Change The Future Of Education With AMIT
(Courtesy of AMIT) In March 2020, AMIT Executive Vice President Andrew Goldsmith received an unexpected phone call from AMIT National Board Member Evan Green. Evan pledged a multi-million-dollar gift from the Evan & Layla Green Family Foundation to launch AMIT’s Kfar Batya new campus. “It was an act of philanthropic heroism, pure and simple,” said Goldsmith. “When the whole world turned dark during Covid, Evan and Layla lit a torch, which gave us a huge organizational boost of confidence.”
The Evan & Layla Green Family Foundation Gogya Building will serve as the heart of AMIT’s new campus at Kfar Batya, welcoming students and educators from across its school network. The Gogya Building will also house AMIT headquarters, Visitors Center, and the Audrey Lookstein Educators’ Innovation Center, an incubator for skills development for staff and students in AMIT’s 91 schools and beyond.
The Greens are proud to lead the way in making the Kfar Batya campus a reality. They hope their gift will inspire others who share a passion for Israel, innovation, and education to take leaps of their own and support this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
“To be a major part of this campus is a unique opportunity,” said Evan. “This one-of-a-kind environment is not only changing the education system in Israel but has the potential to impact teaching methodologies all over the world.”
A visionary entrepreneur, Evan is the founder of Personiv, an outsourcing company with a team of 3,000 worldwide. Layla owns a successful skin care business. Together, the couple is committed to making a difference through philanthropy and investing new initiatives.
Evan’s late mother, Carolyn B. Green, inspired his decades-long connection to AMIT. An avid supporter of the organization, she instilled in her children the importance of giving, making it part of daily life.
In 2015, Evan and Layla participated in AMIT’s 90th Israel Mission where they saw firsthand how AMIT works, particularly with students who are on the periphery. “Many of them come from homes that are economically disadvantaged,” said the Greens. “It was touching to see how AMIT reached kids who did not excel in traditional academic environments and gave them a pathway to flourish and reach their full potential.”
The Greens were especially moved by their tour of AMIT’s mishpachtonim, the family unit apartments that provide a safe and loving refuge for children from difficult homes. The children live at the mishpachtonimduring the week with a warm and caring married couple who act as supportive surrogate parents. After their trip, the Green family sponsored a mishpachton at AMIT Kfar Blatt Youth Village in memory of Evan’s mother—a fitting tribute for a woman who gave so much of herself to help others.
On that same mission, the Greens were amazed by the Gogya concept.
At the forefront of 21st-century educational models, Gogya offers collaborative learning environments that focus on interpreting and applying knowledge that is already at students’ fingertips, thanks to the ubiquity of technology today.
Gogya’s values-based education model also appealed to the Greens. “Gogya educates students to be responsible citizens, instilling the values to make them capable and caring students and leaders in life.”
And the data speaks for itself. The Greens see AMIT’s measurable results as a great return on their investment: 93% of students graduate with a bagrut diploma; 98% serve in the IDF or national service.
Based in Las Vegas, the Evan & Layla Green Family Foundation focuses much of its grant-making on helping underprivileged children. The Greens see Kfar Batya as the ultimate place to make a difference in countless young lives.
“Children are the future of any nation,” said Evan. “When you educate a child, you change a life. When you educate many children, you strengthen a nation. And when you break ground in new educational methodologies, you can change the world.”
