Happy Monday! As always, here for your reading pleasure is Repair the World’s weekly roundup of inspiring service and social action-related posts from around the web.
Tablet Magazine shared a profile about a Colorado-based couple who are producing organic, heritage breed kosher meat – making the world more sustainable and more delicious at the same time.
The Huffington Post published an essay by Joelle Novey about her own (as well as other religious leaders’) environmental activism around the controversial Keystone XL tar sands pipeline.
Rochester Patch shared the inspiring story of a teenage girl who wrote an uplifting and comforting book for kids, like herself, who have lost a parent.
GOOD reports that San Francisco is promoting safer nighttime bike riding by handing out 2,000 free bike lights to the city’s riders.
Have Fun Do Good ends things on an eco-friendly holiday note, sharing 25 different handmade gifts you can make using your digital photo collection.
CNN announced its heroine of the year, Robin Lim, an American woman who has helped thousands of poor Indonesian women have a healthy pregnancy and birth.
Sorry Superman - sometimes gifts aren't enough. JD Hancock via CC
This Torah Tidbit is brought to you by Repair the World and our grantee-partner American Jewish World Service (AJWS). Check out the full dvar tzedek on which this excerpt is based at AJWS.
In Hollywood, happy endings are pretty much guaranteed. In life – not so much. This week’s Torah portion, Vayishlach, tells the story of Jacob and Esau: two feuding brothers meeting for the first time in years. (The reason for the rift? Jacob stole first-born Esau’s blessing and birthright from their father Isaac. Kind of a big deal.)
At the meeting, Jacob brings his brother lots of apology gifts – camels, goats, cattle you know, the usual stuff – in hopes that the bounty will make up for everything he took years before. But, as this week’s dvar tzedek author, Leil Lebovitz writes, “In putting together his gift, it doesn’t occur to Jacob that his brother—who he knows had, since their last parting, grown wealthy and powerful—might have no use for all these animals. Jacob isn’t thinking rationally; he just wants the problem to go away.”
Leil goes on to say how this story of Jacob and Esau’s reunion can offer insight to those of us concerned with global hunger. Read on to find out how:
Way back on Dec 10, 1948 the United Nations adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights: a revolutionary document that recognized “inherent dignity” and “equal and inalienable rights” of all people as the “foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world.” Pretty cool, huh?
This Saturday marks the 63rd anniversary of the declaration, and Human Rights Day, a celebration of human rights and a time to honor all activists, supporters and defenders of the global human rights movement. Jewish tradition has its own notion of human rights – the ancient idea of b’tzelem Elohim, which says that all humans are created in the image of God, and should therefore be treated with dignity and respect. In that spirit, here are some ways for you to celebrate Human Rights Day – this weekend, and all year round.
Plug into an official event going on for Human Rights Day near you by checking out the UN’s HRD page.
“Like” Human Rights Day on Facebook and plug into their 30 days and 30 rights discussion.
Plan an event to celebrate Human Rights locally. Check out AJWS’ On 1 Foot website for texts and resources.
Make a donation to your favorite human rights organization (like one of these).
And be sure to check out the Human Rights Day video (complete with an auto-tuned audio mash-up!) below:
How will you celebrate Human Rights Day this year?
Water: it cleans, nourishes and sustains us. But only if we have access. Today, nearly 1 billion (yes, seriously 1 BILLION) of our world’s residents live without access to clean drinking water, particularly those in developing countries throughout Africa, Southeast Asia and South America.
That statistic, and others like it, convinced Sarah Cohen to leave her life in the glamorous world of fashion PR, and to bring her talents to charity: water – a nonprofit working to bring safe drinking water to people in developing nations. Sarah took a few minutes to tell us about why she’s so passionate about charity: water’s work, how water shortages are connected to countless other issues, and how you can make a difference.
Have you always been passionate about human rights work?
My parents were both very socially active. When I was growing up in Delaware my mom was always involved in the local human rights movement. She’d put up posters in our house windows about promoting issues. My dad is the same way. He’s on tons of different boards and was connected to the synagogue, so I was brought up in that environment.
My career path didn’t reflect that immediately, though. I went to college at NYU and studied communications and fashion. After college I worked in public relations for fashion brands. I really fell in love with the work and got hooked on the glamor of it all.
How did you end up working for charity: water?
After about 6 1/2 years I decided to make a huge shift. I caught the travel bug when I was 13 and used my Bat Mitzvah money to go to Australia as a student ambassador, and since then I’ve always loved travel. When I left my job, I ended up traveling for an extended period. I went to South East Asia, Northern Africa, southern India, and Europe. It was a once-in-a-lifetime dream.
In the meantime, I had been connected with charity: water because my PR agency did pro-bono marketing and communications work for them. Every time we met with the founder, Scott Harrison, he’d share a story about a new campaign or the latest trip and it was so inspiring. It hit me that instead of pitching magazines about makeup or fall fashion trends, I wanted to use my skills in PR and communications to share how important the water crisis is.
Happy Monday and happy December! To get you geared up for the new month and the upcoming festival of lights (ahem, Hanukkah), here is our weekly round up of inspiring service-focused posts from around the web.
The Wall Street Journal published a fascinating interview with Feeding America CEO, Vicki Escarra.
The New York Times published an article about the importance of matching volunteers to the right positions – and how some organizations are doing just that.
The Jewish Week shared a story about a JCC in Suffolk County, Long Island that is redefining tolerance and diversity.
EJewish Philanthropy shared the news and a video clip about the Academy Award winning documentary Strangers No More about an inspiring school in Tel Aviv that serves one of the most economically challenged and diverse student populations in Israel.
GOOD shares an equally inspiring story about how a program teaching knitting in Maryland’s prisons has transformed some prisoners’ lives for the better.
