AVODAH News
Celebrating AVODAH's Partners in Justice
AVODAH's
annual Partners in Justice events are coming up in Washington, D.C.
(May 13th), New York (May 25th), and Chicago (June 2nd)! This is our
chance to get together with AVODAH friends and celebrate amazing
individuals who support AVODAH's vision for a more just world. To make
a donation and join us at an event, please click here.
How have you been impacted by AVODAH?
"AVODAH changed my life. It was not the
best year of my life, and it certainly was not the easiest, but it was
unequivocally the most pivotal." - Elisheva Gould (NY 03-04)
Many of you have written amazingly
moving pieces for our AVODAH's Impact blog.
Thank you to those of you who have shared with us! Take some time to read
through what your peers have written. If you have not contributed yet, there's still time! We
will be presenting the blog at the New York Partners in Justice event on May 25th. Please take a moment to tell us what role AVODAH has played in
your life. Send all materials to Mollie Spevack and keep
checking the blog to see your
message.
Help AVODAH reach a $5,000 matching grant!
To receive this $5,000 donation, 136 alumni must donate to AVODAH by June 2nd, with half of those becoming
monthly donors. As of today, we have 69
alumni donors, 46% of whom are monthly donors! So far, we've had the
largest amount of gifts from Chicago
08-09 with 8 gifts, and the largest percentage of gifts from New York 99-00,
with 7 out of 9 alumni giving from that year! Thank you so much to those of you
who have already given to AVODAH! We need 67 more alumni to donate to reach our
goal. Please become a monthly recurring supporter of AVODAH today!
Spring is in the
air and new growth is in the works...
After four rich years of community-building and growth,
the AVODAH-AJWS Partnership is in full bud - and will soon bloom with a
new look and new name. Watch your inboxes over the next month for
more details!
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Alumni In Action
Meaghan Gruber (DC 07-08)
Since December 2008 I have been living in Waslala, RAAN, Nicaragua and
am the director of the water ministry here within the framework of the
local parish. We are building gravity-fed water systems in very rural
communities in the mountains. In addition we have started up hygiene
and reforestation workshops, helped with community organization, with
the sustainability of the systems supporting communities in having a
community savings account for system repairs and surveys of the
communities to see the impact of our work. Email Meaghan
Myla Green (DC 08-09)
I am leading an AJWS Volunteer Summer 2010 program to Ghana. If you are interested in learning more, email me. Email Myla
Abby Maier Johnson (DC 02-03)
I live in Saint Johnsbury, VT and currently spend most of my time
as a mom. My husband, Carl, and I have a son, Donley, who was born in
September of 2008. However, even in this remote corner of the
northeast, there is a Jewish community. I am now working part-time as
the administrator and newsletter editor for the synagogue here. It is a
lay-led synagogue with a visiting Reconstructionist rabbi, made up of
about 60 families of varying Jewish backgrounds. When we moved up here
from Cleveland, we were amazed that there was a synogogue up in this
most rural part of the state. I am also trying to carve out time to
create artwork. Email Abby
Jennie Mauer (DC 03-04)
I worked at Bread for the City as the legal clinic
coordinator. I recently completed my masters in public affairs at the
University of Wisconsin Madison and I am currently work for the State
of Wisconsin Legislative Audit Bureau as a legislative analyst. In my
spair time I serve on a nonprofit board, teach canoing and kayaking
lessons, swim, bike, run, and generally like to be outdoors. Email Jennie
Jeff Sharlein (NY 01-02)
Ruth
Liora Sharlein was born April 17, 2010 (11:23 pm, 21", 7 lbs 8 oz), to
Jeff (Klein) and Darcie Sharlein. Everyone is healthy and
very happy. Email Jeff
Sarah Sorscher (NY 05-06)
I am graduating from Harvard Law School in a few weeks and will be spending the summer in Seattle, studying for the Washington State Bar. I'm getting married in August to my fiance, Marcus Hedrick. Then we are driving to Washington, DC, where we will both be law clerks for a year. After that, I hope to get a job applying my JD/MPH to health issues in the federal government. Email Sarah
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Upcoming Events
Bay Area
Justice and Jewish Thought
We
are excited to announce the launch of Justice and Jewish Thought, a
city-wide study group that will meet in weekly in small groups from
late April through June 2010. The groups will engage with a challenging
curriculum that explores how various systems of race, class, gender,
sexual identity, and anti-semitism intersect with and affect our
identities as Jews, our Jewish practices, and our work for justice.
How to register: Click here.
Bay Area City Team
Community Connectors(noun): a group of individuals who are excited to take on ownership,
leadership and accountability for growing and shaping a strong and
active Bay Area Jewish social justice community! Help create events,
including our successful Social Change Shabbat series, and get to know
folks in the area through outreach activities.
For more information: contact Jocelyn at jberger@avodah.net, 415.593.3284.
Meet the Change: What Happens Next is Up to You!
Ever wonder what it's like to live a
day in the life of someone somewhere else in the world? David Evan
Harris wanted to help you find out, so he founded the Global Lives
Project. You'll hear some lessons from his work and insights about our
globalized world, and take a guided tour through the Global Lives
exhibit in the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts. Meet
the Change is an open invitation to change-makers from across the
spectrum seeking co-conspirators for activating their Jewish and social
justice values.
