JChoice Blog

Repair the World Repair Interview: Abby Richmond Talks About JChoice and Writing Books

Like many 12-year olds, Abby Richmond spends her days attending school (she’s a sixth grader at The Rashi School near Boston), playing soccer and piano, and hanging out with her friends. But in her spare time, Abby does something particularly cool – she writes books and donates the book sale profits to organizations she cares about.

So far, Abby has written and self-published two books (check them out here) and raised nearly $3,000. Meanwhile, she’s also involved with a ton of other service and social justice activities, including being an active member of JChoice – a philanthropy networking site for teens. (And the organization that put us in touch with Abby.)

It’s hard to imagine that Abby has much free time on her hands – but she still managed to speak with Repair the World about her lifelong commitment to volunteering and tzedakah, what her books are all about, and how she connects service with her Jewish identity. We’re glad she did – read on…

Has service and volunteering always been an interest for you?
I have always loved participating in service activities. For my birthdays, I invite my guests to bring a check instead of a present and give the money raised to an organization. For my eighth birthday, I donated to the World Wildlife Fund, and I have also donated the money to an organization that works with pets and a sign language organization. My school is also very involved with social justice activities. Around Purim we do something where we are given a certain amount of money and get to donate to the organization of our choice as a class. We then write about the organization and have classes dedicated to learning more about their work.

How did you first learn about JChoice?
My grandmother knows the person who runs the organization, so that’s how I first got involved. I set up an account with them, and my school is also involved with them. When someone has a bar or bat mitzvah, Jchoice sends them a gift card and the student can choose an organization to donate the money to. I really love that JChoice involves so many kids, and that kids can set up an account and get involved with organizations they like.

You’ve written some books and donated the profits to tzedakah – can you tell me more about that?
I’ve always loved to write, and when I was in 4th grade I was looking for something more original than just donating money for my birthday. So I wrote my first book, Very Berry. It’s about a 4th grade girl who has a dog that’s getting picked on – the girl is getting picked on to. The book is all about her adventures – it’s a chapter book with about 100 pages. My parents and I self published the book and decided to donate the $1,700 we raised through book sales to Reading is Fundamental. I love books and think that all kids should have access to them even if they don’t have a lot of money, so it seemed like an obvious choice.

You have another book as well, right?
This past November I finished up a second book called Starring Eliza. My family took a trip to California and I really love nature and hiking, so I decided to write about it. The book’s main character grew up in California and loves the Redwoods. So far I’ve raised about $1,000 for the Nature Conservancy. Right now I have a third book that I’m working on, but I’m not very far into it yet.

Do you connect your Jewish heritage with your love of service?
We learn a lot about Judaism and what it says about repairing the world at my school – social justice work is a big part of the curriculum, and in student government we have a social justice committee. So you could say that school has helped me think about these ideas. My school has supported the book projects too. We’re allowed to set up tables in my school’s lobby and sell to friends and the school community. We also have a book fair two times a year where they’ll let me sell my books.

How has JChoice supported your book projects?
I made a video two years ago with JChoice where they talk about how my book came to be and how to donate to Reading is Fundamental. So that has really helped to spread the word.

Find out more about Abby’s books on her website. And check out JChoice’s teen tzedakah network here.

Temple Shalom

This past Sunday, JChoice President & CEO Josh Troderman and I visited Temple Shalom in Newton for our first program with the 6th grade students and parents. Josh and I did our usual dog and pony show; leading the attendees in Eilu Devarim with Josh playing the piano and me on the guitar, introducing them to JChoice and how they can build mitzvah projects on our site, as well as showing them some stellar mitzvah project videos. To me the latter was the highlight of the day, as we were able to showcase a fantastic project by Jacob Gurvis, the son of Temple Shalom Rabbi Eric Gurvis. Jacob did a fantastic baseball equipment collection for the organization Pitch in for Baseball

http://www.jchoice.org/Videos_5_51_Pitch_In_For_Baseball_Mitzvah_Project_jchoiceorg.htm

While we at JChoice of course want to sign up as many people as possible on the site and make a significant Tzedakah impact, we can’t forget to focus on the individual projects and people that enrich our site--we want to directly connect the people that use our site for their mitzvah projects and have great stories to tell. Jacob is a great example and because of his personal connection to Temple Shalom, this registered an even greater impact on Sunday---the event attendees seemed very captivated by the video and Rabbi Gurvis gave one of the most heartfelt endorsements of our organization I’ve ever heard. We are excited to continue working with Temple Shalom as they are site truly committed to making tzedakah and mitzvah a reality.

Want to be inspired and use JChoice for your students’ mitzvah projects and fundraising? If so, I would love to hear from you! Contact me, Jeff Remis at jremis@jchoice.org or call 781-433-9088.

Mitzvah Corner

In the first installment of the JChoice “Mitzvah Corner” podcast with Programming Associate Jeff Remis, Danny Magerman of Philadelphia, PA speaks about his involvement with Grassroot Soccer, an organization that provides programs and training for underprivileged youth in Southern Africa to live HIV free. Danny organized a Lose the Shoes soccer tournament at his high school in Cheltenham, PA, which raised over $6,000 for Grassroot Soccer. For more information, please visit: http://www.jchoice.org/Grassroot_Soccer_(GRS).htm.

Project Bread Our New Cause

We are excited to announce that Project Bread is one of the newest causes featured on JChoice.org, the Tzedakah network giving platform. Staff members and site users have had first hand experience with Project Bread during their annual Walk for Hunger.

"Having done the walk for the past three years, I can say that it has been such a fantastic experience," commented Jeff Remis, JChoice.org Program Associate. "The 20 mile trek was incredibly worth it as I not only got the chance to bond with friends but also support such an amazing cause. Hunger is an urgent problem that affects millions of people across the world and we can all work together to help fight this epidemic. It's not just the philanthropists that write the million dollar checks, but it's also everyone of us volunteering our time to raise a collective awareness. For each person that gets involved with the Walk for Hunger, the movement and impact grows. Doing anything to help Project Bread is attributing your name to this effort and wouldn't that make you feel good."

To learn how to get involved and register for The Walk for Hunger click here.

Please consider donating today to show your support and help end hunger. Don’t forget that 100% of your donation goes directly to Project Bread.

JChoice.org Members Donate Over $100,000.00 to the Causes of Their Choice

NEEDHAM, Mass, February 22, 2012 – Jewish Causes of Choice, Inc., a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to fostering the next generation of Jewish giving, announced that members of it’s website www.jchoice.org, have donated over $100,000 in Tzedakah. Tzedakah is a Hebrew term rooted in “justice” and “righteousness,” which is most easily understood as “charity.”

“What's incredible about this milestone is that most of these donations are made in small increments, often $5 or $18, illustrating that collectively we can make a big difference in repairing the world,” stated Joshua Troderman, President and CEO of JChoice.org. “We emphasize to our users that it’s not the size of the gift that matters most, but rather that everybody gives something,”

JChoice.org’s philanthropic platform allows 100% of each donation to go directly to the cause. “Unlike other giving sites, JChoice.org doesn’t charge a transactional fee, and we love that because the entire gift goes right into our program,” commented Rick Bausman, Executive Director, of The Drum Workshop, Inc., which is one of the 150 non-profits that can currently be found on JChoice.org.

