J-Serve 2008: Thank You Volunteers!

On April 13, 2008 over 300 Jewish youth in MetroWest participated in a day of community service and improvement projects as part of J-Serve, a national day of volunteerism and engagement. This year marks the fourth in which thousands of Jewish youth from coast to coast turned out in force for J-Serve, designed to encourage Jewish service, community building and creation of connections across religious and societal lines. Through the coordination of The Partnership for Jewish Learning and Life, over 20 projects were carried out involving a diverse group of teen participants.

Participants came from the BBYO regional convention, the Iris Teen Tzedakah Program, The Diller Teen Fellows (together with their Israeli cohort), the Jewish Civics Initiative at Central Hebrew High School, SOS: Save Our Soldiers, Help Darfur Now, Temple Bnai Abraham, Suburban Torah, Etz Chaim and others who heard about the event on Facebook.

The projects addressed a broad range of needs throughout MetroWest. Teens visited with seniors at all five locations of the Jewish Community Housing Corporation, performing seder songs and conversing with the residents as part of the “Kids, Concerts ‘n Cookies” program developed by incoming JCHC chair, Eric Barr, who was on hand to participate in the program. Other JCHC projects included planting flowers and gardens, and decorating flower pots.

Hebrew language and talk of Israel took place at a number of projects. The Diller Teen Fellows, who were being visited by their Israeli counterparts, organized a project at the Turtle Back Zoo, where they helped repair the cougar habitat. Visiting Israeli Diller Teens brought along their guitars to perform impromptu concerts for seniors in JCHC housing. Teens from Temple Bnai Abraham made care packages and wrote letters to lone soldiers of North American descent currently serving in the Israel Defense Forces.

The proximity of J-Serve to Passover inspired a number of creative programs that relate specifically to the holiday. Chametz was collected and donated to the Bobrow Kosher Food Pantry by volunteers from Etz Chaim. Cars were cleaned inside and out in two different locations by members of Suburban Torah and SOS: Save Our Soldiers. Preparations for the annual model seder at JESPY house were made by members of the Iris and Diller programs.

Another timely project was the voter registration drive in the Livingston mall, organized by the Jewish Civics Initiative at Central Hebrew High School. “We think it’s important since it’s an election year,” said Keren Baruch, a junior from West Orange, who organized the JCI project. As part of Global Day for Darfur, activists from Help Darfur Now participated in a torch walk and rally for Darfur in Montclair. In support of the Rachel Coalition’s annual Run for Rachel, members of the Iris Teen Tzedakah program organized a team to raise funds and awareness about domestic abuse. A delegation from Congregation Beth Hatikvah joined local teens in New Orleans to participate in the Saint Bernard Project. The campaign department of the United Jewish Communities of MetroWest held a phone-a-thon or miniature version of Super Sunday; J-Serve volunteers helped raise over $12,000.

Preparations have already begun for next year’s J-Serve which will be on April 26, 2009.

Click here for pictures. (More to come!)

Click here to read an article about J-Serve MetroWest 2008 in the New Jersey Jewish News.

 

Open Letter to Teen Leaders About J-Serve

If you have an idea for a program or project, email Adam Oded aoded@thepartnershipnj.org.

Early Bird Registration for Summer JAM

Don’t Miss the Early Bird Application Deadline.
Apply by February 1, 2008 to secure your spot and receive $100 off the tuition.

Spend four amazing weeks on the campus of The George Washington University in the nation’s capital where you will change the way you think about the world, Judaism and yourself. JAM is an intensive program based on a leading college campus. Participants will engage in hands-on service projects, learn about the connection between Judaism and advocacy, and examine key issues that impact the U.S. and the world, through interactions with leading U.S. policymakers. JAM participants return home with 75 community service-learning hours and a new perspective on life. Go to http://www.dcjam.org for more information and to download an application. The program is open to rising high school juniors, rising seniors and graduating seniors. JAM ‘08 takes place June 30-July 27!  http://www.dcjam.org/jamvideo.html

Early Bird Registration for PanimWorks

Don’t Miss the Early Bird Application Deadline.
Apply by February 1, 2008 to secure your spot and receive $100 off the tuition.

PanimWorks: Spend 12 days living and working in an entirely new culture this summer on PanimWorks! Make a difference as you live in rustic accommodations in the Navajo Nation and work with the local community on specific local projects. This trip in the majestic Southwest includes hands-on service projects and outdoor recreational activities. Make lifelong friends and learn about the ethical values that define Jewish life while earning up to45 community service-learning hours. Choose from one of two PanimWorks sessions for summer 2008! Session 1 is from June 29 to July 10 and Session 2 takes place July 27 to August 7. Go to http://www.panimworks.org for more information. PanimWorks is open to rising high school sophomores, juniors, seniors and graduating seniors.

Register for the JCI Seminar: March 16-19, 2008

The Partnership for Jewish Learning and Life will be bringing a group of teens to Washington, D.C. for the Jewish Civics Initiative Seminar offered by Panim: The Institute for Jewish Leadership and Values.   This four day seminar is informative and inspiring.  Students learn about major issues effecting our country and our community from climate change and the environment to poverty, hunger and homelessness.  Then students learn how to take action on these issues through direct action like community service, and by trying to change the root causes of these problems by lobbying their elected officials. 