What stories are you feeling inspired by this week?
Respecting both heaven and earth. Photo by dolcedo via CC
This Torah Tidbit is brought to you by Repair the World and our grantee-partner American Jewish World Service (AJWS). Check out the full dvar tzedek on which this excerpt is based at AJWS.
What responsibility do we have to the Earth? Is it possible to value the earth as a sacred space? How do we balance our need for resources with the environmental degradation that too often results from our consumption? Are the stakes different when we’re talking about food or a smart phone?
This week’s Torah portion, Vayetze, offers insight into these challenging questions. It tells the story of Jacob fleeing form his home and encountering God through his dreams while in the wilderness. (Remember the whole “Jacob’s ladder” story? Yeah, that’s this one.) Jacob’s encounter sets up a binary that puts God and heaven in a sacred context and the earth below in a mundane context.
According to this week’s dvar tzedek author, Adina Roth, that binary can cause problems with how we view and respect the Earth. Read more from this week’s dvar tzedek author, Adina Roth, below the jump.
The first World AIDS Day – a day dedicated to raising awareness about HIV/AIDS, combating prejudice against people living with the virus, and raising funds to find a cure – was held in 1988. Back then AIDS was still pretty new in public consciousness.
Today, 23 years later, AIDS is a recognized global epidemic. An estimated 33 million people are living with HIV across the world – 1.2 of them live in the United States and the majority (22.5 million) live in Africa. While great advances have been made in diminishing taboos, educating people about HIV prevention, and finding treatments that help people living with the virus, there is still much work to be done a vast majority of people living with the virus lack access to the resources, medications, or health care that they need.
World AIDS Day kicks off AIDS Awareness Month during the month of December. December is also the month of Hanukkah – a holiday focused on miracles, perseverance, and creating light within the darkness. Help bring the light and hope of Hanukkah into AIDS Awareness Month by participating in one of the service opportunities below.
Learn more about the impact of HIV/AIDS by checking out the World AIDS Day website (based in the UK), AIDS.gov (based in the US), or this report, put out by AJWS.
Plan an event in your area this month to help raise awareness or funds (or both) for HIV/AIDS research and education. (Find resources here.)
Donate to American Jewish World Service, which works with partners across Africa and other countries to find on-the-ground solutions to the HIV/AIDS crisis. Check out more of their work in the video below.
How is your community planning to commemorate World AIDS Day and AIDS Awareness Month? Let us know in the comments below!
‘Stache, soup strainer, nose neighbor – whatever you like to call them, moustaches are the height of men’s facial fashion. And during the month of November, they’re also a call to raise awareness about men’s health.
The stats are astonishing: 1 in 6 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime, and 1 in 2 will be diagnosed with some kind of cancer. Still, men’s health tends to be overlooked in the media. That’s where Movember came in.
The month-long campaign invites men or “Mo Bros” to grow a moustache throughout the month of November, while raising awareness and money to support men’s health, and specifically prostate cancer research. Think of Movember as a fundraising marathon, except instead of lots of sweat, training and electrolyte-guzzling, participants end up with a sweet, stylin’ ‘stache. (There are lots of opportunities for women, or “Mo Sisters” to get involved too – with or without the ‘stache.)
Funds raised during Movember support super-worthy causes like the Prostate Cancer Foundation and Lance Armstrong’s LIVESTRONG Foundation, as well as Movember’s own education campaigns. (Find out more about where Movember’s money goes by watching the video below.)
Today is the last day in November, which means it’s also the last day to donate towards participants’ moustache growing campaigns during Movember. Check out the fuzzy madness on Facebook, and scope out this funny Top 5 Jewish moustache-wearers list here. Then make a donation to support men’s health and cancer research here.
Lara Galinsky is passionate: about change, about how the work we do effects the world, and how our work effects us individually. A former Director of National Programs at DoSomething.org, Lara is now the Senior Vice President at Echoing Green, an organization that invests in and supports outstanding emerging social entrepreneurs, and recently authored Echoing Green’s new book, Work on Purpose. (Check out where the org’s nifty name comes from here.)
Repair the World recently spoke to Lara about she found her hustle and you can find yours: how her parents’ inspired her, how to tap into your personal meaningful work, and why a bad economic climate can actually be a good thing for people who want to change the world.
Tell me about your background with service – was it something you’ve always been passionate about? I grew up in a family where working in the nonprofit sector was part of our family fabric. It was a natural idea that if I want to use my time on earth to make a difference, there’s a sector where I can do that. My dad had a very traditional first career working as a scientist and engineer. He spent his nights and weekends producing visual art – mostly paintings and drawings. But then he decided to take the plunge and become an artist. He enrolled in a Masters of Fine Arts at Columbia and has had a 30 year career as an artist. He also does energetic healing and stress reduction work in hospitals. So I grew up with a father who was passionate about his work.
Happy Monday! We hope you had a happy and delicious Thanksgiving weekend. To help jump start the post-holiday week, here is your dose of inspiring service-related stories from around the web.
Jspot offers a reflection by Rabbi Jason Kimelman-Block about the obligations of a full belly. (pretty appropriate for the Monday after Thanksgiving, huh?)
Serve.gov contemplates Ferris Bueller’s day ON, a.k.a. how, more than previous generations, this generation is using their time-off to do good.
Sustainablog shared a really cool infographic created by the Kars4Kids car donation program, explaining how many cars were recycled last year. (preview: enough to save 80 billion gallons of oil!)
GOOD shared an essay by City Year volunteer Liz Warden about education reform and her experience working with under-served communities.
TED, pulled together a fun slideshow of their TEDYouth conference. Find out more about the conferences, and watch TED videos here.
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.