Troderman added that “this ability to get 100% of one’s gift to an organization is only possible because of the generosity of our philanthropic partners. Credit card fees can be as high as 5%, and we cover that in order to maximize the giving experience for our users. We aim to empower the next generation to get involved in the causes that they care the most about…and do it from a Jewish perspective.” Troderman continued, saying, “the 10-13 year olds are doing the most wonderful Mitzvah Projects as they become Bar or Bat Mitzvah, and a big part of JChoice is to give our children a place to share their ideas and activism from their perspective.”

To reach the $100,000 milestone, JChoice’s methodology combines both on-the-ground Jewish programming with the online giving component. “The result is an increased Tzedakah consciousness that will continue to grow for the millennial generation,” said Troderman. In the past year, JChoice has enhanced its website based on real time user feedback, and anticipates reaching 2,000 users by the end of February. The JChoice Tzedakah curriculum has been piloted at twenty JChoice partner sites, which range from synagogues and day schools to teen philanthropy and Jewish camping programs.

“Our next generation of Jewish leaders not only surpassed the JChoice.org anticipated outcome [of giving $100,000 in Tzedakah] since they launched, but they have demonstrated the impact of a growing community to make a collective effort of micro-grants in online philanthropy,” said Russell Robinson, CEO of Jewish National Fund. “I absolutely love that more than one third of their cause selections are in Israel."

Give the Gift of Giving

A key ingredient and driver to JChoice.org’s success are its charity gift cards, which parents of B’nai mitzvah (young adults celebrating bar and bat mitzvahs) are distributing as party favors to guests. Others are purchasing them to commemorate holidays, birthdays, weddings, honoring memories, special occasions and other lifecycle events

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Jewish Causes of Choice, Inc., is a non-profit 501 (c)(3) organization whose mission is to empower the next generation to learn and experience the Mitzvah of Tzedakah (charity) and become more thoughtful in relationship to society.

Media Contact
Shantel Hansen
Social Media & Marketing
sh[@]shantelhansen.com
617-968-0178

Empowering the Next Generation

One of my favorite aspects of the job is connecting with students and showing them how they can feel empowered by Tzedakah. I never thought I would morph into a pseudo-teacher but it’s turned out to be a fascinating experience. There’s that innate sense of joy you receive when students at a synagogue or day school remember you from a previous visit or get excited about what they can do to repair the world. When they generate their own excitement for advocacy and philanthropy and engage in thoughtful discussion, it’s a homerun for someone like me whose primary responsibility is to build our membership database and get individuals to think more closely about Tzedakah

However, I can’t disregard the main catalysts who help us achieve this goal: the educators on the inside who support our mission and generate enthusiasm among the students. A fantastic example of a true Tzedakah collaboration has been with our dear friend and partner Charlie Sherman, who is the School Director of the Am Yisrael Congregation just outside of Chicago. Charlie was kind enough to connect us with the students via Skype, and we discussed how to create mitzvah projects with substantial impact in the community through our site. In speaking with them, I sensed their enthusiasm and noticed it tangibly when they were eager to write blogs on their Am Yisrael JChoice group page. These blogs consisted of ideas for mitzvah projects.

Through this initiative and with Charlie’s help, I’m glad to say it’s been an ideal situation for the both of us. Charlie’s students use our site to find great JChoice causes to align with and as a result, develop more powerful mitzvah projects. It’s great when we can work with groups to jumpstart a stronger mitzvah and Tzedakah consciousness; it’s about fulfilling our greatest potential through Tikkun Olam.

By Jeff Remis, JChoice Programming Associate

Win a pair of FREE Celtics tickets!

Thanks to one of our generous donors you can see Paul Pierce, Rajon Rondo and Co. tip off in the Celtics’ stretch run for a playoff birth! Sign up now and see the sold out basketball game on Tuesday, March 6th at 7:30 p.m. against the Houston Rockets at TD Garden in Boston for FREE! All you need to do is become a JChoice.org member and you will be automatically entered to win. It’s free and easy to become a member and takes less than a minute. Visit http://bit.ly/WinCelticsTickets and click on the orange “Join for Free” button. Act now as the contest ends on February 29th at 5:00 p.m. E.S.T.

Got questions about how awesome JChoice.org benefits are? Click here to get the scoop! http://www.jchoice.org/FAQ.aspx

Tu Bishvat A New Year for Trees

Pitch In for Baseball Mitzvah Project

We are excited to share a story about a young man that chose to support Pitch In For Baseball for his mitzvah project on our JChoice.org Tzedakah Network. He collected over 100 gloves and donated them to Pitch In For Baseball. Their mission is to help kids and make friends all over the world by sharing the great game of baseball. They collect and give baseball equipment and other assistance to young people in underserved communities around the globe.

Win a $100 Charitable Gift Card

We are kicking off the new year with a fun giveaway starting on Tuesday, January 24th, at 8:00 a.m. EST.

How to Enter
It’s quick and easy to enter our giveaway in order to win a $100 charitable JChoice.org gift card. All you need to do is click here http://www.jchoice.org/Registration.aspx and sign up to be a member. Once you are a member, you are automatically entered into the giveaway. That’s it! On January 31st at 5:00 p.m. EST we will announce the winners!

Benefits of Creating a MyJChoice Account

Create a registry and engage friends and family in supporting your favorite Causes.
Redeem Gift Cards and give to a Cause instantly without having to re-enter your information.
Social network with your own email, blog and profile pages.
Join donor groups and affiliations such as camps, school and temples.
Access to your donation history and an annual Tzedakah report.
Share Mitzvah projects such as your D’var Torah.

Thinking Outside the Tzedakah Box

Last night the JChoice.org traveling show (a.k.a. myself and Josh Troderman) visited Tufts University for the 3^rd program of our 8 session initiative on making the concept of Tzedakah and philanthropy more relevant to young Tufts Hillel alumni. The program is aptly titled “Thinking Outside the Tzedakah Box” because in my mind, Tzedakah is not something to be taken lightly. There are many different levels and intricacies to donating your own money beyond dropping dollars and coins into the Tzedakah box. More specifically, there is one element that doesn’t garner enough attention: with whom do we give?

Certainly we can give on our own but there is something special about giving from the perspective of a collective whole. It unites a group of people through a common purpose and fosters teamwork, communication, cooperation and joint decision making. Moreover, it creates a group identity and sense of accomplishment and joy among individuals connected through some common purpose. As Jews we are obligated to give to the less fortunate and when we do, it feels so unconditionally awesome. We are not only repairing the world, we are doing it together.

So last night we discussed what community means and actually got to experience the mitzvah of Tzedakah together by all contributing $36 to the Hillel donor group on JChoice: http://www.jchoice.org/The_Tufts_Hillel_Alumni_Philanthropic_Initiative.htm. Group members indicated how great it felt to donate money with the click of a mouse---it was the intangible wonderful feeling to the tangible act of helping.

This is the power of the JChoice donor group: giving from a group Jewish perspective. Not only can we do this mitzvah together but we can also build stronger relationships with each other through this common love for helping others. As humans we are social beings and have an innate desire to connect with others; accomplishments feel better when shared with a group. Finishing the Boston Walk for Hunger on your own feels great but even better when you complete the 20 mile trek with a team.

