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AVODAH: The Jewish Service Corps
 September 2011
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Dear AVODAH Friends and Supporters:
I invite you to meet the energetic young people who will be joining our fight against poverty in Chicago, New Orleans, New York, and Washington DC this year. They are talented, eager individuals taking on the important work of social justice during one of our most challenging years.
The recent Census Bureau findings are alarming: an additional 2.6 million people fell below the poverty line in 2010, raising the number of Americans living in abject poverty to 46.2 million people. Our Corps members will see first-hand the effects of a slumping economy on our nation's most at-risk populations in their work at community-based organizations around the county. Their commitment to change will make a difference in the lives of individuals and families coping with the effects of the recession.
I invite you to partner with us to support our emerging leaders by donating to AVODAH today. Your gift helps to provide invaluable resources to struggling communities and creates life-changing experiences for socially conscious young adults.
On behalf of the entire AVODAH Board of Directors, local Advisory Councils, and staff, I want to wish you and your families a happy, healthy, and sweet new year. Shanah Tova U'Mitukah!
Marilyn Sneiderman
Executive Director
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Meet our Corps members. They just moved in!
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Washington, DC: Danny Obeler 
Danny Obeler, from Buffalo Grove, IL, attended the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and is a Behrend Builders and Community Service Coordinator at the DC Jewish Community Center.
"I have this tremendous passion and energy for social justice work and it largely stems from
my Jewish identity. I am entirely dedicated
to taking action and working towards a
more just, compassionate,
and peaceful world."
Meet Danny's housemates
here.
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New Orleans: Danielle Unger
Danielle Unger, from Charlottesville, VA, attended Vassar College and is a Program Communications Fellow at Voice Of The Ex-offenders (V.O.T.E.). 
"My interest and belief in social justice work stems from a personal belief in cooperative community living as an efficient and empowering existence."
Meet Danielle's housemates here.
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Chicago: Leila Shooshani
Leila Shooshani, from West Palm Beach, FL, attended New College of Florida and is a Congregational Outreach Worker at Faith in Place. 
"I have spent the past four years as a philosophy student focusing on ethics, but I am ready to transcend simple words on a page and move towards action."
Meet Leila's housemates here.
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New York: Alexandra Stein
 Alexandra Stein, from Washington, DC, attended Yale University and is a Case Associate at the Jewish Board of Family and Children's Services - The Kaplan Center. "I engage in social justice work because I know that the world only gets better and better as more and more people have a place at the table, because none of us are free until all of us are free." Meet Alexandra's housemates here.
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Pursue: Food Justice Activists Partner to Alleviate Hunger
 Pursue recently led the Food Justice track of the Hazon Food Conference. Participants talked about what it takes to create a socially and economically just, environmentally sound food system.
Pursue also convened a group of Food Justice activists working to alleviate hunger in their home communities and around the world. Their work will focus on getting support for the 2012 Farm Bill.
AVODAH alum and Food Justice Cohort participant, Sasha Feldstein, shares her reflections here.
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Shanah Tova! A Happy, Sweet New Year!
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