Young Hadassah Without Borders (YHWB): Celebrating One Year of Breaking Boundaries and Healing the World!
Four decades ago, the visionary Bernice S. Tannenbaum, former national president of Hadassah, The Women’s Zionist Organization of America (HWZOA), founded Hadassah International, igniting a spark that would change lives worldwide. She also created a legacy by setting up the Tannenbaum Young Hadassah International Endowment to support the development of young leaders at Hadassah International. Fast forward to 2022, a new generation of leaders embarked on a new adventure by creating Young Hadassah without Borders.
Uniting Global Leaders for the Greater Good
Young Hadassah Without Borders is a growing network of purpose-driven leaders whose focus is to create humanitarian transformation by promoting activities that impact health. Our mission? Inspire, engage, and empower young leaders who together with Hadassah International will create initiatives and projects that are meaningful, impactful, and sustainable, and can expand the Hadassah brand and awareness throughout the world.
From Zurich to New York via Jerusalem: Uniting Hearts Through a Borderless Journey of Impact
The 12 YHWB pioneers who met for the first time in August 2022 in Zurich, Switzerland led the way to a transformative journey that took 35 leaders to Jerusalem a few months later in November 2022. Representing 15 countries, these 35 young minds experienced the remarkable Hadassah Hospitals’ ecosystem firsthand. Months later, in June 2023, for the third time in one year, another exceptional conference was held in New York.
Growing Together and Changing Lives with Projects that Define Us
The bonds created over this year are strong and timeless, but it is the committed collaboration that has allowed dreams to transform into active initiatives. The program participants formed action groups based on their skill sets and interests, and identified needs that were deemed most important and would bring value to the world.
Global Pulse
The importance of saving lives led to a project that will spread awareness of basic life support all over the world. It went from theory to practice with the ‘Becoming First Responders‘ activity in New York. Collaborating with the Secure Community Network, the Global Pulse group organized training and real-life simulations to prepare the YHWB members to be ready to make a difference wherever help is needed.
Cases For Causes (C4C)
C4C is a global platform in its initial stage that seeks to unite world-class college students to address urgent health and social issues by scaling up solutions for maximum impact with minimum resources. It aims to bridge the gap between real-world problems mapped by NGOs and the case-solving competition format. This initiative is in the process of starting its pilot project.
Derech* Hadassah
By implementing psychological prevention and support services in clinics and hospitals, this project will improve the life of patients, their families, and the medical staff treating them. It will lead to better recovery rates for patients. Families will gain a better understanding of the challenges their loved ones face, enabling them to offer the necessary support during their medical journey.
* Derech / דרך in Hebrew means road. Derech Hadassah / Hadassah Road
Genetics and Fertility
Planning for a family starts before the conscious choice to conceive. This group is set to spread awareness about fertility and expand the Genetics Program started in Mexico to the rest of the World so young couples can make informed decisions about their reproductive health and prevent the passing of diseases to their children.
Empowering Leaders, Embracing Dreams
In the spirit of ‘Tikkun Olam’ – Healing the World – we set out to bring healing and hope to our planet. Our year has been filled with inspiring encounters, cultural exchanges, and the unwavering belief that no challenge is too great when we stand united. YHWB is about empowering the dreams of young leaders who dare to envision a better world.