Imagine a Community
Where Everyone Belongs
Our Programs
Imagine a community where—regardless of a person’s religion, cultural background, socioeconomic status, or ability—everyone is accepted, respected, and empowered to live the lives of their dreams. A community where people are celebrated for their ability to thrive, and not judged for their disabilities. Just outside of Tel Aviv in the city of Ramat Gan, a sport center offers this very community to every person who enters through its doors.
The Israel ParaSport Center transforms lives. Founded more than 60 years ago, The Center’s mission to empower people with disabilities through sports has helped thousands of Israelis lead successful lives. The Israel ParaSport Center currently serves more than 2,900 children and adults with disabilities annually through both its holistic rehabilitative and competitive sports programs. Everyone can participate in various adaptive sports; from wheelchair basketball and rugby to boccia and wheelchair table tennis, every athlete is empowered to meet and exceed their goals on and off the court.
Children and adults with disabilities are unbound by societal expectations through Israel ParaSport Center programs. With the help of The Center’s staff, children and adults with disabilities gain self-confidence, learn new skills, find community, and successfully integrate into Israeli society.
The Children’s Program
One of The Center’s flagship programs, the Children’s Program serves children with disabilities, ages 4-21, offering rehabilitative and competitive parasport components as well as social support for children and their families. The program serves children from all over Israel who suffer from congenital and acquired disabilities, including terror victims.
The Frank Family Outreach Program
The Frank Family Outreach Program is the brainchild of Atlanta philanthropists Lois and Larry Frank and their family. It started as an initiative to offer the services of The Center to children who cannot access it on a regular basis, due to either geographical reasons, financial or domestic circumstances. What started as an experimental bus service developed into a life-changing program that answers the needs of some of the most underprivileged children in Israel, who suffer, in addition to their disability, from poverty, domestic instability, and limited access to services. As a result, The Center has become a hub where some children, for the first time, are seen and evaluated by an external organization, governmental or non-governmental. This means that some children, who live under horrifying circumstances such as domestic violence or even food insecurity, are evaluated and referred to the authorities for the first time, thanks to this program.
The Preschool
A part of The Center for more than 25 years, the Preschool Program serves 90 children (aged 3-6) with a large percentage coming from disadvantaged families. The Preschool Program is comprised of four classrooms, which are open six days a week from 8:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. (1:00 p.m. on Fridays), and under the supervision of the Ministry of Education’s Special Education Department. The children at the Center’s Preschool have disabilities from devastating injuries or diseases. Many were born with cerebral palsy, and therefore have typical developmental learning difficulties. The holistic rehabilitative approach of the Preschool constitutes the main services and treatments needed: physical, occupational, and speech therapy; hydrotherapy; and emotional support for both children and their families. In addition, the kids also use The Center’s sports facilities.
The MVP Program
A recent addition, the MVP program is a dynamic group of 12 elite wheelchair basketball players who are selected by the club’s professional committee every quarter. These players commit to and must meet certain conditions consistently, including a certain training volume and a commitment to studying, working, and/or volunteering at The Center. In return, the players receive an array of services and support that include extra court time, equipment, medical services, fitness training, training camps, mental counseling, and a level of wheelchair basketball training that has not yet been seen in Israel.
The Olympikids Program
This initiative is geared toward children with disabilities who aspire to reach athletic excellence and prepares them to become Paralympic athletes.
Satellite Campus in Be’er Sheva
The Israel ParaSport Center’s Be’er Sheva satellite program, in the Negev, reopened in 2021. This program offers various adaptive sports including wheelchair basketball, para-archery, boccia, swimming, goalball, and more. Children of the Bedouin, Muslim, and Jewish communities, for whom these services or activities were previously inaccessible, can now participate at one or more of the various locations on a weekly basis. In 2023, participation from these underserved communities increased to 100 children receiving needed social and rehabilitative services each week.
The Recreational Sports and Social Program
This program offers people with disabilities, from the young to the elderly, the opportunity to participate in recreational sports and activities such as wheelchair basketball, wheelchair tennis, wheelchair table tennis, wheelchair rugby, adapted swimming, fitness, yoga, Pilates, wheelchair dancing, hand cycling, boccia, arts, choir, and more. The purpose of the program, which runs five times a week in the morning and twice a week in the afternoon/evening, is to help people with disabilities, as part of their rehabilitation process, to lead a healthy lifestyle, to participate in social life and maintain their physical and mental condition. The various disabilities served by the program include car accident injuries, progressive medical conditions, and specific illnesses such as Parkinson’s disease, stroke survivors, cerebral palsy, and other orthopedic and neurological conditions. The program also includes essential social services, offering aid to the participants and their families.