Wouldn’t it feel great to experience Tzedakah together as the Tufts alumni did? As the late cultural anthropologist Margaret Mead once said: “A small group of thoughtful people could change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has.”

Start this today!

Group members indicated how great it felt to donate money with the click of a mouse---it was the intangible wonderful feeling to the tangible act of helping.

Win $500 for your favorite cause

It’s that time of year to give back and JChoice.org is excited to announce our “Win $500 for your favorite cause” campaign.

How to vote for your favorite cause?
The voting process is simple.

1. Go to JChoice.org's Facebook page

2. You will be directed to a photo album of all the causes that have entered the contest. Click on your favorite cause's logo.

3. Once on their logo page, click the "like" button.

JChoice.org will tally the number of "likes" per cause and the cause with the most will win $500!

For your vote to count, be sure to "like" the main JChoice page - http://www.facebook.com/JChoice.org

This contest will begin at 12:01 a.m. on December 12th and end at 11:59 p.m. on December 23rd, 2011.

"Share the love whenever you can. Open your heart and do something. Its really not hard to do, so please cast your vote today," commented Joshua Troderman, JChoice's President & CEO.

Jewish Causes of Choice, Inc., a non-profit 501 (c)(3) organization dedicated to fostering the next generation of Jewish giving, announced the national launch of JChoice.org as its main tool to engage and inspire Jewish adolescents to learn about, think about and practice Tzedakah, a Hebrew term rooted in “justice” and “righteousness,” which is most easily understood as “charity.”

Raffle to raise money for Jewish Vocational Service

For her Bat Mitzvah, JChoice member ABbatmitzvah is raising money for Jewish Vocational Service through the raffle of a Craft Basket.

Here is a description of the the Craft Basket.

Hours of crafting fun! Paint-your-own wind chime, Wikki Stix, assorted rubber stamps and ink pads, sketch paper booklet, window crayons, premium pipe cleaners, rainbow assortment of crafting (popsicle) sticks, craft glues, variety pack of melty bead kits, modeling clay, three-pack of glitter glue pens, mini colored pencils.

Starting bid: $25

Make a bid here by adding a comment to the post with your name and the amount of your bid.

There's something about Tzedakah

There’s something about Tzedakah

The more I study it, the more I learn about how it affects people. It calls us to action to give. And the only thing that matters in life is the love that we give. Not that money is love, but it has become America’s god. Rather than share it, so many people cling to what they have and value their identity and worth as to how big their pot is, thus its a twisted personal god that creates such steep division, class warfare, and entitlement: An illusion of endless greed that taints our higher self, which truly wants to give.

And there lies the irony. With a click of a mouse on Jchoice, one can give tzedakah now. And by doing it “jewishly” one can find an even deeper level of meaning by tapping into a community that stands for chesed: generous sustaining benevolence.

And the awareness of the God that we truly want, that we can feel from our higher self, returns.

It is the act of giving that brings alive the way we we’re made “in God’s image.” all other acts are pulling deceptions of the flesh and earth that makes up our physical bodies. Soul cages.

The same money that once was corrupting our soul, has become a tool for positive transformation.

The secret in life is learning to let go of everything before it’s over. Because really, in the end, does anything else matter but the love that we give?

Homeless Gear

Fort Collins CO

A segment of the homeless community cannot gain entrance into an overnight shelter because there are no more beds available or they have issues with drug or alcohol use. Even if they do find overnight shelter they have to spend the majority of their day outside in the rain or snow. Imagine what a warm coat, a good pair of boots, a blanket, or sleeping bag could do for someone forced to sleep or spend the day or night in their car or outside exposed to the elements. Homeless Gear, collects unwanted Gear (packs, sleeping bags, tents, tarps, etc), Basic Clothing (coats, rain gear, boots, etc) and Hygiene Products and re-distribute these items to the homeless. In some cases, we're also providing work place essentials, like steel toed boots, coveralls, or other necessary pieces of equipment.

“In the eight years I have been working with the homeless in Fort Collins, I have unfortunately seen members of the homeless community die of exposure each year and numerous others suffer from frost bite that ultimately lead to loss of fingers, toes, feet, and even legs. However, this winter we have seen a significant reduction in those suffering from hypothermia and frostbite. Even more important, we did not lose a single individual to exposure this winter and I believe this is a direct result of programs like Homeless Gear. Homeless Gear enables us to make sure that the people we work with everyday have at least the bare essentials to stay alive.” Zachary Penland, B.A., Program Supervisor, The Murphy Center.

Nearly 25% of Larimer County’s homeless population is under the age of 18 and one in ten are under the age of 6! 64.2% of the newly homeless are families with children. Please consider supporting this important cause today. Your donation may save a life.

Donate now.

The Jewish Values found within this cause include:

Clothing the Unclothed
Kindness leads to Kindness
Poverty
Respect all living things
Saving a Life

Neshima Workshops Utilizing Music and Arts

Neshima educational workshop series in Israel offer students the vehicle for self-expression through music composition, lyric and creative writing, drawing and drama and aim to challenge the students to take an in-depth view in their Jewish identity. In high-schools the workshops take place five times a year and turn around the Jewish calendar, whereas there are twelve meetings with mechinot students throughout the academic year.

Who Benefits from Support: 1500 from Israeli Public High Schools and Pre Army Mechinot

The Jewish values found within AMI include:

Arts
Israel
Learning
Relationships Between People
Spirituality

Learn more and support this cause today.

The Lenny Zakim Fund Summer Grants to prevent youth violence

Summer vacation time is filled with fun and friendship for many young people. But for teens on city streets, summer can be very, very dangerous. When school is out, young people can easily get into serious trouble or become victims of violence. A $5,000 summer youth grant from The Lenny Zakim Fund can make all the difference for these kids, supporting a program that will keep kids safe and engaged. Learn more at The Lenny Zakim Fund.

The Jewish values found within this cause include:
Clothing the Unclothed
Ending Hunger
Honoring Elders
Learning

Japan Emergency Relief

Japan's recent 8.9 earthquake, the most powerful to hit Japan in more than 100 years, has killed thousands of people and caused much damage through massive flooding. In the wake of this disaster, JDC reached out to the Japanese Government to offer its expertise in earthquake and tsunami-related response. JDC has substantial experience in post-tsunami and earthquake recovery through its relief and reconstruction projects in Thailand, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Maldives and India following the Indian Ocean Tsunami of 2004. JDC is now conducting an up-to-the-minute assessment of the situation in Japan and has activated its network of partners to determine immediate needs of the hardest-hit areas. JDC is collecting funds for these critical relief efforts. Donate here.

The Jewish values found within this cause include:

Clothing the Unclothed - Malbish Arumim
Guarding the Earth - L'ovdah U'l'shomrah
Poverty - O’ni
Saving a Life - Pikuach Nefesh

Teens raise over $4,000 to build gardens for breast cancer patients.

Erica, President of the Sharon High School Photography Club, has led an effort to raise over $4,000 to help plant gardens for women undergoing treatment for breast cancer, including Priscilla Kitay a Sharon Massachusetts resident. Erica used her passion for photography and belief in helping others to start selling gift cards to fund the efforts of JChoice.org cause Hope in Bloom. You can view the planting of Priscilla’s garden at www.hopeinbloom.org under the press section for NECN.

