ADAMAH: Jewish Environmental Fellowship

Program: Adamah Fellowship
Organization: Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center
Website: http://isabellafreedman.org/
 

Description: The Adamah Fellowship is a leadership training program for Jewish young adults that integrates organic farming, sustainable living, Jewish learning,and contemplative spiritual practice. Fellows spend much of their time learning and practicing sustainable agriculture and animal husbandry on the four-acre ADAMAH farm and in small gardens throughout the retreat center. They also work with our chickens and goats – and learn how to make agricultural products like yoghurt and goat cheese. Several times per week fellows explore Jewish perspectives on social and environmental justice with leading scholars from around the country. Fellows come with a wide variety of Jewish educational backgrounds and observance levels. ADAMAH creates space for all levels and types of Jewish practice. Fellows teach what they learn at ADAMAH to various client groups who visit the retreat center included elementary school children, teens, families and senior citizens.  They also participate in leadership training, community living, ecological and Jewish seminars several times a week. Fourteen fellows will be chosen for the summer and fourteen for the fall season to form a pluralistic Jewish community. Fellows receive room, board.

Contact: Shamu Fenyvesi Sadeh
E mail: shamu@isabellafreedman.org
Phone: (860) 824 3003
Application deadline: rolling admissions
Timeframe: 3 months, summer or fall
Age of participants: 20-29 years old
Location: Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center, Falls Village, Connecticut

Program: Volunteer Summer
Organization: American Jewish World Service
Website: www.ajws.org/volunteersummer

Description: AJWS Volunteer Summer is both a service learning and cultural immersion program that weaves together in-depth exploration of international development, study of social justice in a Jewish context, and humanitarian service through hands-on community development projects. Volunteers work alongside local communities to help build a home or a school, or dig trenches to bring potable water to a rural village.  Each day brings new experiences and challenges, profound discussions and meaningful interactions.  Following the summer, participants continue to develop their awareness and global justice work in the Domestic Yearlong Program that includes educational, skill-building retreats, public speaking engagements, article writing and volunteer service. AJWS Volunteer Summer is a pluralistic program that welcomes and accommodates young adults from every stream of Judaism.  We consider applications from inside and outside the United States, and we value diverse backgrounds and experiences.  All trips are vegetarian, and no group will work or travel on Shabbat.

Contact: Rachel Weinstein
E mail: volunteer@ajws.org with “Volunteer Summer Inquiry” in the subject line
Phone: 212.792.2919
Timeframe: 7 weeks, summer (international); + 10 months, academic year (domestic)
Age of participants: 16 to 24
Location: Central America, Africa, South Asia

Program: Animal Care and Conservation
Organization: Go Eco
Website:www.goeco.org

Description: Established in 1928, The JBZ, in its new location on the outskirts of Jerusalem, stretches across an area of 25 hectares (62 acres) in a beautiful valley surrounded by green hills. The JBZ is a non-profit organization and houses a large variety of animals from around the world, while its main focus is animals mentioned in the Bible. The majority of these animals became locally extinct in the Middle East, mostly in the twentieth century (e.g. bears, lions, Mesopotamian fallow deer, Arabian oryx, cheetah and the Nile crocodile).The JBZ coordinates a number of unique projects that involve preserving rare species whose origins are in the Land of Israel and, where possible, returning them to the wild. As a volunteer on this project you will gain the opportunity to work with some of these fascinating species, while gaining practical animal care experience under the guidance of experts in their field. Volunteers will live together at an excellent guest house near the zoo and will have free time to explore the extraordinary sites of Jerusalem and experience its rich cultural diversity and unique atmosphere.

Contact: Jonathan Gilben
E mail: goeco@goeco.org
Phone: +972(0)505762797
Application deadline: Contact the organization
Age of participants: 18 and above
Location: Jersualem, Israel

Hillel’s Alternative Break in Israel

One of the oldest Hillel Foundations in the country, Hillel at The Ohio State University was established in Columbus, OH in 1925. OSU Hillel engages students in social, cultural, educational, and religious activities both on and off campus. Students participate in more than 60 programs per quarter ranging from community service, social action, athletic activities, music, Israel programming to religious education. With a strong focus on leadership development, students are encouraged and trained to organize and lead their own groups while benefiting from the extensive resources of this nationally-recognized institution.

Contact:
46 E. 16th Avenue Columbus, OH 43201
Phone:614.294.4796
Fax: 614.294.4796
Toll Free: 1.866.2HILLEL
e-mail: hillel@osu.edu

University of Cincinnati Hillel

Hillel Jewish Student Center is a gathering place for Jewish students and young professionals in the Greater Cincinnati area. Through programming, education and community service, we strive to help students find their identities socially, intellectually and spiritually. In an inclusive and welcoming environment, our goal is to create opportunities for students to deepen their connection to Jewish identity and community.

