Your Skills
Wanted
|
JOI is looking
to expand and improve key parts of our
infrastructure.
As a first step, we are
turning to the community for the resources that already
exist.
Do you
have skills in web design, marketing or evaluation?
If you are knowledgable about any of
these areas and would like to be
part of a
conversation about how to best position JOI for the
future,
please contact us at
rherst@jewishorganizing.org
|
 |
Donate
now and help JOI step up to a strong
future.
 |
| |
In
the News: Dorchester Reporter Features JOI Fellow and
Alum Tenant Organizing
|
|
 "For me, it comes down to a
matter of what's just," said current JOI Fellow Brian
Brotman in
a recent Dorchester
Reporter article on his work with City Life/Vida
Urbana.
Along with JOI alum Daria Ovide,
Brotman is part of a volunteer group of tenant
organizers fighting impending foreclosures by alerting
Dorchester residents of their rights and bringing
pressure to bear on DEUTCHE Bank.
Read the
entire article "They Help Tenants
Who are Facing Foreclosure" in the Dorchestor
Reporter.
|
Fly on the Wall: What
Have the Fellows Been Learning Lately?
|
|
A
guest speaker is invited to every Friday training
session to lead an in-depth training in their area of
expertise. So far, topics have
included:
ACTION: Meir Lakein of the Greater Boston
Synagogue Organizing Project, an initiative of the
Jewish Community
Relations Council of Greater Boston, developed and
led an intensive community organizing training with the
fellows over three days in late October. Alum Lisa
Vinikoor of the Greater Boston
Interfaith Organization and Catherine Bell, JOI
Program Director, served as supporting
trainers.
The training allowed the Fellows to take a deep
look at their own stories and to craft compelling
narratives they can use in building relationships with
constituents. Trainers addressed the following
topics:
Using
stories to build
power
Components of a successful
action
How actions fit into the cycle of
organizing
Characteristics,
habits and actions of
leaders
The training also
had an action component that challenged the fellows to
put organizing theory into practice by mobilizing their
personal networks around a current social justice issue.
The following week, Catherine wrapped up the training
experience by leading an in-depth evaluation of the
lessons learned from taking action as a
group.Meir Lakein, a longtime organizer who has worked
with JOI fellows since the organization began, commented
that he was impressed with this group's aptitude and
willingness to engage with challenging
tasks.
OHEL
TZEDEK: Rabbi Stephanie
Kolin of Temple Israel led
a Jewish text study about social justice values in the
Jewish tradition and a discussion on the strengths and
challenges of organizing in Jewish congregations.
CHALLENGE: The Fellow's
planned and celebrated Shabbat in a creative,
interactive service, inviting participants to think
about the ways they embrace productive challenge in
their lives. MISSION:
Ann Silverman, who recently served as JOI's interim
executive director, connected the Fellow's own work
experiences and relationships to concepts of
organizational missions, high performance non-profits,
outputs and outcomes.
CONFLICT:
Mitch Chanin, director of the Jewish Dialogue
Group, and Rabbi Rachel Schoenfeld facilitated a
dialogue on Fellows' feelings about the
Israeli/Palestinian conflict. They highlighted
useful communication skills for having productive
conversations about difficult topics.
Pictured above: Fellow Dan Gelbtuch
participates in a community organizing training.
|
Building Community: Programs to
Support Placement Supervisors, Fellows and
Alums
|
|
SUPERVISORS
GATHER TO SHARE RESOURCES
The JOI
community extends well beyond the walls of the JOI
office and trainings, and includes Fellows' placement
organizations and the communities they serve.
As part of
this wide-reaching community, the current Fellows'
supervisors gathered on Tuesday, September 25th for an
opportunity to serve as resources for each other and
improve their experiences working with JOI
Fellows.
Program
Director Catherine Bell led a Best Practices session,
asking supervisors to reflect on the strengths and
challenges of working with their Fellows, and share
creative solutions and advice.
"The
training allowed supervisors to get the benefits of
being part of the JOI community,"
said Bell. "We
not only provide top of the line training for their
Fellows, but we offer invaluable peer and organizational
support to strengthen their
supervisory relationships and skills."
Many
supervisors remarked it was useful to hear what their
Fellows were learning outside of their placements and to
have a space to share experiences.
They
requested follow-up meetings to reinforce their
relationships with other supervisors and the JOI
community.
Fellows eat lunch and discuss goals and
challenges at their placements at the last retreat in
Stoughton, MA. Their supervisors recently gathered
to have the same opportunity to support each other and
reflect on working relationships with Fellows.
ALUMNI
MENTORS MEET TO STRENGTHEN
RELATIONSHIPS
In addition to offering
support for supervisors, JOI also facilitates valuable
relationships between Fellows and alums through the
peer-mentoring buddy program.
On Sunday,
November 4, the alumni mentors gathered at alum Orly
Jacobovits' house to evaluate their relationships with
their Fellows, share commonalities, and strengthen their
mentoring going forward.
The afternoon
also provided an opportunity for alums from different
JOI Fellowship years to get to know one another,
bolstering the fabric of the alumni community.