In effort to build on the club’s successes, they developed a way to raise more money. Erica’s club reached out to professional photographers around the world and asked them to be apart of an online auction of their work. To date, over 70 pieces have been gathered from artists like Annie Leibowitz, Anne Geedes, Linda Wolf, Elsa Dorfman, Sheila Metzner to name a few. The response has been overwhelming.

You can view the current body of work on the Sharon High School Photography Club website. On this site will be an online auction from March 20th (first day of Spring) till April 10th.

The Jewish values found within this project include:
Good Deed (commandment) - Mitzvah
Kindness leads to Kindness - Chesed Gorer Chesed
Relationships Between People - Bein Adam L'Chavero
Visiting Sick People - Bikur Cholim

Please consider supporting Hope and Bloom.

Gateways Launches New Website

In honor of Jewish Disability Awareness Month (JDAM), Gateways is unveiling their updated website, complete with the launch of an exciting new initiative, an online resource bank of downloadable, printable Jewish education materials. Though designed especially for students with special needs, these activities and resources are user-friendly for all children and include user-guides for families and educators.

Consider supporting Gateways, the Greater Boston based program that enables children with special needs to participate in Jewish learning.

The Jewish Values found within Gateways include:

Justice and Fairness - Tzedek
Kindness leads to Kindness - Chesed Gorer Chesed
Learning - Limud
Relationships Between People - Bein Adam L'Chavero

Divorce Support Groups for Women and Children

Granit was established in January 2000 by a group of women led by Dr. Tikva Rager. Granit is an organization that empowers women. In order to achieve these goals, Granit is operating in the following ways: Support Groups, Hot Line, Legislation, Legal aid, Public Relations, and Escorting Project.

In the Granit support groups, the women deal with negative feelings such as loss, anger, vulnerability, and failure of themselves and of their children. In each group there are around 8-10 women, who meet for two hours once a week for 10 meetings. Granit is the first and only organization that runs support groups for women before, during and after divorce. The group mentor is a professional Sociologist / Psychologist (M.A), with an additional degree in group leading.

The values found within this cause include:

Justice and Fairness - Tzedek
Relationships Between People - Bein Adam L'Chavero

Learn more about Granit

MAOF Program for Gifted Students of Ethiopian origin

Ariela is a non-profit organization that promotes excellence amongst Ethiopian Jewry in Israel based on our belief that the advancement of outstanding achievers is the most efficient manner to promote true, long lasting social change. The MAOF Program for Gifted Students is managed at the national level and provides tailor made assistance programs for uniquely gifted individuals ranging in age from elementary school to university level students. This one on one program provides comprehensive support to youngsters and adults.

The Hebrew word of "MAOF" can be translated into English as imagination or vision. In this spirit, Ariela seeks to assist uniquely talented individuals of Ethiopian origin interested in pursuing “ground breaking” professional career paths in terms of their social impact upon their immediate surroundings.

The Jewish Values found within Ariela include:

Diversity - B'Tzelem Elohim
Learning - Limud

Learn more about Ariela.

Chemotherapy-improving Research for Pediatrics

Very often families with children who have cancer have needs which no program meets. We have the flexibility to be supportive of needs not met by other programs. For example, a family may be waiting for placement at a Ronald McDonald House and we can help subsidize their housing expense while they wait for placement. Our aim is to fill the gap. Only the families know what they need. They tell us and we can respond, within means. There are programs, like Make A Wish, which grant big wishes of children with cancer. We do not have the same depth of resources, but we try to meet small wishes.

For this project, The Miles Levin Fund will be sending all JChoice donated funds to the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Hospital for the purpose of chemotherapy-improving research.

The main Jewish value found within this cause is Visiting Sick People - Bikur Cholim.

Learn more about The Miles Levin Fund

Mazon, A Jewish Response to Hunger

MAZON makes grants to over 300 organizations on the front lines of fighting hunger in the US, Israel and selected developing countries.

MAZON’s mission is three-fold:

1. To provide for people who are hungry while at the same time advocating for other ways to end hunger and its causes;

2. To educate and raise the consciousness of the Jewish community regarding its obligation to alleviate hunger and its causes; and

3. To make donating a portion of the cost of life cycle events (historically at least 3%) to MAZON a permanent tradition in Jewish life.

Since its inception, MAZON has been fighting not just to feed people today, but also to try to ensure that no one goes hungry tomorrow. We were one of the first organizations to stress advocacy as a means for changing the paradigm of hunger. Advocacy is the active support of an idea or cause, especially the act of pleading or arguing for something. In our case, it involves urging local, regional and national government entities to enact policies that are in the best interests of hungry people in their areas.

Advocacy remains a critical component of our work, and in order to receive funding from us, we require grantees engage in advocacy efforts.

The Jewish values found within Mazon include:

Ending Hunger - Mazon
Poverty - O’ni

Learn more about Mazon's Jewish Response to Hunger

String Instrument Training for Minority Students

For 27 years Project STEP has addressed the under-representation of Blacks and Latinos in orchestras and on music faculties. We are committed to changing the make-up of orchestras so that they reflect the diverse cities and towns in which they perform. We begin by identifying kindergarten aged Black and Latino children who have exceptional musical talent, and who would not have the resources for, or access to, a music education that would develop their talent and prepare them for careers in music. The first class covers the basics: melody, rhythm, and pitch.

Those who are motivated begin the core training program in string instruments, including weekly private lessons, theory classes, and ensembles. The program accelerates as they progress, adding orchestra, piano lessons to give a grounding on the keyboard, master classes, and tickets to several performances each year. There is a practical reason STEP focuses on stringed instruments: they offer more opportunity, since string sections in orchestras and on faculties employ more string players than other instrumentalists.

Through a comprehensive program that addresses the needs of each individual student, Project STEP offers an unmatched combination of instruction, performance opportunities and career counseling that reflects the unique capabilities of the students in partnership with the staff, faculty, board, and our relationships with the New England Conservatory and the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Project STEP currently supports more than 80 students in its Kindergarten program, and 47 students in its intensive training program. Students range from age 5-18 and come from the Greater Boston area, with the majority residing in Dorchester, Roxbury, and Mattapan. To date, every Project STEP graduate has gone on to college or conservatory; 61% of our graduates are currently professional musicians.

The Jewish Values found within this cause include:

Arts – Assiyah B’ruach HaKodesh
Diversity - B'Tzelem Elohim
Justice and Fairness - Tzedek
Learning - Limud
Role Model - Mofet L'assiat Chesed
Spirituality - Ruach

Watch a short video about this project - Stepping Toward Higher Education and learn more about Project STEP.

$36,000 Award: Nomination Deadline December 17, 2010

Many of today’s California teens are making social change and paying it forward in a BIG way. If YOU are bringing the spirit of Tikkun Olam (repair of the world) to life through philanthropic or social action, we encourage you to nominate yourself (or someone you know) for the 2011 Diller Teen Tikkun Olam Award—five Jewish California teens will each receive $36,000 in recognition of their projects to “repair the world.”

Teens can be nominated by anyone, except family members, including rabbis, teachers, civic leaders, friends—they can even nominate themselves.

