| American Dental Volunteers for Israel | |
|---|---|
| Abbreviation | ADVI |
| Formation | 1972 |
| Extinction | Late 1980s |
| Type | Voluntary association |
| Legal status | Non Profit Organization |
| Purpose/focus | Providing Dental Volunteer Service |
| Headquarters | Great Neck, New York, United States |
| Location | Israel and United States |
| Founder and Chairman | Dr. Robert S. Breakstone |
| Volunteers | 1,500 |
American Dental Volunteers for Israel was a voluntary organization of dentists and dental hygienists from the United States providing services in Israel.
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Founded in 1972, by Dr. Robert S. Breakstone, ADVI was the first organization to establish a framework in which American dental professionals could volunteer their services in Israel. Its mission was to provide free high-level professional dental care for Israelis primarily on Kibbutzim. ADVI was set up after Dr. Breakstone first volunteered on Kibbutz Sha'ar HaAmakim in 1970. Upon returning to the USA he established ADVI, and was able to secure the cooperation of the emissary of the Kibbutz Aliyah Desk in New York in placing hundreds of dentists who were prepared to offer their services for a minimum of two weeks each year in return for modest accommodations on a Kibbutz. Eight years later in 1980, a parallel organization, Dental Volunteers for Israel (DVI)[1] was created to provide dental services in Israeli urban settings. ADVI slowly phased out in the late 1980s as Israel began producing enough dentists to fill the country's needs.
At its height ADVI was sending between 200 and 300 dentists a year to Israel, with an estimated 1500 dental volunteers throughout its existence.[2] Volunteers were asked to pay $35 of dues a year.