UIA Young Families launched in Sydney
Israel came to Sydney as UIA’s new division, Young Families, celebrated their launch event at the Entertainment Quarter in Moore Park on Yom Yerushalayim.
Over 1,000 parents and young children came together to celebrate Israel in a fantastic display of community.
The event theme was a trip to Israel so hundreds of excited children were treated to activities that represented each Israeli city or region: camel rides in the Negev, a kibbutz petting zoo in the Galil, a giant inflatable mountain slide in the Golan, a sandpit beach in 
Eilat and the famous Tel Aviv music scene was captured by live musical entertainment. In Jerusalem, children were invited to write notes and stick them between the bricks of a very realistic mini kotel. These notes will now be transported by the UIA to the kotel in Jerusalem! Families also enjoyed quieter moments as they relaxed in a Bedouin tent while sharing their Israeli lunch of felafel and hot chips, followed by free ice cream.
Young Families Chair Caroline Bolot was ecstatic. “To see three years of work and vision come together like this was incredible! The community response was remarkable and it was fantastic to see so many young families turn out for a day celebrating Israel and the UIA. We are so 
grateful to everyone who helped make it possible. In addition to the tireless UIA office staff, we had nearly 50 committed volunteers working hard all day to make the event run smoothly… plus, many had also given up evenings in the previous weeks to help with preparations.”
“Seeing so many kids and their parents having fun and connecting in a meaningful way to Israel and our community was just amazing,” remarked UIA NSW CEO Yair Miller. “This was one of the most fantastic communal events I have attended in many years and we are still receiving such positive feedback about how much fun both children and parents had. This is a really exciting new direction for UIA NSW and we look forward to continued engagement with our young families as we grow and discover new opportunities for them to support Israel alongside their children.”