The deadline for nominations is December 17, 2010, and the nomination process is easy and simple to do. You will find nomination forms, videos of previous award recipients and other info at http://www.sfjcf.org/diller/teenawards.

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Israel

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Israel is the featured cause this week. Their project, The Clubhouse, provides an acceptable social setting for the Big Brothers, Big Sisters to meet with their pairs to mentor and participate
in many activities.

Big Brothers/Big Sisters provides long-term mentoring partnerships for kids in need. Their dream of a Big Brothers Big Sisters Clubhouse in Jerusalem has become reality and on January 27, 2008, they officially opened their new facility which houses both the Clubhouse and their Jerusalem offices. The Clubhouse provides an acceptable social setting and experience for the pairs. It is open for activities from 3:00 pm to 7:00 pm and in the short time that they have been open, 78 pairs have visited both from Jerusalem and Gush Etzion for a total of over 260 visits! Included in the variety of activities available at the Clubhouse are board and card games, lego, table hockey, arts and crafts, a “quiet” room and extracurricular classes – art, gardening, nature study and cooking. Big Brothers and Sisters receive a weekly electronic newsletter regarding Clubhouse activities and local activities that is sent out by their Clubhouse Coordinator who is a social worker with prior experience and outstanding ability in human relations. Other Clubhouse activities include movies, tournaments, and mini “Fun Days.”

Learn more about Big Brothers Big Sisters of Israel and watch their brief video

The Jewish values found within this project include:

Good Deed (commandment) - Mitzvah
Kindness leads to Kindness - Chesed Gorer Chesed
Relationships Between People - Bein Adam L'Chavero
Role Model - Mofet L'assiat Chesed

Light Is in the Air - Happy Hanukkah Music Video

A Hanukkah music video about lighting candles, spreading the fire, learning Torah and celebrating the festival of Hanukkah.
Hit the CC - button for lyrics!

Raw Art Works

This week our featured cause is Raw Art Works. This program ignites the desire to create and the confidence to succeed, using the power of the arts to transform young artists' lives.

Raw Artists offers 7 free arts groups to approximately 180 young artists in elementary through middle school. Over 70% of our young children are low-income and non-white. Most receive free lunch at school, many are from single parent families, and are immigrants or children of immigrants. Some are homeless. Some are primary caretakers for younger sisters and brothers and translators for their parents and grandparents who don’t speak English.

At RAW there are NO MISTAKES, JUST ART! Our youngest artists come to RAW full of energy and lots questions about who they are, where they come from, and how to belong. Eager to share their dreams about their future, nervous about the violence they witness all too frequently, and often distrustful of people who look or act different from them, they soon discover that RAW is a place that lets them slow down, breathe, make friends, and be a kid. Many children come to us having been told that they have a learning disability or a behavioral disorder. These labels weigh heavily on such young children who regretfully tell us about all the things they can’t do. Our caring staff gives them lots of individual attention and support to help them prove that they can concentrate, communicate, create and achieve their goals. Mentored by teen RAW Chiefs, children commit to making good life choices. In a favorite Studio Time group project young artists created wire and fabric mobiles, into which they planted tiny “Seeds of Hope” messages representing the good things they hoped to grow in their lives. A project in the RAW Energy group explored the concepts of dark and light through an expressive art project addressing the question: “Who lights the way for you in times of darkness?” In another project, Lending a Hand, children worked in small groups to brainstorm what it meant to be helpful to someone in need. Their large and colorful three-dimensional paper hands, inscribed with words such as “Respect” and “Listening” were exhibited at the Lynn Museum.

The Jewish Values found within the mission and services of Raw Art Works include: Divinely Inspired Work - Assiyah B’ruach HaKadosh; Kindness leads to Kindness - Chesed Gorer Chesed; Relationships Between People - Bein Adam L'Chavero; and Spirituality - Ruach

Learn more and watch their video A Safe Space to be Creative

Teen Tzedakah project raises funds for a variety of causes

Five year’s ago, New Jersey teen Dan Berke decided that his Bar Mitzvah Tzedakah project would be a baseball game for charity. Now in it's fifth year, this fall's event will raise funds for Canine Companions for Independence, an organization that provides highly trained dogs to help people with disabilities, similar in mission to Israeli Guide Dog Center for the Blind.

Jewish teen philanthropy efforts are making an impact throughout the country. Dan’s story shows that finding a cause that you are passionate about is key to success. As Dan likes sports, he was able to raise $4,100 for the Friends of Jaclyn Foundation last year, which links children with cancer with college sports teams whose members befriend them and raise funds for their care. JChoice features many causes that integrate sports including Special Olympics, Grassroot Soccer and Pitch In for Baseball.

For more details of this Tzedakah project visit New Jersey Jewish News.

Teens Reflect on the Meaning of Philanthropy

Two teen funders reflect on the impact of their philanthropy through their participation in the Jewish Youth Philanthropy Institute (JYPI), a teen philanthropy program of the Partnership for Jewish Life and Learning in Rockville, MD. They were involved in granting money to deliver safe water solutions to communities in Africa through PlayPumps International.

Read their reflections on ejewishphilanthropy.com

Help Pakistan Flood Survivors

By now you've probably heard about the devastating flooding in Pakistan. An estimated 2,000 people are dead, 3.5 million children are at high risk from deadly water-borne diseases, and more than 20 million people have lost their homes, their food, and have no sanitation. Without question, the Jewish values of Saving a Life (Pikuach Nefesh) and Ending Hunger (Mazon) are of paramount concern to the Jewish people.

The extensive devastation of the Pakistan flood demands urgent relief. Therefore, the JChoice.org featured cause is Stop Hunger Now. Together our goal is to raise $18,000 for these victims by Rosh Hashanah. Stop Hunger Now is responding to the crisis by sending both food and disaster relief funds to their partners already on the ground in Pakistan.

This flood is likely to affect more people in a larger area as the rains continue and the flood waters reach the lower plains further South. The aftermath of this disaster could potentially result in water borne diseases like cholera, hepatitis, typhoid and acute gastroenteritis due to the contamination of the drinking supplies. Food shortages in a fragile economy dependent on foreign aid could snowball into social unrest.

Please consider a donation today to help Stop Hunger Now provide aid to our partners and the people of Pakistan.

Learn more about and support Stop Hunger Now at JChoice.org

New Jersey Jewish teens honored by Princeton Mercer Bucks Federation

Teens from The Jewish Community Youth Foundation in the Princeton/Mercer New Jersey area, where honored for each contributing to the Jewish organizations of their choice. These funds are matched by both the Jewish Federation of Princeton Mercer Bucks and the Ricky and Andrew J. Shechtel Philanthropic Fund. This results in a total giving amount of $360 per teen and a total group fund of $7,200 to distribute to different Jewish organizations.

The Jewish Community Youth Foundation is a Jewish youth philanthropy program for teens in grades 8-12. Each age group learns about the principles of tikkun olam (repairing the world), tzedakah, and philanthropy, as well as other Jewish values and how they relate to their groups' philanthropic focus: Eighth Grade-Local Need Based, Ninth Grade-National Social Service, Tenth Grade-Jewish Art & Culture, Eleventh Grade-Politics, Outreach, & Advocacy, and Twelfth Grade-Israel. The program is run through Jewish Family and Children's Service of Greater Mercer.

