Regional Volunteer Opportunities
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Association of Jewish Family Children's Agencies: AJFCA is the
membership organization of over 145 Jewish Family and Children's Agencies and specialized
human service agencies throughout the United States and Canada. To find volunteer
opportunities through your local Jewish Family Children's agency, visit http://www.ajfca.org/cgi-bin/dir.pl?string=XX&svcs=1
Jewish Council for Public Affairs: JCPA serves as the representative
voice of the organized American Jewish community in addressing the mandate of the
Jewish community relations field. Through our network of 13 national and 122 local
equal and independent partner agencies, the JCPA serves as a catalyst that heightens
community awareness, encourages civic and social involvement, and deliberates key
issues of importance to the Jewish community. Many of the local agencies have volunteer
opportunities. To find out if your community relations council or committee has
volunteer opportunities, visit www.jewishpublicaffairs.org and click on community
relations.
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.
United Jewish Communities: The United Jewish Communities represents
156 Jewish federations, 400 independent communities and 700,000 people across North
America. To find the volunteer opportunities through your local federation visit
www.ujc.org/ir_home.html.
Other Regional Volunteer Opportunities:
CALIFORNIA
Jewish Big Brothers Big Sisters
of Los Angeles
ILLINOIS
*Jewish Council on Urban Affairs
The Jewish Council on Urban Affairs combats poverty, racism,
and anti-Semitism in partnership with Chicago's diverse communities. For forty years,
JCUA has brought a Jewish voice and Jewish community involvement to efforts that
help build coalitions, promote advocacy, and address issues that affect Chicago's
most at-risk communities
MASSACHUSETTS
Jewish Big Brother and Big
Sister Association of Greater Boston
*Jewish Community
Relations Council of Boston
From college campuses to synagogues, Boston's Jewish community
is actively engaged in promoting Tikkun Olam, the Jewish imperative to repair the
world. As part of its Social Justice agenda, the Jewish Community Relations Council
of Greater Boston (JCRC) has launched The Social Justice Training and Action Center,
a multi-faceted initiative to help Jewish individuals and organizations fulfill
this imperative by providing opportunities for engagement in meaningful social justice
work.
MINNESOTA AND THE DAKOTAS
Justice Squared,
Service and Advocacy to Repair the World
Justice Squared is a program of the Jewish Community Relations
Council of Minnesota and the Dakotas. Ph: 612/338-7816, ext. 292
MISSOURI
*Jewish
Community Relations Council of St. Louis
The St. Louis JCRC Social Justice Initiative turns education
into action by partnerships with Jewish agencies, congregations and
organizations to promote social justice opportunities. For information call
Marci Mayer Eisen at 314-442-3894 or email meisen@jcrcstl.org.
NEW YORK
DOROT
Since 1976 DOROT has worked to improve the quality of life for
elders in New York and to bring the generations together in friendship. DOROT mobilizes
volunteers to help the frail and homebound elderly. Volunteering is flexible and
can be after school, on Sundays or during vacation. For more information visit or
contact DOROT at 212-769-2850.
Metropolitan Council
on Jewish Poverty
The Metropolitan Council on Jewish Poverty serves more than 100,000
clients every year in all five boroughs of New York. Met Council provides crisis
intervention, counseling, kosher food distribution, career services, housing, furniture,
clothing, home care, family violence prevention and home repair services to those
in need. They provide many chesed opportunities within all of their departments
throughout all five boroughs. Volunteer opportunities include friendly visits to
frail seniors, food packaging and distribution and phone calls to the sick.
OHIO
Jewish Big Brothers
Big Sisters of Central Ohio
WASHINGTON, DC
*Jews United for Justice
Jews United for Justice mobilizes the Washington-area Jewish
community to take action in local campaigns for social and economic justice, and
creates a community in which we explore and strengthen our commitments to our Judaism
and our activism. We work in coalition on campaigns for Living Wage, Affordable
Housing, and Immigrant Workers' Rights, hold monthly text studies, special courses
and community-wide events, and strive to be a progressive voice in the Jewish community
and a Jewish voice in the progressive community. Check our website for upcoming
events on our DC Living Wage and Affordable Housing campaigns. Contact: Avi D. Rosenblit,
Director. Office number: 202-331-5835
*Yachad
Yachad, the Jewish Community and Housing Development
Corporation of Greater Washington, is a non-profit organization that mobilizes
the resources of the Washington, D.C. area Jewish community to revitalize urban
neighborhoods. Yachad works together with synagogues, minority churches and
other non-profit organizations to revitalize commercial properties and maintain
affordable housing. Phone: 202-296-8563.
