The equalizer

The Equalizer program provides an educational-social-sportive afternoon framework for children in Israel's social periphery. The teams (of about 15 children per team) are run in conjunction with schools and participate in study centers, soccer practices and regional tournaments. The program works in middle and high schools as well as elementary, in order to provide a continuity for the children who start in the program and to turn them into future leaders of the program – while empowering them and building leadership skills. Over the summer, the high school students go through a training so they can serve as coaches, tutors and other positions in 11th and 12th grades. The project reaches most of Israel, from Kiryat Shmona to Eilat. The players include both boys and girls, Jews and Arabs, secular and religious, deaf and hearing disabilities, and Israel natives and new immigrants. It is a spectacular human tapestry created through the values of sport and tolerance.