Learn more about the Jewish Community Youth Foundation.

What Would You Do?

Each month, Jane Herman, a sophomore at Buckingham Browne & Nichols in Cambridge, MA, surveys Jewish students about an ethical dilemma. This column is brought to you by The Jewish Advocate.

This month's dilemma: You receive an invitation to a classmate's bar mitzvah service. You reply that you will attend. A week later you receive another bar mitzvah invitation from a friend whom you prefer, but it takes place that same morning. What would you do and why?

Let's hear from you.

Crossroads Center's "Coloring the Streets" program

Crossroads is the place where 'teens turn themselves around'. Let me
explain: Crossroads is located in downtown Jerusalem and works to get
English speaking teenagers back on track. Over 1,000 different teens
interact with Crossroads each year. About half of them are students here
on various one-year programs and the other half are resident Israelis
(of English speaking families).

You can imagine that with 1,000 different teens come 1,000 different
stories, needs and solutions. Anything and everything that can happen
does, and the expert social workers and staff of Crossroads can handle
it.

So, how do they help teens turn themselves around? Counseling on any
imaginable subject; Workshops in employment, cooking, drama, art,
computers; High school diploma assistance and coursework; Clothing for
teens out on the street; Legal and Police Aid; and more.

The staff works in the office during the day, runs a clubhouse in the
afternoons and evenings, and then goes out to the streets for late
nights, meeting the teens where they are at.

All in all, it is an amazing program, helping so many people, and doing
it for less than $300,000 a year! A great use of tzedakah funds if ever
there was one.

Facebook contest to award money to fan who gets the most votes for their favorite charity on JChoice

The Facebook Charity contest was created for fans of JChoice.org, the social network for young Jewish giving, to promote their favorite charity.

How it works.
* Pick a favorite JChoice.org charity
* Post the charity name on the JChoice.org’s Facebook wall and link to cause page on JChoice.org
* Encourage their friends to vote for their charity by giving a “thumbs up” on their wall post

Whoever has the most votes (thumbs ups) wins a free gift card, which they can redeem on JChoice.org to give to their favorite charity. JChoice.org is a non-profit website that teaches and inspires the next generation of Jewish Philanthropy. There are currently over 70 prescreened charities that users can learn about and support.

“The goal for our contest is for fans of our Facebook page to explore our charities and identify with those organizations whose values align with their own. It is our hope that they feel strongly enough about a particular cause to promote it, gaining much needed awareness and support," stated Shantel Hansen, JChoice.org Social Media Manager.

Beyond exploring and donating to charities, the site was designed to foster community, offering a forum for members to voice their concerns and be heard by others who share the same passion. Members can follow their favorite charities, read and write blog entries, and raise money and give collectively through the donor group tool.

The contest will run for a week, March 10th - 17th.

www.jchoice.org
www.facebook.com/JChoice.org

Pitch In For Baseball

Our featured Cause this week is Pitch In For Baseball (PIFB), a central agency for the collection and redistribution of new and “gently used” youth baseball and softball equipment and supplies to youths in low income and tragedy-stricken areas.

Read more about the wonferful work this organization does by going to http://www.jchoice.org/CauseDetails.aspx?id=53.

ArtsBridge: Using Art to Bridge Diversity

JChoice.org's featured video cause this week! ArtsBridge is a unique program utilizing art and dialogue to reach children caught on either side of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict.

Edit This Fashion Magazines

It’s no surprise that magazines, advertisers, and marketers use the “art” of airbrushing photographs to alter what reality looks like and to convey a certain type of image. Covers of magazines show flawless actors, actresses, singers, and models. We’re all aware of this as consumers. We know these models don’t really look the way they are portrayed on the glossy pages, but for some reason we’re okay with it. We still go ahead and buy the products being advertised or the clothes being modeled. Then we get upset when the bathroom cabinet piles up with a collection of face washes that never really worked, cover –ups that advertise miracles and provide none and mascara that claims to never clump and does so after the first use. Still surprised that Vanessa Hudgens appears to have no zits as she advertises for Neutrogena’s skin clearing cleansers? Don’t be. Two words: Adobe Photoshop.

Recently there has been a lot of talk in the media world concerning the evils of airbrushing, a photo editing technique that is used in the mentioned and infamous Adobe Photoshop, providing a means of shaving off any imperfection. The messages behind many advertisements have been increasingly misleading.

The question major companies have been faced with is when have we taken airbrushing too far?

On September 29 an advertisement that appeared only in Japan, by fashion clothing line Ralph Lauren, featured model Filippa Hamilton who appeared to have a waist smaller than her actual head. Airbrushing images already illustrates an unnatural appearance, but as viewers, we still accept it, because although the models look perfect, oddly enough, we still think this beauty is realistic. However, Ralph Lauren, in this advertisement, showed the world exactly how distorted some perceptions of beauty can be. Looking at the ad and of this poor model whose body was obviously not accepted for what it was, I couldn’t help but think, “Wow. She doesn’t even look simply skinny. She looks sick.” After reading follow-up articles, I was astonished and rather revolted at the fact that Ralph Lauren actually had fired this model just a few months before they used her image for the advertisement. Hamilton, who had worked with Ralph Lauren since 2002, said in a New York Daily News article, published October 14, that she was fired because she weighed too much and could no longer fit in the company’s clothes. Yet, Ralph Lauren still used her face and her body… well, only a sliver. The rest was edited away.

Promoting an unrealistic body image hurts the average teenager in more ways than just one. Do we really want to further encourage eating disorders or other unhealthy lifestyles? No. So how can we, as the voices of the next few generations, and the new faces in the social media world, alter this distorted so-called-ideal perception of beauty? How can we bring the natural back in beautiful?

One of the causes sponsored by JChoice inspires teens to look beyond appearance. The Multi-Service Eating Disorders Association (MEDA) offers programs to guide teens to make healthy choices that will positively influence their self-esteem individually and those around them. Since food plays such a huge role in our society, family, and different cultures, eating disorders is a horrible aspect of reality that is coupled with the concept of food. Specifically among Jewish preteens and teens, eating disorders have been a prevalent concern. As mentioned on the JChoice website, a study conducted by the Jewish Women International site, has found that three in four Jewish girls between the ages of twelve and fifteen, have engaged in unhealthy eating and weight lifestyles. The mission of MEDA is to reach out to these preteens and teens in Jewish communities and to continuously raise awareness. MEDA reaches out to their targeted communities by creating different projects to remind our youth the importance of staying healthy and loving one’s body. One example of such a project is where interested members design a mirror with affirmations. These mirrors are then delivered to young teens that have been hospitalized for their eating disorders. In my opinion, such a project really emphasizes on the importance of loving the body you’re in. It encourages the power of the mirror as a reflection of one’s self and how essential it is to treat it with the utmost care, because, the body is probably one of the more fragile things in life.

What makes MEDA different from perhaps other health-related organizations is that the actual organization itself is comprised of six members who have recovered from an eating disorder. By being able to relate on such a personal level, these members can truly engage in helping both Jewish and Non-Jewish teens from many different communities recover from the dangers of eating disorders. MEDA partners with other eating disorder treatment facilities nationally. Founded by Rebecca Manley in 1994, MEDA was envisioned upon the idea that it would act as a safe haven for those individuals struggling with an eating disorder and a place where family members and friends of such patients can learn more about the illness and how to support their loved ones.