This seminar is meant for high school students in grades 10-12.  Most schools will offer an excused absence, and I would be more than happy to discuss the program in  detail with parents, teachers, students or school administrators.  I attended the seminar last year, and it is awesome!

The seminar costs $570, but through generous subsidies from Panim and the Partnership, we are able to offer this seminar for $350.

To download a registration form, click here.  Fax completed forms to Adam Oded at 973-463-3950.  For more information, email aoded@thepartnershipnj.org, or go to http://www.panim.org/programs/jci.html.

For pictures from last year’s JCI seminar, click here.

For a podcast on JCI, click here.

Register for J-Serve 2008: April 13, 2008

J-Serve, the National Day of Jewish Youth Service, is a program created by teens for teens.  J-Serve provides Jewish participants with the opportunity to fulfill age-old Jewish values. By engaging in community service, J-Serve participants are fulfilling the ideals of; gemilut chasadim, acts of lovingkindness; tzedakah, just and charitable giving; and tikkun olam, the idea that Jews are duty bound to help fix a broken world.

Get your group involved in J-Serve this year!  The Partnership for Jewish Learning and Life is trying help organize ten or more projects for MetroWest teens that day.  Any project that addresses a communal need, involves Jewish learning and includes 12 or more MetroWest teens will get the following support:

• A $75 mini grant from The Partnership for Jewish Learning and Life to help defray the costs of materials and transportation.
• Customized preparatory and reflective materials created specifically for your group.
• Free consultation to help you design the project that’s right for your group and our community.
• Promotion of your group’s project in the New Jersey Jewish News and on our website. 

For more information, send me an email: aoded@thepartnershipnj.org

Or print up and send in this form: MetroWest J-Serve 2008 Interest Form (PDF) 

Panim has just extended the deadline for additional micro-grants of up to $500.  Click here!

Jewish Civics Initiative: Bridges Outreach

This Sunday, October 28, 2007, the Jewish Civics Initiative Group will be doing a “run” for Bridges Outreach.  During a “run” participants go out into the streets of Irvington and meet with the homeless.  Our group will be handing out bagged lunches, clothing, and toiletry items. 

The JCI group will meet in The Partnership offices at the Aidekman Family Campus on 901 Route 10, Whippany, NJ at 9:30AM on Sunday, October 28, 2007.  The group will be back at Whippany at 2:30.  Each student should have a Central Hebrew High School permission waiver, and a Bridges Release Form: all three must be signed by a parent (the Bridges Release is in two parts):

Click here to download the Central Hebrew High School permission Waiver For Students Participating in the Bridges Run

Click here for the Bridges Release and Safety Guidelines 

Bagged lunches will be prepared the night before, at Conregation Beth Hatikvah 36 Chatham Road, Summit, NJ.  Some of the food for the run was donated by Whole Foods in Millburn, NJ.  This program was coordinated by The Partnership for Jewish Learning and Life of MetroWest, NJ.

         

Podcast Monday: Jewish Civics Initiative

The subject of the podcast on May 14, 2007 is the Jewish Civics Initiative.  As usual, the show will be recorded on Monday afternoon at 4:00PM EST. The number to call in is (646) 478-4724. To listen to the show live click here, or on the BlogTalkRadio icon below.

The Jewish Civics Initiative (JCI) was created by PANIM in 1994. JCI is a year-long service-learning experience for Jewish teenagers under the sponsorship of a community-wide Jewish educational institution.  At the present, more than 25 agencies participate in at least one component of the JCI program, representing 15 states and an estimated number of more than 750 students.

This year, a group of MetroWest teens from Central Hebrew High School participated in this program.  The program included a course of study, a social action project at the Daughters of Israel Geriatric Center, and seminar in Washington, DC.

The podcast features comments from Rabbi Sid Schwartz, the founder of Panim, program participants and more.

Program Links:

• www.panim.org
• www.jserve.org
• www.dcjam.org
• www.panimworks.org
• www.thesca.org
• The Jewish Civics Initiative at Central Hebrew High School 2006/7
• Pictures of the Jewish Civics Initiative at Daughters of Israel, Spring 2007

J-Serve 2007: The Jewish Civics Initiative at Daughters of Israel

On April 22, as part of J-Serve, a national day of service coordinated by Panim, our group of teens visited the seniors at Daughters of Israel.  This was the second of three visits.  Many of the teens met with residents that they had met on their previous visits.  The teens chatted with the residents about some of the usual topics such as their health and families.  On this visit in particular, they brought up the residents thoughts and memories about Israel, since it was also Memorial Day in Israel.  The weather was nice, some of the teens were able to take the residents outside, which was a treat for residents who need help getting around.

The teens have been getting closer to the residents with each visit.  I was personally touched to see the effort that the teens put into the visits.  One teen found out that the resident that he’s paired with likes music, so he brought along some music that they could listen to while he was there.  Another teen left home early that day so he could buy a bouquet of flowers for his senior friend. 

We are all looking forward to our next visit on Mother’s Day, May 13, 2007.

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If you would like to get involved with a program like this or set up a program like this in your own community, please email Adam Oded: aoded@thepartnershipnj.org.

JCI at DOI

Today the Jewish Civics Initiative group from Central Hebrew High School went to Daughters of Israel for a visit. The teens were there to develop relationships with some of the residents. This was the first of three visits.

The residents were very happy to recieve the teens, and the teens were likewise effected by their visit. Our next visit will be on April 22, 2007 as part of J-Serve.

Here’s a few pictures.

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