Bet Yatir is home to many children. The neighborhood playground gets a lot of healthy use. Mornings see young mothers with their smaller children who are not as yet in a structured setting. As soon as school lets out, the playground fills with children who fling backpacks onto park benches, peel off sweaters and shoes, and start playing. Even the evenings find the teens populating the playground, swinging lazily as they socialize, perched on painted ladders for a good talk with friends.

But the playground is no longer safe. Some of the equipment has deteriorated to such a dangerous degree that the apparatus must be replaced. And in order to install the new equipment properly, some basic groundwork must be done, to prepare the infrastructure. Safety is not a luxury... is not something that can be postponed. It is a necessity.

The Youth Center is a place of socializing for the children and teens of the community and acts as a center for local events. The residents would like to invest in their youth and make the recreation options richer and more stimulating. The parents are eager to create comfortable, attractive places of leisure for their growing population, and understand that in order to raise healthy young adults, activities must be varied and easily available.

Time and use have taken their toll on this Youth Center and it shows the healthy wear and tear that comes with steady, busy activity. There is a great need to renovate and restore the center. A new ceiling with lighting and window treatments would put a welcoming fresh face on the building. Ripping up the old carpeting and replacing it with more decorative flooring and furnishing the open area with cozy couches and chairs and plush bean bags, would make the entire open space more inviting. Add a new sound system, and you can already picture the kids flocking to this home away from home.