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 Summer is a dangerous time for the children in our care. As the school year ends, most children look forward to a long break filled with fun, games and relaxation. However, as their parents continue to work long hours these children find themselves unattended for most of the day. Wealthier parents can afford to enroll their children into summer camps; however, the parents of the children in our care are hardly in a financial position to do the same.
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For the children from our Bet Shemesh Residential Center, there are additional problems associated with the long summer break. Many of these children come from abusive and neglectful households, where they are targets for emotional and physical violence or simply left to fend for themselves, without any opportunity for meaningful or enjoyable summer activities.
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 The Bet Shemesh Summer Program is a residential summer activity program, which creates a unique summer experience. It combines Jewish, Zionist and secular studies with a special community volunteering and work experience. In addition, the children partake in sports and other recreational activities. The program runs for 8 weeks overall. 20% of camp participants are of Ethiopian descent.
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 In the mornings, students are assigned to "volunteering internships", spanning a broad spectrum of community assistance projects. Choices traditionally include:
4 soup kitchens - 3 in Jerusalem and one in Bet Shemesh
Senior Center- Bet Shemesh
Army base- Tel HaShomer
Special Education Nursery- Jerusalem
Intensive Care Senior Citizen Home - Emek HaEla
Hadassah Hospital- Ein Kerem
Protected factory for the Emotionally Disabled
Neighborhood Center for Children
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The idea behind this volunteering program is to instill into the students the values of voluntarism, helping others, charity, and tikkun olam ("repairing the world").
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 In the afternoons, the boys return to the Residential Center for a hot, nutritious lunch, educational enrichment classes in Math and English, and an elective. In addition, the boys can choose to study life guarding, electronics, computing and/or photography. After classes, the boys take part in recreational activities such as hiking, swimming, and field trips.
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 In the evenings, after dinner, the boys have free recreational time and participate in a variety of clubs including computers, sports, gym, chess or movies. The boys are taken on three full-day field trips over the course of the program. Past outings ranged from a day in Jerusalem learning about the rich history of the holy city, to a fun-packed trip to a Tel Aviv water park. Throughout the day, positive values of social responsibility, education and Jewish identity are stressed, giving the children in the program the chance to break away from troubled pasts and develop into healthy, successful and positive citizens.
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