Latest Poverty Study Underscores the Work of the Israel Tennis Centers in Helping the Children of Israel

​​As the largest social service agency for children in Israel, the work of the Israel Tennis Centers has never been more vital to the welfare of Israel’s children than it was this past year. That was made crystal clear by the results of a 2016 study conducted by the humanitarian aid organization NGL Latet and published in last week’s Jerusalem Post:

There are now over one million children living under the poverty line in Israel… one out of every three Israeli young people.

Little wonder why Israeli children are also lagging behind their peers in reading, math and science, according to the latest results of The Program for International Assessment (PISA) test released this week. The PISA exam, which has been administered every three years since 2000 in 72 countries, aims to assess educational systems by measuring students’ skills in literacy, math and science.

According to the results, Israel’s achievement in science ranked Israel in 40th place. Similarly, average math scores placed Israeli children in 39th place and science in 37th place. The findings further indicated that only 13.9% of Israel students were “top performers” in at least one subject compared to the average of over 15%.

What all this underscores is the extraordinarily important role that the Israel Tennis Centers must continue to play in helping to provide these families with a safe and nurturing place for their children. For further information on the Israel Tennis Centers and how people can support the ITC’s programs, visit www.israeltenniscenters.org/donate.

About the Israel Tennis Centers Foundation:

For 40 years, the Israel Tennis Centers Foundation (ITC), a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization, has worked tirelessly through the medium of sport to enhance the development of Israeli youth. Since opening its first center in Ramat Hasharon in 1976, the ITC has helped over a half million children, many of whom come from outlying and underserved towns throughout Israel. The ITC’s 14 centers stretch from Kiryat Shmona on the Lebanese border in the North to Beer Sheva bordering the Negev Desert in the South. http://www.israeltenniscenters.org.

Contacts:

Jacqueline Glodstein
​Executive Vice President, Global Development
212-784-9201

Richard Weber
Global Director of Marketing
212-784-9202

Source: Israel Tennis Centers