22 J-Serve Projects in MetroWest

For more on J-Serve in MetroWest, click here. TEENS that plan to attend J-Serve, and have a Facebook account, click here to add J-Serve to your events, and meet other teens that are participating!

Thank You For Making Super Sunday A Success!

MetroWest teens were out in full force for Super Sunday this year. In a special teen session, students learned about the UJC of MetroWest and its recipient agencies through a mock allocation process before being sent out to make fundraising calls. The Iris Teen Tzedakah group was, for the third year in a row, well represented at this important fundraising event. The teen led advocacy group, SOS: Save Our Soldiers set up an informative and interactive table with activities for children, teens and adults.

Click here for all the pictures from the Super Sunday Teen Events.

MetroWest Teens: 

As part of the teen calling session, MetroWest teens were invited to take part in a special program.  In this program, teens learned about the various agencies and programs supported by UJC of MetroWest.  They then went through a mock allocations process, where they tried to determine how they would spread the funds among the various agencies.

After this exercise, the teens were sent to the calling room to raise funds for UJC of MetroWest.

Iris Teen Tzedakah Program:

For the third year in a row, students of the Iris Teen Tzedakah program helped raise funds for UJC of MetroWest.

SOS: Save Our Soldiers:

The young activists of SOS: Save Our Soldiers prepared mitzvah projects for people of all ages in order to increase awareness of the plight of the kidnapped Israeli soldiers.  Younger children made dog tags with the names of the soldiers that were kidnapped in the summer of 2006.  Parents were asked to sign a petition for the soldiers’ release.  Gabrielle Flaum, the leader of the group will be the keynote speaker at this year’s Mitzvot of MetroWest.

All contributions went to the United Jewish Communities of MetroWest, NJ.

Rally to Free The Kidnapped Israeli Soldiers: Monday July 16th, 2007

Gilad Shalit • Ehud Goldwasser • Eldad Regev

FREE THEM NOW!

A year has passed since IDF soldiers Gilad Shalit, Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev were kidnapped by Hamas and Hezbollah.

Show the world we have not forgotten and will not forget them.

Join us in demanding their immediate and unconditional release.

Monday July 16th, 2007
12:00 noon/ Rain or Shine
Dag Hammarskjold Plaza (First Avenue and 47th Street)
New York City

Hitch a ride to the rally with UJC of MetroWest: 

Buses will leave from the Aidekman Campus, Whippany, at 10 a.m.
and the Leon & Toby Cooperman JCC, West Orange, at 10:30 a.m.
Register online by Tuesday, July 10 to reserve a place on the bus.

Click here to reserve a seat on the bus.

Sponsored by:

• Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations
• Jewish Community Relations Council of New York
• United Jewish Communities
• United Jewish Communities of MetroWest, NJ
• UJA-Federation of New York
• American Zionist Movement
• Jewish Council for Public Affairs

For more information contact:

For more information, contact the UJC MetroWest Community Relations Committee at (973) 929-3064 or crc@ujcnj.org. 

Conference of Presidents at 212-318-6111 or info@conferenceofpresidents.org.

JCRC at 212-983-4800 x 151 or info@jcrcny.org

Podcast Monday: Teen Advocacy

Podcast: 

The subject of the podcast on June 4, 2007 is Teen Advocacy.  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.

We live in a world that is deeply in need of repair.  There is hunger and poverty in America.  Genocide in Darfur.  Ongoing terrorist threats.  Some people feel hopeless because of all these problems and wonder, “What can I do about this?  I’m just one person.”  It’s a good thing that teens here in MetroWest don’t feel that way!

On our next podcast, we’ll be speaking with local teens who take action by advocating for causes they feel passionate about. 

SOS: Save Our Soldiers: 

Gabrielle Flaum was distressed by the abduction of the Israeli soldiers last summer, and wanted to do something to help.  She founded SOS: Save Our Soldiers, a group that advocates for the release of the Israeli soldiers.  Gabrielle and her group have lobbied in Trenton (twice!) and have connected with FreeTheSoldiers.org.  We’ll speak with Gabrielle about her journey from a summer tour in Israel to the halls of government in New Jersey.

Help Darfur Now:

In 2005, Arielle Wisotsky saw an exhibit on the situation in Darfur while visiting the Holocaust museum in Washington, DC and decided to take action.  She contacted two friends, David and Eric Messinger, and they began sending out fundraising letters hoping to raise $1000 to send to refugee camps.  Since then, they have greatly exceeded the initial fundraising goal, as Help Darfur Now  has raised $120,000 for Doctors Without Borders and the International Rescue Committee. These organizations supply food, medicine, and other supplies to victims of the genocide in Darfur. Help Darfur Now has also contributed to the Save Darfur Coalition for awareness raising.   We’ll speak with Arielle and other teen advocates for Darfur.

Links:

• American Jewish World Service

• Banim

• Free The Soldiers

• Save Darfur

• Help Darfur Now

• Community Relations Committee of MetroWest, NJ

SOS: Save Our Soldiers Hang Banner at Temple Sharey Tefilo-Israel

Today the Religious School of Temple Sharey Tefilo-Israel went outside to hang a banner for FreetheSoldiers.org, as part of an advocacy and awareness campaign on behalf of the Israeli soldiers who were captured last summer, Gilad Shalit, Ehud “Udi” Goldwasser and Eldad Regev. The student group, SOS: Save Our Soldiers, led by Gabrielle Flaum has been vigorously advocating on behalf of the soldiers in the New Jersey legislature. On Monday, May 7, the students met with Karnit Goldwasser, the wife of caputred soldier udi Goldwasser at a reception at UJC of MetroWest. The group plans on lobbying in Trenton next week.

For more information or to get involved, contact Gabrielle Flaum at g999swim@aol.com.

S.O.S. – Save Our Soldiers

Note from Gabrielle Flaum :In the past few months I have started a project to educate and advocate for the release of the three Israeli soldiers that were kidnapped at the beginning of this summer’s war. Along with peers from my school and synagogue we have created a group called S.O.S. – Save Our Soldiers – to campaign for the freedom of the soldiers.

My experience in Israel this past summer have made me determined to stay connected to the Jewish community and make a difference in Israel.

The plight of the Israeli soldiers is a cause that is close to my heart especially after living in Israel for four weeks this past summer.

I hope that teens in our community will join along in the fight for the freedom of the soldiers.

For more information about getting involved,

To find out more about the group, contact Gabrielle Flaum at g999swim@aol.com.

For more information about the soldiers, go to: http://freethesoldiers.org/