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Stories From the Field
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Rachie Lewis and Jordan Aiken, 2009 - 2010 New Orleans Corps Members. | While AVODAH Corps members come from a variety of Jewish backgrounds and levels of observance, they are joined to each other by the common desire to work on poverty issues. Two of our New Orleans Corps members were recently interviewed to get a better understanding of how the intersection of Jewish values and social change drives them.
As Rachie Lewis notes, "For me, this entire year has been about taking the things you once thought and turning them on their head - social justice, what it means to live in this city, Torah, living a meaningful Jewish life."
You can read the whole article on AVODAH's website. |
Record Number of Applicants
| This year AVODAH has had a record number of young adults apply for our 2010-2011 program - five applicants for each available placement. But it's not just about the numbers. The quality of our applicants is outstanding. Our applicants come from a variety of backgrounds and experiences. Below are some examples:
Sarah spent a year in India and a summer in Ukraine doing service work with American Jewish World Service. Leah organized a campus-wide event to connect students with their senators in order to urge Farm Bill Reform. David spent six months in Belfast, Northern Ireland studying Peace and Conflict Studies and worked as a community organizer to implement anti-gun violence curricula in local Belfast schools. We are still matching candidates to placements and look forward to welcoming our newest group of Corps members in late August.
If you know someone who is interested in AVODAH, applications are still being accepted on a rolling basis. |
Changing Lives
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We recently asked AVODAH Corps members from Chicago, New Orleans, New York, and Washington, DC to describe how AVODAH has impacted their lives. Some responses include:
2005-2006 Corps Members celebrate Rosh Hashanah | "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, 2003-2004.
"During AVODAH we struggled to understand our place in this work and our desire to maintain our idealism while acknowledging the realities of urban life. Today, I still question and evaluate the work that I do in an effort to make sure its done in the most socially responsible way possible." Anna Schwartz, 2005-2006
To read more inspiring stories like these, go to AVODAH's Impact blog.
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Jewish and Justice Thought
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Thoughtful young changemakers in Washington, DC and San Francisco will come together once again for the AVODAH-AJWS Partnership's Justice and Jewish Thought series.
Justice and Jewish Thought is a weekly study group that examines the intersection of race, class, gender and sexual identity with participants' identities as Jews and their work for social justice. Groups of 8-10 young people meet in each other's homes weekly over the course of two months.
To date 65 people have participated in the series. New cohorts begin in May.
You can register for the 8 week course by going here for DC or here for San Francisco. |
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| Join Us For Our Annual Partners in Justice Events |
Each year AVODAH honors individuals who emulate AVODAH's vision in the world at our Partner in Justice events.
Please join us in:
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Washington, DC on May 13th to honor Joan and Oscar Dodek and David Reznick
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New York on May 25th to honor Rabbi David Rosenn and Steve Koppel
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Chicago on June 2nd to honor Marcia Lipetz and Adam Gross
To make a donation and purchase tickets to the events, click here. |
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