Overall the most important part of MEDA’s mission is prevention. Through educational presentations, workshops, and speakers, MEDA reaches out to many diverse audiences to explain the causes of the illness and the emotional and physical effects. Together with organizations such as MEDA, we can work towards editing away eating disorders from society and providing a new, healthy model and face for all those magazines creating their own false and dangerous idea of beauty. Together recovery IS possible. So magazines out there: be sure to edit this into the fine print under your next airbrushed victim.

Spreading Breast Cancer Awareness on Campus

Sharsheret, Hebrew for “chain,” was founded in 2001 by Rochelle Shoretz, a former Law Clerk to Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who recognized the need for a Jewish breast cancer organization after her own diagnosis at age 28. Since then, Sharsheret has reached out to young Jewish women in their 20’s, 30’s, and 40’s who are newly diagnosed with breast cancer or at high risk of developing breast cancer by targeting Jewish organizations, synagogues, and health care professionals with resource information and materials.

Recent outreach efforts indicated that many young adults today are deeply touched by the high incidence of breast cancer in the Jewish community as well as by the breast cancers of their own mothers, grandmothers, aunts, sisters, and cousins. Teenagers and college students are seeking information about breast cancer and guidance about ways they can protect themselves and others in the Jewish community. With support from JChoice, Sharsheret on Campus will be able to continue and expand this vital outreach to thousands of Jewish students across the country, empower them to raise breast cancer awareness amongst their peers, and educate them about breast health and the importance of early detection.

To learn more about this program, go to: www.jchoice.org/CauseDetails.aspx

Mitzvah Heroes: Linda Mosek

Linda Mosek is one of our Mitzvah heroes. She runs a terrific organization in a most efficient and effective manner. But get this: Linda comes from a background in social work, and did very well as a social worker. And she was very good at management, so eventually, she found herself being in charge of this program and that program. And then...promoted to the head of a department and finally, to the head of this organization, C.L.I.C.K.

In order to run an organization, one must not only have the skills and knowledge of many of the people who work for you, but you must also have the skills and knowledge of senior management - which includes a strong background in business. After all, a non-profit is still a business, even if it is not making a profit!

So Linda went back to school to get a degree in business! She now possesses an MSW AND an MBA. A very rare, but so needed, combination. And therefore, Linda is able to run a wonderful program using her social work skills, and at the same time, keep the organization running smoothly due to her business background. In addition, she has added the great idea of making the non-profit self-sustaining.

She has started a program where the non-profit has a real income stream-people buy the products that they produce and everybody wins! the elders and the teens at risk who produced the items feel good about themselves, the non-profit can make a little bit of money on it (and it really is a little - most items cost just a dollar or two), and the people buying the stuff feel good that they got a quality product and did a mitzvah at the same time.

Arnie Draiman

JChoice's ears and eyes in Israel

www.draimanconsulting.com

JChoice.org and Kehillah Partnership

We at JChoice.org were excited to be invited to speak at the Kehillah Partnership in New Jersey. The Kehillah Partnership is a unique and special collaboration between the Bergen County YJCC and 10 New Jersey congregations (Temple Avodat Shalom, Jewish Community Center of Parasmus, Temple Beth Or, Temple Emanuel of Pascack Valley, Temple Emeth, Glen Rock Jewish Center, Temple Israel, Temple Beth Shalom, Fair Lawn Jewish Center, and Congregation B’nai Israel.)

The mission of the Kehillah Partnership is to build a stronger and more engaged Jewish community across institutional and denominational lines. Since the mission of JChoice.org is also to help build a stronger and more engaged Jewish community, a relationship between us seemed perfect. A couple of times a year, the Kehillah partnership brings together the 7^th graders from all 10 congregations and they get to learn from each other, meet each other, and come together to help a needy cause. For their first meeting of 2010, we at JChoice.org were invited to talk to the 7^th graders who were meeting to help pack bags of food for needy Israelis.

As the 7^th graders begin to filter in, we could tell their energy level was low. It was early, it was like Sunday School, and they all wondered who were these three guys (Joshua Troderman, Dave Rizzotto, and me) who were going to talk to them. Knowing that 7^th graders can be rough crowd, we went for enthusiasm. These young adults were there to help a needy cause and we were going to show them how they could help even more.

With free $18 gift cards in tow we spent the first 30 minutes talking with them about Mitzvah, and specifically the mitzvah of Tzedakah. Armed with questions from Danny Siegel’s Who-Me-Yes-You: To Help You Decide Where, When, Why, and How You Can Do Your Best Tikkun Olam, we lead these 7^th graders on a journey of discovery, showing them that one can take what they love to do and what they are good at and turn that into mitzvot. Slowly but surely, the 7^th graders became more engaged and excited to hear what we had to say.

After a break where they helped pack bags for Israel, we returned to talk about how what we taught them in the first half connected to JChoice.org. On JChoice.org the choice of how to help and who to help is theirs, they get to search for causes; they decide whether to give or to volunteer.

We ended with a demonstration of our website and the attentive eyes of all the participants. We were happy to begin collaborating with the Kehillah Partnership and were happy that by the end of presentation we left those 7^th graders excited about what each one of them can accomplish.

Doing It The Right Way

Hi All,

Arnie Draiman here in Jerusalem - JChoice's 'man on the ground' in Israel. I would like to share with you a bit about what I do. I make sure that your precious tzedakah money is given away wisely. I am directly responsible for doing the due diligence necessary and for maintaining constant contact with recipients before and during the entire funding period. ("due diligence" means checking everything out before moving forward).

Tzedakah money must be used as efficiently and effectively as possible. Watching a large percentage fall by the wayside before it gets to its intended use is criminal, in my opinion (and in the opinion of rabbinic scholars dating as far back as the Talmud, some 2000 years ago!). It is the right and responsibility of every donor to insure that tzedakah money is doing the best Tikkun Olam (making the world a better place) that it can.

I found a wonderful quote about this: "How much better would the Jewish world be if we could apply the same obsessive-compulsiveness to tzedakah that we do to cleaning for Pesach?"

I work in all fields and in all sectors in Israel. The key is finding the right person to trust - regardless of their field of mitzvah work (elders, youth at risk, ethiopians, poor people, etc). These are the people that Danny Siegel calls "Mitzvah Heroes".

Then, you build a relationship with this person and at that point, you can then be sure that tzedakah money is being used the right way.

I think you will like the wide variety of choices on JChoice - all of whom have been vetted (checked out for their efficiency and effectiveness in handling tzedakah money). If anyone has any questions about how we do due diligence, or if you have any comments about doing tzedakah in Israel, I would be happy to hear from you.

Adopt-A-Bubbe

Action for Post-Soviet Jewry (APSJ) began aiding pensioners in the early 1990’s, when it became apparent that these were the most vulnerable members of the Jewish communities left in the FSU. Efforts began in Dnipropetrovsk, Ukraine, and have extended to other cities and villages. By and large, isolated pensioners were not encouraged to emigrate to Israel, where they would be a drag on the economy. Help for women, men and younger family members is provided when necessary. This help also extends to non-Jewish members of the family, since there are many intermarriages in the FSU.

