Davidson Institute's programs and activities are executed by its five units:
The PERACH program was established in 1974 by a handful of students from the Weizmann Institute of Science, who tutored children in need.
PERACH, an acronym in Hebrew for "tutoring project", also means a "flower".
This national tutorial program pairs up children from a disadvantaged background with university students who act as their mentors. The students receive a partial scholarship and/or academic credits in return to their work with children, while PERACH children receive the care that helps them realize their potential and blossom into motivated individuals.
Today, approximately 15% of all students in Israel’s institutes of higher education and tens of thousands of children in need are taking part in the project each year.
Perach children come from a disadvantaged socio-economic background, often suffering from educational, emotional and behavioral difficulties. Approximately 20% of PERACH children are new immigrants, with equal numbers coming from the Arab sector.
Perach also runs many tutorial group activities, nine hands-on science centers and fifty science-enrichment centers in peripheral areas and under-resourced neighborhoods all over Israel.
Being the largest organization of its kind in the world, Perach has become a source of inspiration and practical support to similar organizations, now operating in about twenty countries worldwide.
In 2008, the 60th anniversary of the State of Israel, PERACH was awarded the Israel Prize, for its ongoing contribution to the state and society.