The Israel Tennis & Education Centers Foundation is pleased to announce that it has been approved for a 3-year grant from the Robert & Toni Bader Charitable Foundation in the amount of $15,000. The funds will be used to support the ITEC’s English Language Proficiency Program at its center in Akko, Israel.
“On behalf of the children of Akko, we are delighted to be receiving this gift from the Robert and Toni Bader Charitable Foundation,” said Jacqueline Glodstein, ITEC Executive Vice President of Global Development. “In Israeli society, the ability to understand and converse in English is critical and highly sought by Israeli employers to compete successfully in today’s global economy. This program furthers ITEC’s mission because it provides Israeli children with vital knowledge, skills and opportunity for a promising future.”
Celebrating its 40th anniversary this year, the Israel Tennis & Education Centers is the largest social service agency for children in Israel, working tirelessly through the medium of sport to enhance the development of Israeli youth. Since opening its first center in Ramat Hasharon in 1976, the ITEC has helped over a half million children, many of whom reside in outlying and underserved communities throughout Israel. The ITEC’s 14 centers stretch from Kiryat Shmona on the Lebanese border in the North to Beer Sheva bordering the Negev Desert in the South.
The ITEC’s English Language Proficiency Program is unique because it is the only program in Israel that employs the sport of tennis in a welcoming and nurturing after school setting to teach English to underprivileged and immigrant Israeli youngsters, leading to academic achievement and social success. The program is currently offered at 8 other ITEC centers around the country and will eventually be expanded to all 14 of its centers. It will enable children to:
- Overcome their reluctance to speak English;
- Develop confidence and a heightened degree of proficiency to understand English;
- Acquire basic skills to converse in English;
The Robert & Toni Bader Charitable Foundation (RTBCF) is a Family Charitable Foundation created as a 501(c)(3) corporation in 2010 for the purpose of donating to other non-profit organizations to help achieve their goals of improving the world. The Bader family and the Foundation are based in Indianapolis. Robert Bader, with support from his wife Toni, founded Bader Company in 1985, eventually specializing in Self Storage Insurance and Insurance Marketing. They are active in the Jewish community in Indianapolis as well as other community outreach programs. After retiring, they decided to create the Foundation to share their success with their family and worthy causes like the Israel Tennis & Education Centers Foundation.