From Passive to Intentional Service

Rose Capin (she/her), Alumni Engagement Associate at Repair the World

 

 

Rose (she/her) was introduced to Repair the World by a Springboard fellow at her university Hillel. “Growing up, I didn’t feel fully connected to my Jewish identity so I made a promise to myself to explore my Jewishness while in college”, said Rose. So when she learned about an immervice service opportunity aligned with Jewish values where she could take action locally, she jumped at the chance and applied to the Repair the World Fellowship. Rose served in Atlanta as a fellow from 2020-2021. 

Before joining the Repair the World fellowship, Rose began her Jewish service journey while in college through alternative spring breaks. It was then that she discovered her connection to Jewish values. “I never thought to combine service and Judaism. My Jewishness was something I leaned on for myself and service was something I did for the community,” said Rose.

As a fellow, I learned that service and community action were how my neighbors in Atlanta expressed their Jewishness. I see now that service and Judaism are essential pieces of my life. Judaism holds me accountable for being the community member and activist I want to be.

Rose looked forward to diving into service with more intentionality, in a way she hadn’t before. “Growing up, as a family we cared about community but I’ve been passive about service. I served my community through high school clubs so when joining the Fellowship I was ready to be more proactive about how I served and showed up for my community.”

Rose reflected on her Fellowship orientation when joining Repair and how it felt to serve as a fellow for the first time with Historic Westside Gardens, an Atlanta Repair nonprofit service partner. “I remembered during the orientation, feeling the spongiest I ever felt. I thought, ‘How cool is it that I get to learn from Rabbi Jessy (Senior Director of Education) about Jewish wisdom pieces that are enriching me and that this was part of my work as a fellow.’ 

Rose continued saying, “I was in awe and my orientation notebook was completely filled up by the end of the experience. My brain was expanding. I have so much gratitude for being positioned so close to local organizations in a way that I wouldn’t have been without the fellowship.”

Within the Fellowship, Rose found her place in facilitating and building programs and bringing people into the community together. “One of my favorite memories was facilitating a program with Reproductive Justice Shabbat, a National Council of Jewish Women (NCJW) initiative. It was incredibly meaningful to be a partner with them to be grounded in action and hyper local happenings.” The program included Jewish wisdom, service, and teaching about reproductive justice. “I witnessed community partnership modeled in a dynamic way where attendees who hadn’t thought critically about reproductive justice were thankful for the space to learn from others in the community. “

Rose now views service as an opportunity to also learn deeply and build relationships. For Repair, service is grounded in community building across community lines. “The service that I’ve come to know is a mutual investment and community members showing up for each other and mobilizing each other to take action. Authentic and meaningful service.”

Rose is now an Alumni Engagement Associate at Repair the World and currently lives at a Moishe House in Nashville, Tennessee. “Living here I often think, ‘If I was a Repair fellow here, what organizations would I serve with?’ So now I serve with Nashville Food Project, an organization similar to Concrete Jungle which I served alongside as a fellow. I  continue to be excited to learn and have difficult conversations while holding community relationships close. Something I learned from Repair.” 

 

Rose (she/her) is an advocate and connector guided by curiosity, justice, and joy. A proud product of Arizona, she traded her southwestern affinity for a southeastern one to study public health and gender studies at Vanderbilt University. While there, Rose dove deep into the world of alternative breaks, learning to envision service as a catalyst to lifelong justice work. She grew her professional roots as a Food Justice Fellow with Repair the World Atlanta, where she gained a toolkit of lessons and mentors to last a lifetime. Since then, Rose has managed volunteers at an education equity startup, developed UX design with a radically genuine networking initiative, and built Jewish community around her dinner table with Moishe House Nashville. Rose is overjoyed to return to Repair and is eager to co-create an interconnected and meaningful alumni community.

Repair the World mobilizes Jews and their communities to take action to pursue a just world, igniting a lifelong commitment to service. We believe service in support of social change is vital to a flourishing Jewish community and an inspired Jewish life. By 2026, Repair will inspire and catalyze one million acts of service towards repairing the world.

The Repair the World Fellowship is a two-year, full-time, immersive service and Jewish learning opportunity for young adults passionate about mobilizing local Jewish communities to volunteer. Based in one of eight communities throughout the United States, fellows spend two years volunteering with local partner organizations, learning the ins and outs of working at a non-profit, developing their event planning skills, getting to know a community, building a nuanced racial justice lens, and getting to know themselves as they work to build a more just world through service. Fellows will engage the Jewish community in meaningful service learning, Jewish ritual and text, and community programming, mobilizing their peers to serve alongside them at local organizations.

The Repair the World Fellowship is for courageous, innovative, and compassionate leaders who want to spend two years launching their professional careers at the intersection of volunteerism, social justice, and Jewish engagement.