Upcoming Alumni Events
National
AVODAH Alumni Retreat
Seventy-two
alumni and sweethearts have registered for the AVODAH alumni retreat. If you have not yet
registered but would like to join us please call Rachel ASAP at 646-525-3613. You can check out who is coming to the
AVODAH Alumni Retreat here. You can fill out the retreat registration form by
clicking here. See you at the
retreat on Friday, January 9th.
Bay Area
100
Days, 100 Ways
On January 20th,
2009, a new administration will take office, and in the first 100 days
President-elect Barack Obama will begin laying out his plan. In this historic political moment, what's your vision
for change and what will you do to help make it a reality? Join
other young Jews committed to social justice for a night of reflecting,
strategizing, connecting and taking action. Whether this year's election
countdown had you phone banking, door knocking, or just glued to CNN, take time
to reexamine your role in your community, your country and your
world. - REFLECT on the
elections
-
DREAM BIG about the ways
you want our policies/communities/engagement to look
like
-
CONNECT with people and
projects that are working to create a more socially just and caring
society
-
ACT in new ways- big and
small- that promote tikkun olam
-
BUILD a movement of social
change makers working on critical issues, from prison reform to climate
change
When: January 22, 7-9
p.m
Where: The Women's
Building, Audre Lorde Room 3453
18th Street, SF.
RSVP: To Heidi. Bay Area Eco Tu B'Shvat SederEmerge from your winter
sleep and start a new cycle as we celebrate Tu B'Shvat, the Jewish New Year for
the Trees. Together we will reinterpret this mystical holiday and raise our
consciousness with hands-on and thought-provoking experiences throughout the
day. This year we have many offerings and activities during the day as well as
the Seder in the evening. We'd love to see you there! Save the date and reserve
your space now!
Details at
www.bayareaecoseder.org
Date: Erev Tu B'Shvat, Sunday, February 8, 2009
Time: 5:15 p.m. Doors Open, 6:00 p.m. Seder Begins
Location: The Women's Building, 3543 18th Street, San Francisco RSVP and questions: Contact
Heidi
Boston
Book Club
Mark your calendars for book club in beantown. The group will be discussing The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri.
When: Sunday, January 4 (time tba)
Where: Harvard Square (address tba)
RSVP: To Amy Horning (DC 04-05).
DC
Study Justice and Jewish Thought in Spring 2009!
For twelve weeks this spring, members of Jews United For Justice and of the AVODAH-AJWS Partnership will gather to explore how race, class, and gender & sexual identity intersect with and affect our identities as Jews and our work for social justice. We are excited to partner with JUFJ to offer this class for the second
time. Sixteen JUFJ members (including five AVODAH
alumni!) participated in the class' first session.
We
will meet on twelve Wednesday evenings; each session will last two
hours. Advanced readings will include works by Judith Plaskow, Melanie
Kaye/Kantrowitz, Audre Lorde, Paul Kivel, and many others. Classes will be discussion-based, facilitated by participants, and held in participants' homes around the DC area.
Justice and Jewish Thought can accommodate fifteen participants.
When: February-May 2009. Applications are due by Friday, January 9. First class meets Wednesday, February 4th.
Where: All over DC!
RSVP: To request an application form, email Darya Mattes (DC 05-06) at info@jufj.org.
Presidential Inauguration 2009
We are working with other DC Jewish-Justice organizations to have a pre-Inaguration Havdalah event. Please get in touch with Jessie if you want to help us plan the event and bring Jews and Justice into the spotlight over inauguration weekend.
New York
AVODAH-AJWS-Hazon Book Club
Please join us for our next book club discussion of Paulo Freire's Pedagogy of the Oppressed. The book club is open to staff, alumni, and friends of our organizations.
When: January 27, 2009, 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Where: AJWS Office, 45 West 36th St., 10th Floor
RSVP: Suzanne Lipkin - You may also submit suggestions for the next book selection.
Presidential Inauguration 2009
We are working on bringing the community together for an evening
inauguration re-play party for everyone who will be unable to slip away
from work or school during the day's events on January 20th. Please get
in touch with Audrey or with the AJWS-AVODAH NY City Team to help plan the gathering and bring the new administration in with a bang!
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What's Been Happening in the Alumni
Community
Bay Area
Over 400 Bay Area folks joined the
AVODAH-AJWS Partnership, The Hub at JCCSF, JDub and Progressive Jewish Alliance
on the first night of Hanukkah at the
Super 8: Hub Hanukkah Party. Eight local activists lit candles in the Festival of
Rights. Two JDub bands (DeLeon and Sway Machinery) and DJ Betsy-La entertained
the crowd with vibrant tunes while folks ate latkes, schmoozed, and were
inspired by the work of many of PJAs partner
organizations.
DC
On December 14th, fifty alumni, friends, board members, and
current Corps members partied at the Juniper Street Bayit for an AVODAH Pre-Chanukah Celebration. We shared
in lovingly homemade food, including potato and pumpkin latkes! It
was great to see over fifteen alumni from 6 different years in the same
place, and to meet new members of the DC community.
