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AVODAH: The Jewish Service Corps Newsletter

Transitioning ForwardAugust 2010
In This Issue
Marilyn's Welcome
What's next for our Corps members?
Pursue: Fun Day in the Sun Day
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Dear Friends,

Last week another wonderful group of AVODAH Corps members completed their year of service and moved out of the AVODAH batim (houses). They take their experiences working at more than 50 front-line anti-poverty organizations in Chicago, New Orleans, New York, and Washington, DC into the larger world, becoming ambassadors and catalysts for the values they lived out this year: service, community building, and a commitment to Jewish life.

As they transition, so, too, do I as I begin my role as Executive Director of AVODAH. I have spent my life committed to social justice and Judaism, whether as a community organizer or as a leader working with Jewish youth. Rabbi David Rosenn created an extraordinary foundation that we can build off of together to grow and expand AVODAH at this critical organizational moment.

Thank you to all who have welcomed me into the AVODAH community with warmth and graciousness. I also want to publicly thank Ilanit Gerblich Kalir, our outgoing Interim Executive Director, for her strong leadership, vision, and dedication to AVODAH. We wish her the best of luck in her new role at the Jewish Federation of Cleveland. 

Thank you for supporting AVODAH and best wishes for a pleasant and restful end of your summer.

Marilyn Sneiderman
Executive Director
What's next for our Corps members? 
Here's a taste of what our Corps members will be transitioning into in the next few weeks:
Rachel Levy celebrates the authors of a community cookbook at her placement, Crown Heights Community Mediation Center
Rachel Levy
  • Aviva Bellman will continue to work at her placement, Bread for the City, as a Case Manager in the social services department in Washington, DC.
  • Jordan Aiken will join the Hillel family as the Development Associate at Tulane Hillel in New Orleans.
  • Michal Boyarsky will move to Israel to participate in the New Israel Fund/Shatil Social Justice Fellowship and work at Physicians for Human Rights in Yaffo.
  • Faigy E. Abdelhak will study in the New York Univeristy Wagner/Skirball dual-degree program for Public and Nonprofit Management and Policy and Judaic Studies, while working as the Community Development Administrator for Faith House Manhattan.
  • Rachel Levy will work as the Program Assistant for
    the Culinary Arts Training Program and Comfort Foods at Project Renewal in New York.
pursue logo
Pursue: Action for A Just World
 
Our outgoing Corps members now join the AVODAH alumni community. Pursue: Action for a Just World provides these alumni, along with other young change-makers, with proraming and support to continue living out their passion for social justice and Jewish life.
 
Pursue's next event: Fun Day in the Sun Day
 
On Sunday, August 29th join Pursue food and farm enthusiasts at the Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center for a day of eating, gleaning, and fun! The day will include a farm-to-table kosher lunch and a work project to help the Adamah fellows harvest their crops.