Leah Koenig is a freelance writer and editor whose work has appeared in The New York Times Magazine, Saveur, Every Day with Rachael Ray, Hadassah Magazine, Lilith, Edible Brooklyn and Beliefnet. She contributes a monthly column on food to The Forward and a bi-weekly column to Saveur.com. She is also the former editor of Hazon's award-winning blog, The Jew & The Carrot. Leah joined Repair the World as a contributing editor in late 2009.
For the last 130 years, the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS) has provided rescue and refuge for persecuted and oppressed peoples – both Jews and, more recently, refugees and immigrants from all backgrounds – around the world.
On February 23rd, HIAS is throwing a benefit concert at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City in honor of their 130th anniversary. Headlining the concert is Regina Spektor, one of America’s most beloved young singer songwriters – and also an immigrant who, with HIAS’ help, moved from Russia to the United States in the late 1980s.
In the lead up to the concert HIAS Young Leader representative, Alexis Ortiz, talked with Repair the World about how she got inspired by HIAS, how their work around immigration has remained vital throughout the organization’s history, and what it’s like to work with Regina.
How did you get involved with HIAS?
I first got involved in Washington DC about two years ago. I had led some trips for AJWS in Central America, and wanted to stay involved with that community. HIAS in DC has a partnership with the Central American Resource Center, which is a one-stop center for Latin American immigrants in DC. I volunteered through HIAS teaching ESL and citizenship classes. We would hold big celebrations for Christmas and Hanukkah where we’d make papusas and latkes. I also got involved on Capitol Hill, lobbying for refugee policy. I recently moved to New York City, and have continued my work with HIAS here.
This past week, the entertainment industry said goodbye to one of it’s legends: Whitney Houston. The pop icon and many-time Grammy Awards winner was known for her phenomenal singing, as well as for starring in movies like The Bodyguard and Waiting to Exhale. She was only 48.
The cause of Houston’s death is still unknown. What is known is that Houston struggled for many years with substance abuse and alcohol addiction. It is also known that her relationship with husband Bobby Brown was, as her New York Times obituary put it, “marred by drug use and by his professional jealousy, psychological abuse and physical confrontations.”
While Houston’s talent was a rarity, domestic violence is unfortunately all too common. Physical, mental and sexual abuse within a domestic context are societal problems that impact both the famous and not, adults and children, men – and primarily women. According to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, “an estimated 1.3 million women are victims of physical assault by an intimate partner each year.” Meanwhile, the Jewish Coalition Against Domestic Abuse reports that, “abuse occurs in Jewish families at about the same rate as in the general community – about 15% – and the abuse takes place among all branches of Judaism and at all socio-economic levels.”
In honor of Houston’s legacy – and especially today on Valentine’s Day, when thoughts of love and partnership are in the air – make a commitment to helping people facing domestic abuse and domestic violence. Here are some organizations that are doing great work:
Safe Horizon: Volunteer as a childcare assistant, tutor, program assistant – or in many other ways – for this organization, which is dedicated to providing services and support to victims of abuse and violence.
Valentine’s may be a sappy (and sometimes stressful!) Hallmark holiday – but we think it’s pretty great to have a day entirely devoted to spreading the love. Unfortunately, the business of showing and sharing our love isn’t always so peachy. Nearly 80% of the cut flowers sold in America are grown in South America and Africa – often by exploited workers. Meanwhile conventional cocoa bean production, which helps to produce those iconic heart-shaped boxes of chocolate, shares a similarly sketchy reputation.
So this year – whether you’re blissfully in love, or fixin’ to head out on the town (or stay in and watch a romcom) with friends – rock Valentine’s Day by sharing sustainable and fairly traded tokens of your affection. Here are some easy, last-minute ideas:
One World Flowers: Surprise your sweetie with a bouquet of beautiful fair trade certified flowers.
Organic Bouquet: The flowers from this eco-friendly company come with an added bonus – each bouquet you order helps support a non-profit like the Global Fund for Women, The American Lung Association and The National Wildlife Foundation.
Equal Exchange chocolate: Show how much you really care with a bar of chocolate caramel crunch from this fair trade company.
Happy Monday! Hopefully you’re recovering from your Grammy Award-watching party. To get your week going, here’s your weekly roundup of service-related stories from around the web:
NBC featured a heartwarming video about a 105-year old woman in Miami named Dorrie Aber Noyek, who continues to make volunteering a priority in her life.