Why: To meet David Evan Harris, Executive Director of the Global Lives
Project, who will share his philosophy of change-making and his
insights on the power of community
Cost: $5-15 sliding
scale
RSVP: http://www.ybca.org/tickets/production/view.aspx?id=11099
Advanced
registration is REQUIRED; limited capacity
Boston
AVODAH and Friends Book Club
The next book club meeting will be on Sunday, May 16th at 6pm at Anne's
house in Central Square to discuss The Book of Night Women by Marlon
James.
What: The Book of Night Women discussion
When: Sunday, May 16th at 6pm
Where: Anne's house, details upon RSVP
RSVP: Email Amy Horning (DC 04-05)
DC
Doing Well and Doing Good
Can social activists find balance in the corporate world?Join us for a dynamic panel exploring this question. Panelists include: Evan Hochberg (National Director for Community Involvement at Deloitte), Josh Jeffries (Principal at Arkin), and Marilyn Marcosson (First Vice President of Marcosson Kaufman Group, a Financial Advisory Team of Merrill Lynch). Moderated by DC Advisory Council member Craig Pascal, PNC's Senior Vice President and Territory Manager for Community Development Banking.
When: Monday, May 3rd 6:30pm-8:30 pm
Where: AVODAH DC Office
RSVP: Contact Paul
NYC
Growing Food Justice
As Shavuot approaches and we reflect on the significance of harvest
festivals in contemporary (urban) times, the AJWS-AVODAH Partnership is
thrilled to host an interactive program on hunger in NYC and what you
can do about it! Join us for a panel discussion followed by an
opportunity to take action as a community.
Speakers include:Joel Berg - Executive Director of the New York City Coalition Against Hunger, Karen Washington-president of the NYC Community Gardens Coalition, Daniel Bowman Simon, founder of the successful White House Organic Farm Project, Rabbi Brent Spodek, Rabbi in Residence at American Jewish World Service.
When: Wednesday, May 12th at 6:30pm
Where: The Commons, 388 Atlantic Avenue, Brooklyn
RSVP: Click here to register.
Organizational Leadership for Social Change: A Board Service Training
Applications
are still being accepted on a rolling basis for this competitive
training opportunity. For more info, click here. To apply, fill out this form.
Contact Audrey with any questions.
Brooklyn Bridge CSA: Last Chance to Register
If
you're kicking yourself for missing the deadline to register for the
Brooklyn Bridge CSA, you can feel free to try your luck and register
regardless. The CSA coordinators are negotiating with their farmer at Sang Lee Farms to extend the deadline in order to accommodate some stragglers. If you're interested, the registration form is here. You can find more info overall at www.brooklynbridgecsa.org.
Meet the Change with Idealist.org Founder Ami Dar!
We
are thrilled to announce the second Meet the Change event of 2010 with
Ami Dar, founder and executive director of Idealist.org. Each Meet the
Change event presents the efforts of a featured change-maker while
providing opportunities for attendees to connect with one another
around their own ideas, desires, and plans for making change. Ami Dar
founded Idealist in 1996 with $3,500. Today it has become one of the
most popular nonprofit resources on the web, with information provided
by 90,000 organizations around the world, and 70,000 visitors every
day. Ami is an Ashoka Fellow and currently serves on the boards of the
Nonprofit Finance Fund and Allforgood.org. He was born in Jerusalem,
grew up in Peru and in Mexico, and lives in New York.
When: Wednesday, June 9th at 7pm
Where: Lolita Bar at 266 Broome Street (map)
Stay tuned for RSVP info in the coming days or contact Audrey with questions.
Click here to submit your Upcoming Event.
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What's Been Happening in the Community
Boston
AVODAH and Friends Book Club
On April 25th, 7 alumni and 3 friends gathered at the home of Darya and Elana to enjoy
southern cooking and many desserts, including Minny's Chocolate Pie,
and discuss The Help by Kathryn Stockett.
Israel
Shabbat in the Park
Cara (CHI 08-09) and Rachel Gold (CHI 02-03) gathered with Sarah Lesser (DC 06-07) and other AVODAH alumni for a Saturday afternoon lunch at Gan Ha Pa'amon in Jerusalem on May 1st.
New York
Ethics of Consumption and Meat Production: Uri L'Tzedek Beit Midrash
Thirty
people gathered at Drisha on the Upper West Side on Tuesday, April 13th
to discuss the ethics of consumption and meat production. The social
justice beit midrash was hosted by Uri L'Tzedek and co-sponsored by the
AJWS-AVODAH Partnership. Rabbi Ari Weiss provided some philosophical
teachings to ground a conversation with Devora Kimelman-Block from Kol Foods about meat production and consumption. AVODAH alum Laurie Paul (DC 06-07) was among the participants.
People of the Book Club
The book club met on Thursday, April 15th to discuss The Sabbath
by Abraham Joshua Heschel. Partnership staff Suz Lipkin led a
discussion on the idea of time as holy in Judaism and how it relates to
us, who live in both space and time. We also debated Heschel's challenging statement that one should not have "righteous indignation" on the Sabbath. AVODAH staff Mollie Spevack (NY 08-09) attended as well as Hilary Winn (DC 08-09).
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Jobs and Professional Development
ADAMAH, Program Coordinator.More Information. (Submitted by Josh Lichtman, NOLA Site Director)
Click here to submit jobs that are available at your agency and professional development opportunities to which you are connected. |
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Rachel Chertok, National Director for Alumni and Leadership Development
AVODAH: The Jewish Service Corps
phone:
212-545-7759 ext 307
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