ESRA has been going strong for 36 years and over the past 10 years it has more than doubled in size, now with more than 20 branches. It soon became impossible for the chairpersons of all the new branches, some of which were quite a distance from the center, to attend meetings at the ESRA offices. So it was decided to divide the branches into regions, North, Central and South and for the branches in those regions to get together regularly.
The fastest growing region was the North, with new branches in Haifa, Nahariya (North Coast, Carmiel, Tiberias (Jordan Valley) and the newest, Yokneam. On September 1, it held its fourth regional meeting, hosted by the Carmiel branch.
The northern region is incredibly active, with innovative events, regular clubs and a busy social schedule. The ESRA website is the main source of information about ESRA branch activity all over Israel, and a look at the calendar will show how many really unusual and interesting events are happening in the north.
The regional meetings are similarly structured; they all open with updates from the attending branches and deal with subjects of interest to ESRA generally. This includes fundraising, volunteering, membership, projects and the relationship with the community.