"JOI as a program
and as a social network gave me my identity as an
organizer," said alum FayeRuth Fischer '99. "Being
a mentor is an opportunity to not only support
developing organizers but also be connected to a unique
community of
organizers."
|
 Alums
Daria Ovide and Jesse
Kanson-Benanav
with board
member Larry
Sternberg at last years' Fellows'
fundraising concert. JOI's alumni network provides
support for the organization through fundraising,
recruitment and mentoring current Fellows.
|
|
The JOI Niche: "We're Still At It"
Annual Appeal
|
|
| Do you sometimes
wonder, even if you haven't thought of it for awhile -
is JOI making any difference? Are they still at
it? The answers, of course, are yes.
Absolutely. JOI fits a special niche in the
world - one where Judaism, justice, organizing, and
leadership development meet .
A
few weeks ago, we kicked off our annual appeal with some
impressive statistics and some even better stories to
tell. Fully 80% of our alumni continue to work as
social justice professionals around the world.
Many
of them are leaders in their
fields,
including
Idit Klein '99, Executive Director of Keshet, Avi Green '01, Director of MassVote, and
Lizzie Pollock '05, National
Training Coordinator at Stand For Children. We have been
at the center of some of the most important battles for
justice of the last decade.
This past year, JOI
Fellows organized the young Jewish community along with
Mass Equality to ensure the preservation of equal
marriage; in June, JOI Fellows Orly Jacobovits and Leah
Krieger were pictured in the New York Times celebrating
the victory. JOI Fellows and alumni have also been
instrumental in the push for universal health care
coverage in Massachusetts. Lisa Vinikoor '07 at
Greater Boston Interfaith Organization, Andrew Cohen '06
at The Access Project, and three consecutive fellows at
Health Care for All have worked to ensure health
reform's success.
We
are pleased to share that JOI's success has been
recognized. In 2005, JOI was identified by the Charles
and Andrea Bronfman Foundation as one of the top fifty
Jewish organizations in North America.
Over the years, major funders, including the
Nathan Cummings Foundation, Steven Spielberg's Righteous
Person's Fund, The Herman & Frieda L. Miller
Foundation, The Picower Foundation, The Dorot
Foundation, the United Way,
and Combined Jewish Philanthropies of Greater Boston,
have invested in our work.
JOI is
at a crossroads - with a new staff (see the article
below on our newest staff member), a new class of
fellows, and a new commitment to grow. We are
aspiring to recruit the most talented young leaders to
our program and find the best organizing placements for
them. We are reaching out to new cities and
exploring new models for bringing organizing training
with a Jewish lens to the world. This coming
spring, we will gather to celebrate JOI's
accomplishments over the past 10 years and share how
we are aggressively looking forward. We hope
you will join us then.
We
are certain that you care about leadership development,
social justice, organizing, Jewish continuity, and young
people. And we're still at it. As we
approach the end of the calendar year, we ask you to
renew your financial support of this important work as
we look to our bright new future. Please click on
the "Donate Now" icon to the left to donate online or
mail your check to Jewish Organizing Initiative, 99
Chauncy Street, Suite 600, Boston, MA 02111. Thank
you for being a partner in JOI's continued
success!
CLICK HERE TO
DONATE NOW
Pictured Above: Fellows cook Shabbat dinner at a
recent retreat in Stoughton, MA. Drawing from their JOI
training, Fellows and alums have played an integral role
in some of the most important battles for justice of the
last decade.
|
Taking Over: New Alum Joins JOI
Staff
|
|
As JOI's
organizational capacity grows, the office staff is
changing to meet new challenges and support the JOI
community.
Alum Jen Garfield has recently
turned the office management duties over to another
fellow alum, Rebecca Herst. Although JOI is sad to
say goodbye to Jen, who is still actively involved in
the community as chair of the Alumni Committee, the
organization is thrilled to have another alum stepping
into her place.
 "The skills I learned through my
JOI training are helping me to help this organization
grow," Rebecca said. "I deeply believe in the
mission and values of JOI, and feel lucky to be part of
such a great, dynamic team of organizers
and
leaders."
Rebecca, currently part-time, will
become a full-time staff member beginning in
January. She can be reached at
rherst@jewishorganizing.org. |
Pictured Above: Program
Director Catherine Bell toasts new Office Manager and
JOI Alum Rebecca Herst at last year's Fellows'
Siyyum/Graduation.
|
|
Apply for Cornerstone Young
Leadership Awards
|
|
The Jewish Funds for Justice
(JFSJ) is currently seeking applications for the 2008
Cornerstone Awards
The Cornerstone Awards recognize
young (40 and under) Jewish leadership in social change
organizations nationwide. The Jewish Funds for Justice
will present four $10,000 Cornerstone Awards to young
Jews who exemplify strong Jewish leadership and values
in the progressive nonprofit and organizing communities.
Twenty-five percent of each $10,000 Cornerstone Award
will go toward the winner's professional
development; seventy-five percent will be
granted to the winner's organization for general
support.
Go to http://ga6.org/campaign/cornerstone_2008/
to learn more about the Cornerstone Awards, eligibility
requirements, and to apply. Applications are due January
15,
2008.
| |
|
| |
