Where will you serve?
Tikkun Olam: Repair the World. That’s a pretty ambitious goal. Luckily, in the field of Jewish service, with great ambition comes great programming. There are so many organizations out there working every day to make a difference, and providing volunteers with the opportunity, knowledge, and partnership to have a positive impact on the world. But, with so many options and so much to be done, how do you choose the service program that is not only right for you, but the program in which YOU can make the biggest difference?
We know how.
This year, six Jewish non profit organizations are joining forces, as a force for good. We want you to be able to dedicate your time and energy to the causes you are passionate about through a year of service or long-term immersive service program. We also want to make sure you have everything you need to find the program that is the best fit for YOU, all in one place. Below you’ll find a range of excellent long-term service programs, and links to all of the information you need to thoroughly explore each program, your questions and qualifications, and the potential impact you can have on the world.
The Opportunities
Avodah
Apply to AVODAH: The Jewish Service Corps and spend next year fighting poverty, building community and gaining leadership skills for a lifetime. Work full-time at a local nonprofit in Chicago, New Orleans, New York City, or Washington DC, gaining substantive experience on crucial issues like immigration, housing rights, food justice, education, public health, and domestic violence. Learn from veteran organizers, activists, and educators about how to make change while viewing your work through a Jewish lens. Live together with your fellow corps members (age 21-26) and build a community committed to integrating social justice and Jewish values. Join the AVODAH Alumni Network, a group of hundreds of leaders who will provide community and support throughout your career. You’ll get a monthly living stipend, travel money, health insurance, and may be eligible for an AmeriCorps Education Award. The Priority Application deadline is January 31st. The program begins in late August 2016 and runs to mid August 2017. Reach out to Recruitment and Outreach Coordinator Russ Agdern at apply@avodah.net with any questions.
Hazon
Hazon offers multiple immersive opportunities to build healthier and more sustainable communities in the Jewish world and beyond:
42 hens, 12 goats, 10 acres of land, a dozen young Jews and 5776 years of cultural evolution: Adamah. Learn skills, build community and feed the soil and your soul at Adamah. The Adamah Fellowship is a three-month leadership training program for Jewish young adults that integrates organic farming, sustainable living, Jewish learning, community building, and contemplative spiritual practice. Adamah is located in the Connecticut Berkshires, where fellows live surrounded by the beauty of the natural world and Hazon’s unique all-stream Jewish Retreat Center. Applications are currently open for all 2016 cohorts:
Spring: April 11th – June 19th
Summer: June 15th – August 21st
Fall: August 17th – November 20th
Work for Teva! Our longest-running environmental education program works to fundamentally transform Jewish education through experiential learning that fosters sustainability through the lenses of ecology, food, and place-based learning. As a Teva educator, you will have the opportunity to explore the deep connections between ecology and Judaism, strengthen your teaching skills, live in a vibrant and pluralistic Jewish community, and form long-lasting relationships with fellow educators. Teva is now accepting applications for the Summer Topsy Turvy Bus Tour and the Fall 2016 Season.
The JOFEE Fellowship seeks to invigorate the Jewish educational landscape by seeding Jewish communities with a cadre of outstanding Jewish Outdoor, Food, and Environmental Educators. The core of our year-long fellowship and certification program is built around professional placements at host institutions throughout the country. Fellows will also receive intensive training, mentorship, and support from leading educators and other professionals in the JOFEE field. Applications for 2017-2018 will open in late summer 2016. Please be in touch with jofee@hazon.org to be notified when applications open.
Can’t wait to get involved? Attend the first annual JOFEE Network Gathering June 6-9th at Isabella Freedman!
Pearlstone Center
This summer, come live, teach, farm, and celebrate on The Pearlstone Campus – a gorgeous 160-acre ball of light located in Reisterstown, MD – 30 minutes outside Baltimore. Fellows will live in our beautiful new Eco-Cabin, adjacent to our 7-acre working organic farm featuring orchards, vineyard, educational gardens, goats, chickens, and sheep. Fellows will be empowered and supported while leading dynamic experiential youth programs Monday-Thursday in Jewish Outdoor Food & Environmental Education (JOFEE), integrating DIY farm-to-table food, natural building, wilderness skills and forest ecology, low and high ropes adventure course, music, nature art, and more. In May we focus on our immersive Chesapeake Teva program for Jewish day schools; in June we work with underprivileged students from Baltimore City Public Schools; and mid June-August we will knock the socks off of local JCC campers. Prior informal education experience is required. Fellows will receive financial compensation along with room, board, and a life-changing experience. Join us! To find out more info, or to apply, contact Casey Yurow: casey@pearlstonecenter.org
Repair the World
Apply now for the 2016-17 Repair the World Fellowship, an 11-month opportunity for young adults ages 21 to 26 to engage and challenge the Jewish community to address social justice issues through meaningful volunteering. Fellows will recruit, train, and serve alongside volunteers to bring about real community change around education justice and food justice. Fellows gain skills in volunteer engagement, program planning and facilitation, service learning, and deep knowledge in food or education justice. The Fellowship takes place in four dynamic cities — Detroit, New York City, Philadelphia, and Pittsburgh. Repair the World will provide training, a living stipend, communal housing, health insurance, and other perks. The first deadline to apply is January 31. Learn more and apply here.
The Urban Adamah Fellowship
Earth, Community, Social Justice, Jewish Spirituality.
The Urban Adamah Fellowship, based in Berkeley, CA, is a three-month residential training program for young adults (ages 21–31) that combines urban organic farming, social justice training and progressive Jewish learning and living in intentional community. Through the operation of Urban Adamah’s one-acre organic farm and internships with social justice organizations, fellows gain significant skills, training and experience in sustainable urban agriculture, Jewish spirituality, intentional community, social justice and leadership development.
Upcoming 2016 Fellowships:
Summer: June 9th – August 26th
Fall: September 4th – November 22th
We accept 12–14 fellows per season with admission on a rolling basis. Visit the Urban Adamah website to learn more and to request an application.
JOIN for Justice
JOIN for Justice is seeking courageous and dynamic justice-seekers for a year-long training program for aspiring community organizers committed to working with communities to build their own power. The Jewish Organizing Fellowship runs from September 2016 to August 2017. It is a paid Boston-based professional development opportunity for Jewish young adults (21-30) to become full-time community organizers for social justice organizations, explore their Jewish identity together, and grow as leaders in pursuit of social justice. The early bird deadline is January 20, and the regular deadline is April 6. Apply online here.
JOIN for Justice also invites people of all ages to learn organizing through our online course Don’t Kvetch, Organize! Registration opens January 5th for our Spring session, and you can find out more here.
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