this end, we've set the following goals:

• Increase in number of trainers to 22 professionals working in the region
• Increase in the number of trainees in said region to 120 until the end of 2023
• Integration of newly designated professionals into training centers throughout the region.
• Financial sustainability

So far, we’ve been able to recruit a new regional coordinator who had his professional beginnings with us, and so is very much part of our organizational DNA. We've also enlisted the services 2 other trainers, thus doubling the original number of trainers, with a total of 6 trainers now working in the region,  

Other plans of note include future collaborations with various schools across the country, as well as preparations for the annual return of Eitan Run. This socially empowering event has become a tradition, attracting thousands of individuals for a one-of-a-kind, unifying experience.

As more people are becoming aware of the unique benefits of our programs, demand for our services is growing faster than our ability to deliver them. We are looking for new partners and supporters to ensure that all Israelis with special needs are able to benefit from professional fitness training.

Finally, we'd like to share with one of our most recent success stories:

Yahav is a high functioning 12-year-old boy with ASD, who enjoys video games and watching television. He is reluctant to leave the house and avoids physical exercise. His mother felt that a strict regiment of outdoor activities will do wonders for him, and so came to us seeking help. She wanted him to come out of his shell and engage with his surroundings. At first, he was reluctant to go outside, crying at the beginning of each session, fearing the mocking and jeering stares of onlookers. Today, after 4 months of routine trainings, Yahav, with the help of his trainer, Ofra, has been able to conquer his doubts and is visibly more confident and assured of himself. He's not preoccupied with the potential judgment of others, and arrives to each session with determination and enthusiasm. Not only that, but he also began practicing his exercises indoors, independent from his work with his trainer.

We are happy to report that throughout these past months Eitan has been pressing on with its mission, gradually expanding its field of impact so as to better address the needs, physical and emotional, of the disabled community in Israel. This ongoing endeavor entails the distribution of our training programs and groups within Israel's socio-geographic periphery.

Communities residing in these far-away regions often lack access to services freely available to inhabitants of the country's central regions. Consequently, disabled members of said communities are deprived of life-changing rehabilitative programs. To this end, we've been working on securing our organizational infrastructure in various periphery-based localities. One such initiative is currently underway in the Galilee region, where we are in the midst of recruiting a team of 21 trainers, coordinators, a dietitian and a regional director. Once preparations are completed will be able to launch our services and engage hundreds of disabled individuals from the northern part of Israel.

Other plans of note include future collaborations with various schools across the country, as well as preparations for the annual return of Eitan Run. As you may recall, the previous event was attended by President Yitzhak Hertzog and joined by more than 1800 runners, both disabled and non-disabled. This socially empowering event has become a tradition, attracting thousands of individuals for a one-of-a-kind, unifying experience.

As more people are becoming aware of the unique benefits of our programs, the demand for our services is growing faster than our ability to deliver them. We are looking for new partners and supporters to ensure that all Israelis with special needs are able to benefit from professional fitness training.