Over fifty alumni and friends gathered at GreenLight-DC's Sustainable Hanukah Celebration on Monday,
December 22, at the beautiful Josephine Butler Parks
Center. We ate local
latkes, learned about how to host a green AND just party, about local
environmental justice campaigns in DC, and ate delicious organic fair trade
chocolate. Local applesauce was made by Darya Mattes (DC 05-06), and many AVODAHniks - including Mollie Churchill (NY 00-01), Lindsey Morris (DC 07-08), current Corps
members Myla Green and Sara Mosenkis, and others - all joined in the Hanukah
fun.
New York
On Sunday, December 7th,
more than 120 people gathered at the NY Society for Ethical Culture for
Inside the Activists' Studio (IAS). The signature portion of the day
was a dynamic panel featuring emerging Jewish change makers and
moderated by veteran NY activist, Cindy Greenberg. Following the panel,
participants attended the workshop of their choice, with topics ranging
from online organizing to fundraising for change to sustaining
ourselves as Jewish activists. AVODAH's very own Serena Zeise (DC
03-04) facilitated a workshop on working for change within the
political system. To read a detailed description of the day's
happenings, visit JVoices. The
event was spearheaded by the AVODAH-AJWS Partnership and developed in
close collaboration with Jews for Racial and Economic Justice, the New
Israel Fund's New Generations, and the Young Leaders of the Hebrew
Immigrant Aid Society. Inside the Activists' Studio was also
co-sponsored by a host of organizations including several synagogues,
blogs, and other Jewish social justice groups.
On Monday, December 15th, thirty people came together at the 14th
Street Y for the AJWS-AVODAH NY City Team's second event of the year:
Jew Roots! Jew Roots! was an opportunity to delve into facilitated discussions
about the connections people make between their Jewish lives and social
justice work. After participating in a revealing ice-breaker on
questions of Jewish identity. Zach Strassburger (NY 06-07), Sarra Alpert (NY
02-03), and Miriam Eisenberger (NY 02-03) all played leading roles in
the evening's program. After the wrap up, participants continued their
meaty discussions at the Crocodile Lounge, over beer and pizza! The AVODAH-AJWS NY City Team is made up of alumni of both AVODAH and AJWS who have committed to organizing three events over the course of the
year that can help to build and strengthen the community of young
Jewish changemakers in NY.
On
Wednesday, December 24th, JDub Records hosted Jewltide, its annual
Hannukah bash, at Southpaw in Brooklyn. This
year, the AVODAH-AJWS Partnership joined in on the fun by contributing the
Hannukah Justice Spin. In between the dancing and the doughnut eating, people were
encouraged to wager on their commitment to social justice by spinning the
dreidels that were scattered around the venue and following the accompanying
Justice Spin rules. Two bands performed, including The Shondes featuring AVODAH
alum Temim Fruchter (NY 02-03). Close to 300 people came out for the event which
was, by all accounts, a raging success!
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AVODAH News
A New Year's Greeting from AVODAH!
Whether your wishes are for personal evolution or global revolution, may your strong constitution enable you to enact all your New Year's resolutions.
AVODAH in the News
Inside the Activists' Studio was featured in a lovely blog post on JVoices. Thanks to everyone who helped make the event so successful and noteworthy.
Help AVODAH's Recruitment Efforts
Please
help AVODAH recruit applicants for the 2009-2010 year! We will get our best
applicants with your help. The application is due February 6th.
1. Spread the word about
AVODAH: send an email to talented individuals who should apply
AND to family, friends, and colleagues who can help spread the word. The more
people that know about the program the better. Please send 5-7 emails out about
applying to AVODAH.
2. Donate your status to
AVODAH through facebook, IM, and gchat. Simply add a line
saying Apply to AVODAH. Start this today and have it run through February 1.
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Alumni Highlights
Julie Lipson (DC 06-07) and Justin Shear (DC 06-07) have started Beit Kayam, an eco-Jewish co-op in Portland, OR. Check out the article about Kayam in The Jewish Review and visit Kayam's website.
Mazel Tov to Jessica Weiss (NY 06-07) and Aaron Laurito (NY 06-07) on their recent engagement. Jessica and Aaron are making history as this is the first time that two AVODAH alums have decided to marry each other.
Do you have great
news that you want to share with the AVODAH alumni community? Do you want to
see your name in e-print? Please tell us about all the great stuff you are up
to so we can feature you in our alumni highlights.
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Awards and Fellowships
Coro
Fellows Program (Various)
The Coro Fellows Program
in Public Affairs (FPPA), a nine-month, full-time,
graduate-level leadership training program, prepares young professionals for
effective and ethical leadership in the public affairs arena. The Fellows Program is founded on
Coro's unique
curriculum of core leadership skills-building, paired with real-world
experiences that rely on the city as the classroom. The Fellows Program has four major
components: field
placements, seminars,
interviews, and
focus weeks. The program
runs from September through May and takes place in Los
Angeles, New York, Pittsburgh, San Francisco,
and St. Louis.
For more information and to apply, please click here. The application deadline is January 23, 2009.
