Masira Grand Fundraising Gala in Nazareth
Masira Grand Fundraising Gala in Nazareth
In 2006, JDC-Israel's Disabilities Unit, with the support of Yad Hanadiv Rothschild Foundation, established the Masira (“Journey”) Program for the Advancement of the Status of People with Disabilities in Arab Society in Israel. Since its establishment, Masira has made great inroads both in developing services for people with disabilities, raising awareness on issues related to disabilities in the Arab community as well as develop a culture of philanthropy in the community.
In 2013, Masira turned a program that promotes the wellbeing of people in disabilities within Arab society into a structured philanthropic fund advancing these issues. With over 650 participants, on February 28th, JDC's Masira Fund, held a grand fundraising gala in Nazareth that included various performances by Arab musicians as well as awards of appreciation certificates to Arab businesses that have contributed to the fund. The transformation of Masira into a fund creates a precedent for structured philanthropy in Arab society and, as the recent Gala showed, has succeeded in attracting the commitment and attention of Arab business and cultural leaders throughout Israel.
Over 200,000 Arab-Israeli adults (of employment age) live with disabilities in Israel. The percentage of employment-age adults living with disabilities (14%) is significantly higher amongst Israel’s Arab population than in the population at large (5%). Although the numbers are almost three times as high, the resources available to help this population are far fewer.