HandsOn Blog reminds us that February is “national canned food month” – an opportunity to make hummus from those canned chickpeas in your pantry, and also to donate food to your local pantry.
The Forward reported about ZAKA, an Israeli medical and rescue organization that recently launched an interfaith emergency rescue program with Muslim and Christian counterparts.
Sustainablog posted a fascinating infographic about water: specifically where we get it, and how we use this crucial resource.
The Jewish Week published an article about the Magen Tzedek, a new “Seal of Justice” that assures customers that the food and other products they buy are made with good ethics in mind.
Shabbat Service is a weekly bit of Torah-inspired do-gooding, brought to you by Repair the World and our grantee-partner American Jewish World Service (AJWS). Read on to see how these ancient stories can apply today. Seem far fetched? Check it out:
The story: In this week’s parsha (Torah portion), Yitro, Moses receives an unexpected visitor. Yitro, a priest of Midian (and Moses’ father-in-law) visits him to check out Moses’ leadership of the newly freed Israelites. After surveying for a bit, he ultimately delivers the following critique: “The thing which you are doing is not good.” Considering Yitro does not live amongst the Israelites, it’s a pretty bold statement for him to make. And yet, as an elder and Moses’ father-in-law, he also offers his viewpoint from a place of authority.
The takeaway: According to this week’s AJWS author, Adina Roth, Yitro’s status as an insider/outsider offers “a powerful model for global justice work.” When working with people outside of our own community, especially on justice issues, it can be all too easy to make sweeping assertions about how to fix things based on limited observation. Instead, Roth writes, “we need to visit [people's] communities and listen to their stories” before we can truly help. In other words, as volunteers and as advocates for change, it is imperative to keep a sense of humbleness and a pair of open ears.
The “to-do”: More and more, justice and human rights organizations are beginning to understand that, in order to make effective change they must listen carefully to and work directly with the people they are helping. No organization understands this better than American Jewish World Service, which collaborates closely with on-the-ground partner organizations in all of the countries they assist – from Ethiopia to El Salvador. Get involved with AJWS through one of their service learning programs, or make a donation to support their global service work.
Read the full Torah commentary, on which this excerpt is based, over at AJWS’ website.
February is Black History Month – a month dedicated to celebrating the achievements of black Americans, and recognizing the central role they have played in U.S. history. The month honors leaders and heroes in every field from civil rights activists like Frederick Douglass and Martin Luther King Jr. and politicians like Barbara Jordan, to scientists like George Washington Carver and beloved writers like Langston Hughes and Zora Neale Hurston.
More recently, the month has taken on additional meaning by becoming a time to celebrate today’s young black leaders who continue to make history every day. Take, for example, The Root’s Young Futurists contest, which each year highlights the achievements of 25 young black innovators from around the country – from a 17-year old pilot to a teen media mogul and an clean air activist.
Celebrate Black History Month by partaking in some of the following activities:
Museum hopping: Take yourself, friends, and/or your family to a science, art, history, sports, or fill-in-the-blank museum to learn about all the tremendous contributions of African-Americans.
Educate yourself through a Bio-Doc: In honor of Black History Month, Biography TV is dedicating their line-up to honor some of the great African Americans of our time. Don’t have a tv? No worries! Watch full episodes on their site, like this one of Barack Obama.
Attend a storytelling: Storytelling, the oral tradition of passing down tales from generation to generation, has kept cultural heritage alive for centuries. In honor of this tradition, many African-American storytellers are performing during the month of February. Check out your local library or community center to find an event near you.
Over the last decade, the ideas of eating local, supporting small farmers and growing one’s own produce have skyrocketed in popularity. But for the 46 million Americans who depend on food stamps (now called the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program – or SNAP) to put food on their tables, finding access to sustainable, healthy food can be a challenge.