Feldman Graduate
Fellowship in Sustainable International Development (MA)
The Master of Arts in
Sustainable International Development (SID) degree program at Brandeis University is pleased to announce the
2009 Feldman Fellowship, which will be awarded to an early to mid-career
development professional with a demonstrated commitment to integrated
conservation and development. The fellowship begins in late August 2009. The
Feldman Fellow will join SID graduate students from over 40 countries in an
interdisciplinary study of development and project management emphasizing
poverty reduction, gender, human rights, and biodiversity conservation. The
Fellow will complete a year-in-residence at SID then work at a field
conservation site during the second year of the program. The Feldman Fellowship
includes full tuition, fees, airfare, and living expenses for the
year-in-residence at Brandeis, and airfare and all university fees for the
second year fieldwork. For more information and to apply, please click here. The application deadline is March 31, 2009.
Point Foundation
Scholarship
Point Foundation, a
scholarship-granting organization for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender
students of merit, has announced the opening of its 2009 application season.
Students who will be enrolled in undergraduate or graduate programs for the
2009-10 school year are eligible to apply for the multi-year scholarships. The
scholarship program's selection criteria include academic excellence, leadership
skills, community involvement, and financial need. Particular attention is
paid to students who have lost the financial and social support of their
families and/or communities as a result of revealing their sexual orientation,
gender identity, or gender expression. For further information and application
guidelines, visit the foundation's website. The application
deadline is February 2, 2009.
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Programs
Global Youth
Connect
Global Youth Connect is an
international human rights organization which is building and supporting a
community of youth who are actively promoting and protecting human rights, and
educating and inspiring the next generation to work for peaceful change. GYC
seeks young leaders (ages 18-30) to participate in one of its upcoming human
rights delegations to Bosnia
or Rwanda. To learn more about these
programs, please click here. The application deadline is January 29, 2009.
Vera Institute of Justice
Internships (NYC)
The Vera Institute of Justice works
closely with leaders in government and civil society to improve the services
people rely on for safety and justice. Vera develops innovative, affordable
programs that often grow into self-sustaining organizations, studies social
problems and current responses, and provides practical advice and assistance to
government officials in New
York and around the world. Summer internship positions
are available through Vera's Centers on Youth Justice, Sentencing and
Corrections, Immigration & Justice, and several more areas. For complete
details, please click here.
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Jobs
AJWS Group Leaders (Int'l)
AJWS Volunteer Summer is the centerpiece of a year-long
program of service, study and cultural exchange. Jewish adults ages 16 to 24
spend seven weeks as a group, living alongside an AJWS partner non-government
organization (NGO) in a rural area in the developing world. The group works with
local community members on projects such as construction, agricultural or clean
water systems, engaging in cultural exchange. Group Leaders work with either one
or two co-leaders to jointly lead all aspects of the Volunteer Summer program.
They facilitate groups of volunteers ages 16 to 17 or 18 to 24. International
program length is seven weeks. Trainings and orientations will be held in April
and June 2009. Previous experience as an informal educator and in positions of
leadership is required. Candidates must be at least four years post-graduation
from an undergraduate program. For the complete job description, please contact
Nina Kaufman at nkaufman@ajws.org. Applications are due by
January 15, 2009.
CLIP
Coordinator (NYC)
The Bronfman Center for Jewish Student Life at NYU
seeks an engaging and dynamic individual to fill the position of Coordinator for
the Collegiate Leadership Internship Program, a summer internship opportunity
for 40-50 Jewish college undergrads. The CLIP Coordinator will be responsible
for overseeing preparation and execution of the program, including but not
limited to marketing, curriculum development, maintaining organizational
partnerships, and advising students. The Coordinator position is
part-time from January-May and full-time over the summer. To receive a
complete job description and learn more, e-mail Adena Kirstein at adena.kirstein@nyu.edu.
Focus the
Nation (Oregon)
Focus the Nation is a
non-profit organization working to empower young people to accelerate the
transition to a more just and prosperous clean energy future. Focus the Nation
seeks an Executive Director responsible for all executive, strategic,
programmatic, financial, and management functions. Duties include, but are not
limited to, developing the organization's financial, creative, and human
resources; forging collaborative partnerships in the youth climate and clean
energy movement; articulating and advancing the organization's vision; leading
the organization's strategic development; working effectively with the
organization's Board of Directors; and broadening Focus the Nation's
constituencies. For information on this and other positions at Focus the Nation,
please click here.
Solidarity
Center
(DC)
The Solidarity Center is a non-profit organization that assists workers around the world who are
struggling to build democratic and independent trade unions. The Solidarity
Center seeks a Program Assistant Americas Region to conduct issue research for
use by Center headquarters and field offices; draft, edit proposals, reports,
letters, and other correspondence; assist field offices to arrange study tours
in the U.S. from the regions; respond to field office requests for information
and resource materials; coordinate activities with the Center's other program
and functional offices; assist, as required, the Center's other regional and
functional offices; relate to outside organizations; and perform other related
duties as assigned. For the complete job description, please click here.
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