Contact:

2615 Clifton Avenue. Cincinnati, Ohio 45220
Phone: 513.-221-6728.
Fax: 513-221-7134
e-mail:email@hillelcincinnati.org

Ohio University Hillel

Hillel is essential to ensuring that Jewish students leave college with a strong sense of Jewish identity and a commitment to the Jewish community. Hillel trains the Jewish leaders of tomorrow and brings positive Jewish experiences to thousands of students each year.

Contact:
Phone:740-592-1173
E-mail:ohiohillel@yahoo.com
Address: Hillel Foundation at OU 21 Mill Street Athens, OH 45701

Kent State/Akron Hillel

Hillel at Kent State University, also known as the Hillel Jewish Student Center, serves as the foundation for Jewish campus life at Kent State University and the University of Akron.  While serving these campuses Hillel welcomes Jewish students from every Jewish background imaginable.  There is always something going on; be it a trip to Israel, holiday celebrations, or fun-filled social events, you will always find Hillel supporting Jewish campus life all over campus.

Contact:
Address:613 E. Summit St., Kent, OH 44240
Phone:330.678.0397
E-mail:hillel@kent.edu

Semester Programs for Around $5,000!
Fall: August 20, 2009 - January 11, 2010
Spring: January 13 - June 6, 2010

Community Involvement Gap Track is an affordable program, intended for mature, highly independent high-school graduates - individuals seeking the opportunity to contribute to Israeli society in a meaningful manner. Community Involvement Gap Track offers you an incredible opportunity to spend 5 meaningful months immersed in Israeli society as a functioning member of the community. You will be exposed to life in Israel by living among its citizens and working together, strengthening your ties with the country and its people.
Our volunteers play a key role in the lives of many Israelis; Gap Track volunteers are able see and feel the impact they have within the community. Program coordinators work one-on-one with each participant to determine his or her passions and talents. After careful consideration and collaboration with community leaders, Gap Track volunteers are placed within the community. By paying close attention to the individual desires of participants as well as the needs of the community, each volunteer is able to maximize his/her potential within the community, creating rewarding and enriching experiences memories that will last a lifetime.
Community Involvement Gap Track differs from the standard Community Involvement Program in that it is geared specifically toward recent high-school graduates and is only available to participants aged 18-19 (the standard program is only available to participants aged 20-30). Participants in the Gap Track will enjoy a comprehensive tuition package including international flights and meal stipend, as well as college-dormitory level supervision. Gap Track participants will attend all program activities alongside the older participants, but will live in their own apartment community.

Conatct:
Israel Office
28 Hata'as Street
POB 2135
Kfar Saba, Israel, 44641

Toll Free from US: 888-351-9897
Toll Free from Can: 866-269-6889

Israel Direct: +972-9-767-4477
Israel Direct Fax: +972-9-767-4481

US Fax for Forms: 509-362-9868 

Oranim Atid Gap Semester/Year in Israel

Build character and community on a 5 or 10 month program! On Oranim's flagship program you'll have an unforgettable structured experience of personal growth, community involvement, study and travel. Atid Gap Semester or Year is the ultimate way for high-school graduates to take time out before starting college.

Atid will prepare you for collegiate and adult Jewish life; our extraordinary program is unique in that it focuses on personal growth and development through building Jewish identity, teaching important skills (you'll learn to cook dinner with courses taught by Jewish mothers on kibbutz!), and creating a caring community in which fellow participants become like family.

Come for one or both semesters and live in the protective, beautiful and lively environment of the Israeli kibbutz. The Hebrew you'll learn in Tel Aviv University's intensive Ulpan will not only earn you 6 college credits, but will enable you to speak “on the streets”, interact with Israeli peers in your mifgash (peer encounter) and with new friends in your volunteer work. Learning a language is the best way to come to feel at home in a new culture, and is the key to forging lasting relationships with the people and land of Israel.

Best of all, you'll travel throughout Israel and to Europe, getting to know the land, state and people of Israel while making friendships that will last a lifetime!

Contact:
Israel Office
28 Hata'as Street
POB 2135
Kfar Saba, Israel, 44641

Toll Free from US: 888-351-9897
Toll Free from Can: 866-269-6889

Israel Direct: +972-9-767-4477
Israel Direct Fax: +972-9-767-4481

US Fax for Forms: 509-362-9868

United States Office
5035 Mayfield Road - Suite 230
Lyndhurst, Ohio 44124