Now, a program called SNAP Gardens is helping to make growing one’s own food a little easier. Thanks to a little-known amendment to the Food Stamp Act, SNAP benefits can be used to purchase seeds and plants for home or community gardening. (Pretty cool, right?) SNAP Gardens works to raise awareness and empower people to “Grow their Food Stamps” into fresh, delicious food. Find out more here:
SNAP Gardens founder, Daniel Bowman Simon, has a history of creating successful food programs – most recently the White House Organic Farm project, which played a part in inspiring the educational food garden planted at the White House. SNAP Gardens takes the ideas of healthy, fresh food for all from the White House to the streets (and more specifically gardens) across the country. Daniel took the time to let us know how it works, and how people, schools, and synagogues can help their effort. Read the interview below the jump:
Happy Monday, or should we say, happy day after the Super Bowl? Hopefully you enjoyed the afternoon of cheering, snacking, and commercial watching. To get you just as revved up for the rest of the week, here is your weekly round up of service-related posts from around the web.
The Huffington Post published a touching essay remembering Ayelet Galena – the inspiring two-year old who recently lost her fight with a rare bone marrow disorder, but touched the hearts of thousands and meanwhile inspired many more to get swabbed as bone marrow donors.
The Huffington Post also shared an interesting article that reported that 2011 charitable giving outpaced economic growth.
The Nation posted an op-ed by Amy Schiller about the past week’s biggest health care story (re: The Susan G. Komen Foundation and Planned Parenthood) and how it was ultimately good for the feminist movement.
The New York Times shared an unusual animal welfare story about the New York City residents who look out for the health of the city’s most controversial bird: the pigeon.
GOOD posted an article and video about Ellen DeGeneres’ financial gift towards a Pennsylvania school that cannot afford to pay its teachers (who, heroically, had pledged to work for free.)
To end things on a fun DIY note, GOOD also posted a how-to article for making homemade, recycled and adorable vases out of everything from twigs to used lightbulbs.
Shabbat Service is a weekly bit of Torah-inspired do-gooding, brought to you by Repair the World and our grantee-partner American Jewish World Service (AJWS). Read on to see how these ancient stories can apply today. Seem far fetched? Check it out:
The story: In this week’s parsha (Torah portion), Beshalach, Pharaoh and the ancient Egyptians have just suffered through 10 plagues starting with their rivers and other water sources turning to blood, and ending with the death of firstborn children. And yet, instead of allowing the Israelites to leave in peace, Pharoah’s heart hardens (yet again), and he and his army chase them towards the Red Sea. (Luckily, that plan didn’t work out so well.)
The takeaway: According to this week’s AJWS parsha interpreter, Sigal Samuel, “At first glance, Pharaoh’s refusal to acknowledge his people’s suffering may seem baffling to us… In truth, however, the Egyptian ruler’s behavior reflects an important fact about human psychology: namely, that constant exposure to a series of tragedies…can cause us to close our hearts toward the suffering of others.” In other words, in our daily lives we are constantly barraged with images of other people living through war, famine, and other types of pain. Unlike Pharaoh, we may feel general compassion for these people. And yet, it is all to easy to “harden our hearts” and push away bad news out of what feels like an act of preserving our own sanity.
The “to-do”: Of course, while shutting out sad news makes us feel better for a time, it does not help the situation, or take away our responsibilities to others. So how do we avoid becoming numb to tragedy? One way is to engage with service on a deeper level. Check out the work, for example, of WITNESS, an organization that uses video and other technology to share people’s stories in fresh and compelling ways. (Read more about WITNESS on Repair the World here.) Or, engage in service from the human-to-human level, which allows one to build deeper, lasting relationships with people in need. Not sure where to start? Here are a couple of organizations we love.
Read the full Torah commentary, on which this excerpt is based, over at AJWS’ website.
As CEO of Repair the World, Jon Rosenberg is in the business of empowering others to make service a defining part of Jewish life. But last Monday night, Jon had an opportunity to personally live out the organization’s mission.
He was one of several Repair the World staffers who stayed up late and into the morning hours to participate in the Homeless Outreach Population Estimate (HOPE) Count – a survey of New York City’s homeless population, which engages thousands of volunteers for a night of meaningful service. (Read more about the HOPE survey on Repair the World here.)
Jon took some time to talk about his experience with HOPE, the diverse people he met and volunteered with over the course of the evening, the impacts of race and class on city life, and how New York is truly the city that never sleeps.
Why did you choose to participate in HOPE count?
One of the things that Repair the World has focused on, and that I have personally focused on with my own service is engaging in service that meets a real need. The HOPE survey really struck me as an example of this type of authentic, effective service. I felt it met my personal litmus test as well as our organizational standards.
Repair the World works to inspire American Jews and their communities to give their time and effort to serve those in need. We aim to make service a defining part of American Jewish life.
