Community Service/Volunteering Opportunities
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AJWS supports 200 grassroots organizations in the developing
world and Russia and Ukraine through grant making, technical assistance, emergency
relief and advocacy. We also provide unique international service opportunities
for the Jewish community, enabling Jews to play an active role in the process of
meaningful social change. Last year we sent over 300 volunteers to the developing
world.
Started in September 2002, Areyvut reaches out to Jewish day
schools and congregational schools, regardless of affiliation. Cognizant that few
schools maximize their resources to effectively promote the values of chesed,
tzedakah and tikkun olam, Areyvut offers a unique opportunity for schools
to create innovative and meaningful programs to make these values a reality for
students and educators alike. For a listing of Jewish and non Jewish volunteer opportunities,
click on the URL above.
We at AVODAH take seriously our claim to be "changing lives
through service." This applies to the lives of the low-income people and communities
served by our partner agencies, certainly, and to our participants and alumni. But
it also applies to the lives of the people who help facilitate this work: our staff,
our volunteers, and our supporters. Meet some of the organizations and people who
play crucial roles in AVODAH's ability to make a difference.
ChesedNet Volunteer Program. Many individuals who have gone through
various medical ordeals or other related difficulties have become experts in specific
areas of knowledge. Those individuals who wish to volunteer to offer advice, support,
or simply share experiences with others in need, can do so within the ChesedNet
Subject Matter Expert (SME) program. The Web site will allow Subject Matter Experts
to register on-line, indicating the areas of expertise and an Email address with
which they can be contacted. ChesedNet staff will then match up cases that require
this knowledge, allowing the two individuals to correspond via Email.
The mission of the Jewish Coalition for Service is to inspire
everyone in the Jewish community to dedicate a part of their lives to full-time,
hands-on volunteer service. Jewish term of service programs connect with this sense
of meaning in a deep way. They offer intensive, immersion experiences in which volunteers
serve full-time – from a week to a year. Jewish term of service programs are open
to people aged 15 through post-retirement. Participants work and study together,
building community and making a difference, helping others and transforming themselves,
becoming more engaged citizens and expanding their understanding of what it means
to be Jewish.
Serve a year in an overseas Jewish community! The JDC Jewish
Service Corps (JSC) is a unique one-year volunteer opportunity for active, enthusiastic,
knowledgeable Jews to serve, and take part in the life of, a Jewish community abroad.
For more information, email volunteer@jdc.org
The National Jewish Coalition for Literacy is the organized Jewish
community's vehicle for mobilizing volunteer tutors and reading partners for at-risk
children in kindergarten through 3rd grade. Their mission is to bring the skills
and the concerns of America's Jews to bear on the scandal of illiteracy by effecting
a dramatic increase in the organized Jewish community's involvement in the fight
against illiteracy and in the number of Jews involved in that fight.
Commitment to Tikkun Olam—repairing the world—has always
been a major component of the Reform Jewish experience. The NFTY Mitzvah Corps program
allows Reform Jewish teens to directly impact communities that need the energy,
dedication, and love that youth provide. Choose from four summer programs that combine
volunteer work with educational programming based on Jewish social and ethical issues.
Prepare yourself to leave this program feeling empowered, impassioned, and ready
to translate your experiences to direct social action in your community! Join us
this summer in California, New Jersey, New York, or Mississippi. For program application,
deadlines, and fees visit: www.nftymitzvahcorps.org,
email rvanthyn@urj.org, or call 212.650.4071.
One Family works to provide assistance to Israeli victims of
terror. They provide a vehicle for people to get involved in helping victims of
terrorism in Israel who have been left orphaned, maimed, and traumatized by the
recent violence. In Israel, they have three offices where volunteers can assist
in a variety of tasks from administrative duties to providing direct aid to victims.
OTZMA is a service-based leadership development program offering
young adults ages 20-26 the unique opportunity to contribute and acquire an in-depth
understanding of Israel and the Jewish people.
PANIM: The Institute for Jewish Leadership and Values is dedicated
to the renewal of American Jewish life through the integration of Jewish learning,
values, and social responsibility. PANIM's programs bring Jewish high school students
from across the Jewish religious and educational spectrum to Washington, D.C. to
learn about political activism and civic engagement in the context of Jewish values
and principles. Students emerge from our programs with a deeper appreciation for
how Jewish values and the Jewish tradition can empower them to make the world around
them a better place.
Spark: HeartAction is a new program that involves volunteers
in a transformational life experience by engaging participants as a community in
meaningful ongoing service to the elderly. As relationships grow though a process
of weekly visits, reflection sessions, text studies, guided journal activities and
personal encounters, volunteers come to better understand themselves and their place
within the world and their power to change it. Through these experiences, students
discover service as a meaningful expression of Jewish identity.
Through internships, conservation jobs and crew experiences,
SCA members are rising to meet environmental challenges while gaining real,
hands-on field experience. They complete projects in every conservation
discipline — from archaeology to zoology — and everything in between.
Jewish high-school students and 2007 graduates (ages 15-19)
who are looking to make a difference in the world and are interested in a
tuition-free outdoor volunteer experience can apply today.
Volunteers for Israel: Volunteers For Israel is a non-political,
non-profit, volunteer organization. It was formed in 1982 through the initiative
of General A. Davidi to coordinate volunteers to help alleviate manpower shortages
during the war in Lebanon. It provides the Diaspora Jew and other friends of Israel
with an opportunity to participate directly in helping Israel.
Weinberg Tzedek Hillel, an international public service effort
sponsored by Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life, is dedicated to transforming
life on campus and in the community.
Framed by the Jewish imperatives of tzedakah (righteousness),
gemilut chasadim (acts of loving kindness), and tikkun olam (repair
of the world), Weinberg Tzedek Hillel engages and empowers students in meaningful
public service and encourages creative thinking when addressing social justice issues.
In the process of bringing about meaningful social change, participants grow intellectually
and spiritually.
World Zionist Organization: The Hagshama Department of the World
Zionist Organization (WZO) encourages young people to embark on a journey designed
to empower participants in an ongoing process, in which the individual develops
a sense of belonging and responsibility to the broader community. To learn about
their volunteer opportunities in Israel visit http://www.wzo.org.il/en/programs/
