Amarys Berry
Sharona Shamalova
Alan Abramzon
St. John's University
Charles Wankel
Keep this story going! Share below!
Olami is an organization that aims to inspire what they call “Jewish Greatness” or in other words, enabling Jews to reach their inner potential or greatness through teachings and values. The innovation emerged after noticing the rate of assimilation in Jewish college communities. The company focuses on a sense of community and education through trips to Israel, leadership programs, seminars, and other activities.
Through a number of benefactors joined together in order to create a worldwide organization to help reconnect Jewish students with their heritage. The organization consists of over 320 other organizations that help create Jewish leaders in the program through an extensive network of useful contacts and information. The organization does relate to a sense of mission when it comes to good health and wellbeing of the Jewish Community by bringing them together and creating opportunities for a greater future.
It is not everyday that we, as students, have the ability to sit down with the members of a big organization to discuss their success. Sitting down with a member of Olami to ask them about their innovative ideas has given us some insight on how they were able to grow the company so largely. Olami is an organization that has global goals, and aims to flourish the world. They have managed to reach and change the lives of so many that they have achieved their number one goal of going global. The work that they do has caught the eye of many donors that sponsor numerous events and provide opportunities for their students to become their best selves.
Olami, through a number of benefactors joined together, created a worldwide organization to help reconnect Jewish students with their heritage. The organization consists of over 320 other organizations that help create Jewish leaders in the program through an extensive network of useful contacts and information. The organization does relate to a sense of mission when it comes to good health and wellbeing of the Jewish community by bringing them together and creating opportunities for a greater future.
The idea came about originally when Jewish college communities seemed to be falling away from their heritage as assimilation became more common. As a means to bring back awareness of the heritage of the Jewish faith and bring out the best in the Jewish community, Olami was created, a global community with a united effort to guide and inspire Jewish leaders. “While every Olami member organization is independent, we all share a common vision, and work together through sharing of resources, ideas, programs, training and more in order to get us closer to that vision.” - Olami
The organization has done such a remarkable job in bringing together the Jewish community worldwide that it has gained the interest of many investors that are looking to see it grow even bigger. Because Olami has been able to bring together Jews in a unique way while helping them prosper in their careers, donors and volunteers have been able to open branches of the organization in over 300 locations. With the global reach that Olami has, they have been able to impact the lives of hundreds of thousands of Jews. Providing networking events for young professionals to connect with one another has created a community where they can learn from each other.
Because Olami is a non-profit organization they have had a big impact in societies where they have created small branches. Their outreach programs allow for students to have a place to in order to express themselves and meet new people. Olami is also responsible for the growth of the Jewish population as countless couples have been introduced through this organization.
At a time where anti-Semitism is at a high, Olami provides a safe space for Jews in a community to come together and discuss ways on how to fix the issues at hand. They also encourage students to get in touch with local Holocaust survivors to learn about their experiences and how it has shaped their life today. By doing this, Olami has created a friendly community out of place that used to be full of strangers.
The short term-effects of Olami has been to just educate Jews on their heritage and create a worldwide community where students and young professionals can depend on one another for support. The long-term effects are much greater than they could have ever imagined. Olami has been able to create such a large network in the Jewish community that has encouraged their students to create successful business, attend amazing universities, and travel the world through the help of generous donors. In return these students that have gone on to be successful entrepreneurs show thanks by donating back to this organization that has made this all possible for them.
“We are enthusiastic students and young professionals who want to be our best and make a difference in the world. We bring a vast and vibrant peer-to-peer network and social connections that span the globe.” -Olami
Olami’s innovation is a benefit to the business for many reasons. The main benefits are that it allows the business to grow and expand by establishing connections and through their teachings/values. The worldwide organization that was created allows for more people to create newfound connections and this in turn leads to countless opportunities for those people.
Additionally, the innovation has also resulted in investors taking interest as well as donors chipping in. All of these things will allow the business to continue to grow and be successful.
When it comes to the benefits of Olami’s innovation on society, this is all about creating a community of people who are driven and looking to achieve the same end goal and mission. This innovation can branch across all areas, whether that is local, state-wide or even globally.
The trips and various other programs give the people a feel for the community and that translates directly to society as a whole. The biggest key is that it teaches the people involved about creating opportunities for a greater future. These lessons can all be applied both to society as a whole as well as environmentally, which ultimately makes it invaluable and extremely beneficial.
Get stories of positive business innovations from around the world delivered right to your inbox.
Jackie Engel, Director of Leadership Development
Olami focuses on a sense of community and education through trips to Israel, leadership programs, seminars, and other activities. This aids Jewish students to reach their full potential.