This article originally appeared on NY Blueprint on January 28, 2019.
(Jan. 17-21) — Check out a plethora of events to make the world better, all of them happening right here in NYC. Click on link at right for the list of opportunities.
Archive for : Brooklyn
US College Graduates Take Up Faith-Based Service
This story originally appeared in The Christian Science Monitor on May 31, 2018.
By Dan Lothian
From New York City to Los Angeles, college graduates are signing up for faith-based service before hitting the job market. Faith service groups are often more trusted in inner city communities, have ties to well-established leaders, and have a built-in network of local supporters. “I’m really not taking a year off, I’m taking a year on,” says Miriam Lipschutz, a volunteer growing fresh produce at the Jewish non-profit organization Repair the World.
Liberation And #MeToo Collide At The Seder
This article originally appeared in The New York Jewish Week on March 21, 2018.
By Hannah Dreyfus
Eric Thurm, a 25-year-old Brooklynite and writer, has been hosting seders for his contemporaries since his college days.
Classic American paintings transformed to reflect gun violence
This story originally appeared on News 12 Brooklyn on February 5, 2018.
By Amanda Bossard
CROWN HEIGHTS – Fourteen classic works of American art have been transformed by Brooklyn artists to reflect gun violence in modern day society. The exhibits named “Guns Don’t Kill –a re-imagining” is on display at the Repair the World NYC offices in Crown Heights.
Volunteers Turn Out To Fight Hunger For Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day
This radio segment originally appeared on CBS New York on January 14, 2018.
By Kelly Waldron
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) — With Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day coming up on Monday, many volunteers hit the streets this weekend to honor the civil rights leader. As WCBS 880’s Kelly Waldron reported Sunday, 2,500 volunteers have been working across the city this weekend to take part in Hunger Free America’s MLK Serve-a-Thon.
Norman Glockwell? See What Happens When Guns Are Thrust Into Iconic Artwork
This post originally appeared in Bedford and Bowery on January 12, 2018.
By Dabuek Maurer
You’ve seen what happens when Hollywood guns are replaced by thumbs ups or, even better, selfie sticks. Now see what happens when guns are swapped in to famous works of art.
An exhibit coming to Brooklyn will feature artwork where pistols, rifles, and other weapons and violent imagery are inserted into interpretations of works by Norman Rockwell, Edward Hopper, Winslow Homer… even Dr. Seuss.
Why I am Inspired to Act Now
This post originally appeared in e-Jewish Philanthropy on November 22, 2017.
By Raffaella Glasser
After over two months as a Repair the World Fellow it still feels like yesterday that I sat at Capital Camps at the Repair the World national orientation surrounded by my fellow fellows. We each were embarking on our year of service with Repair the World. I was in awe of the people I was meeting – each fellow coming from across the country with an incredible set of skills, amazing experiences and drive for the work they were about to begin. I couldn’t help but wonder how I would fit into Repair. Would my skills and experiences prepare me for the year to come?
Artist Spotlight: Toshi Reagon
In the month leading up to MLK Day, our blog will be exploring diverse expressions of art created by people of color. The blog will highlight artists, collaborators, performers, poets, filmmakers, and everything in between. We will be exploring creative outlets that express the various ways racial injustice exists today.
In addition to reading, you can join our MLK Campaign and help us serve in solidarity by hosting and volunteering. Together we can #ActNowForRacialJustice.
A Racial Justice Shabbat Dinner with Michael Twitty
Shabbat dinner naturally has a lot going for it. The food (challah! matzo ball soup!), the singing, the camaraderie, the chance to truly rest and enjoy friends and family after a long week – it’s hard to improve upon. But one recent Shabbat dinner held in Atlanta, Georgia last week stands out from the pack.
On November 11, Repair the World hosted a #TurntheTables Shabbat dinner as part of our time at Facing Race: A National Conference – a multiracial, intergenerational gathering focused on racial and social justice. We had spent time at the conference engaging with and learning from community organizers, educators, interfaith clergy members, and other leaders of the racial and social justice movements, and it was time to rest and recharge.
As night fell and the Shabbat candles were lit, more than 100 people joined together around the table (or rather, many tables!) for dinner, discussion, and a conversation with culinary historian and writer, Michael Twitty.
Twitty focuses much of his scholarship on the history and culture behind African and African-diaspora cuisines, as well as on the idea of “identity cooking” – his theory about the way people construct and express their complex identities through food. As a Black Jewish man, Twitty often writes about his own experiences melding the, as he writes on his website, “histories, tastes, flavors, and Diasporic wisdom of being Black and Jewish.”
With the results of the national Presidential election just 3 days old, he spoke about the commonalities and distinctions between the Jewish and Black experience as minorities in America, and the critical importance of loving and protecting one another as full and complex human beings.
During dinner, guests were also prompted to discuss questions around the table like, “Where are you coming from in your racial justice journey?” which gave them a chance to get to know one another on a deeper level. The dinner closed with an alternative take of the Birkat Hamazon – or the grace/thanks traditionally said after meals in the Jewish tradition. The words of the blessing said it all:
“Giving and receiving we open up our hands / from seedtime to harvest we’re partners with the land.
We all share a vision of wholeness and release / Where every child is nourished and we all live in peace.”
For more information about Repair the World’s #TurntheTables Shabbat dinner, check out the article in the Atlanta Jewish Times, read through the dinner guide Repair the World created, and listen to Twitty’s speech in full.
Life After A Repair The World Fellowship: Shannon Ferguson
Last month, the current class of Repair the World Fellows held their final closing circles and said so long – but not goodbye! We’ve been incredibly inspired by their work as change makers during their fellowship year, and are excited to keep up with them in the months and years to come.
First up, here’s Shannon Ferguson who was one of Repair the World’s Education Justice Fellows in New York City. She took some time to share the impact she was able to have on others over the course of the year, and the impact the fellowship had on her – including inspiring her to pursue a dream of sharing her passion for the ukulele with students across the United States! Check out her story below (and learn more about her uke tour on her GoFundMe page!), then find out more about becoming a Repair the World Fellow.
What drew you to being a part of the Fellowship?
I graduated college in 2014 and the following year became a full time teacher in New York City. I enjoyed my work but felt there was a lot more I needed to learn in order to be as effective as I wanted to be. I thought about switching from teaching and went to a food justice conference where I ended up meeting a Repair the World fellow. When I realized that there was an organization that focused on both education and food and social justice, it felt perfect. I am Jewish so that was a nice addition, but that is not what originally drew me to the program.
Tell me about the projects you worked on during your fellowship year?
One of the organizations I worked with was Brooklyn Community Services. They are a non profit that has been around for 150 years working with youth at risk and adults with mental illness and developmental disabilities. We worked with their Gary Klinsky Children’s Center, which runs an after school program from kindergarten through eighth grade. We brought volunteers there to tutor and play with the kids. I was also there every week working with the classroom teachers, helping kids with their homework, and teaching them ukulele.
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