APSJ maintains a network of local volunteers, who seek out the most needy pensioners in their community, ask them what they need, and purchase items for them. This can include food, medicine, clothing, utility payments, bed linens, eyeglasses, hearing aids and more. APSJ also have a network of volunteer physicians who hold free clinics for pensioners in many, but not all, of the communities they serve. Some individuals are helped every month – others less often. This organization encourages the formation of “Warm House” gatherings where a dozen pensioners meet at a neighbor’s apartment for a warm meal and to celebrate Jewish holidays and birthdays, covering the cost of food because most individuals cannot afford to feed guests. In addition, large quantities of clothing and medicine are shipped to APSJ's contacts in the Jewish communities being serve.

Learn more at www.jchoice.org/CauseDetails.aspx

Returning Home

It is hard to explain to people who ask me “There are Jews in Tulsa?” that, not only are there “Jews” in my hometown, but actually a strong Jewish community. If it were not for my parents, I would have assumed, growing up, that all Jewish communities in America were like Tulsa’s. Both of my parents were born and raised in Brooklyn. Surrounded by literally millions of Jews, going to schools that were 95 percent Jewish, walking to shul, and having no problems finding a good bagel, they never had to worry about their Jewish identity. I was constantly reminded of these facts as we had to drive 16 miles to my Temple Israel every Wednesday and Sunday for Hebrew School, and every Friday night for services, and that I had to represent the entire Jewish people every day at school, being the only Jew most of my friends and teachers would ever meet in their lives. But I would not trade my upbringing in Tulsa for anything. It made me proud to be Jewish; it forced me to choose between advocacy and compliancy, fitting in or being unique.
If it were not for the Tulsa Jewish community, I would never have sought a Masters in Jewish History, which led me to Brandeis, which led me to Boston, which led me to JChoice.org. It was with so much pride that I returned to Tulsa at the end of December to tell my Jewish community about JChoice.org. As I knew they would, both Temple Israel (Reform) and Congregation B’nai Emunah (Conservative) were looking for a way to organize their social justice projects, and both wanted to help find causes in need. It will be a thrilling challenge seeing if we at JChoice.org can help congregations half a continent away.
The two congregations were not the only Jchoice.org supporters I met in Tulsa. I had a wonderful meeting with Sandy Cardin and the Schusterman Foundation, who, like the Tulsa congregations, was looking for some help organizing its charitable program, B’nai Tzedek. This is a program that exists in many cities across the country, where the local Jewish Federation and a local foundation (in Tulsa’s case the Schusterman Foundation, but usually the Harold Grinspoon Foundation) match funds raised by bar/bat mitzvah-aged kids. These teens then use the money throughout their high school years as they continue to develop from young philanthropists into adult philanthropists. This seems like a perfect fit for JChoice.org, and I look forward to helping my hometown continue the values that I was taught growing up there: Being charitable is part of being Jewish.

Enter “The Kids”

The shoppers were a recently-formed group of post-Bar and Bar Mitzvah students who would be focusing their efforts on Tikkun Olam. Months before, when Rabbi Dennis Eisner and I were reviewing my schedule, I told him I was particularly excited about this program. Even the name excited me: Mitzvah Madness. I just knew that the educators would be teaching Tzedakah with great creativity.

The night the teen-agers went Mitzvah shopping, they had $2,100 of Wilshire Boulevard’s Tzedakah money at their disposal.This was the scene at Costco: Eight students, their educators, two or three assistants, and myself as a participant came in for a special kind of shopping spree. A few minutes before, one of the educators talked to the manager about what we were planning to do; he kindly offered us a big lawn table and chairs in the middle of the store so we could sit together and talk as a group.

One of Wilshire Boulevard Temple’s Darfur Relief Projects

In the spring of 2005, I was invited to spend six days at Wilshire Boulevard Temple in Los Angeles. It is a very large congregation, with more than 2,000 family units. I was invited both to lecture as well as to be a participant in several programs. Each session was a unique experience, and each was pleasant and satisfying in its own way. One program in particular stands out as something I had never experienced before in all my 31 years of work in this field — Kids’ Mitzvah Shopping Night at Costco.

The background: The congregation was about to ship a huge container of donated goods to the Darfur region of Sudan. The slaughter and suffering in Sudan has been going on for many years, and, at this writing, still has no sign of abating. The congregation had already done the most important piece of research. They had located an agency in Sudan that could assure the members that the donated goods would arrive safely and would be delivered directly to some of the thousands of Sudanese in refugees camps. Arrangements had also been made for the actual shipping of the container. All that remained was to fill it and to have it put on board the ship.

The synagogue arranged for its members to donate in one of two ways: (1) the congregation supplied cartons to any members who wanted, which the members could then fill with suggested items, or (2) they could donate money and volunteers and staff members would purchase the items.

Enter “The Kids”

The shoppers were a recently-formed group of post-Bar and Bar Mitzvah students who would be focusing their efforts on Tikkun Olam. Months before, when Rabbi Dennis Eisner and I were reviewing my schedule, I told him I was particularly excited about this program. Even the name excited me: Mitzvah Madness. I justknew that the educators would be teaching Tzedakah with great creativity.

The night the teen-agers went Mitzvah shopping, they had $2,100 of Wilshire Boulevard’s Tzedakah money at their disposal.

This was the scene at Costco: Eight students, their educators, two or three assistants, and myself as a participant came in for a special kind of shopping spree. A few minutes before, one of the educators talked to the manager about what we were planning to do; he kindly offered us a big lawn table and chairs in the middle of the store so we could sit together and talk as a group.

Money, Money — The counting of the $100 bills

Up to this point, the kids did not know exactly how much money they had to spend. The educators explained the program, including a basic list of what kinds of items were needed, and what could and could not be shipped more than half way around the world to Sudan. Then one of the leaders took out 21 $100 bills and counted it out right in front of them. The kids’ eyes lit up, and the buzz and chatter began. It felt like a younger version of a family’s first reaction when they find out one of them just won the lottery. Sometimes money does that to kids, just like it does when they are older and Big Money suddenly becomes part of their lives.

The truth is, though, I could tell that they already began to “get it”. Deep in their gut they knew, that this was not their money, not then, not in a half hour, never. It was Mitzvah money that would buy critically-needed items for utterly-despairing people living in a nightmare. Even before they put their hands on big shopping carts, I knew that not one of them imagined that a single penny of this was for themselves.

They proved it once they began pulling huge quantities of merchandise off of the shelves. And they proved it to themselves.

Up and down the aisles

Some more details: We broke up into three groups of two or three students and a staff member or two, in case there were questions. Let me make it clear, though — it was the teen-agers who ultimately made the choices, put their own hands on the merchandise, and put it in the carts. Now and again they might ask each other or a staff member whether product X or Y was appropriate since it hadn’t been specifically listed among the recommended items. I was particularly struck when one of them looked at the brooms and suggested they put a bunch of them in the cart. One of the group responded by describing what a refugee camp must be like — tents, no real floors, just dirt, and the like — and that brooms weren’t necessary. It was a stunning moment. Kids, most of them so-called “privileged” children living in splendid isolation from the real world, kids talking High Tzedakah to each other, “getting” it.

Checking out

While one of the staff took care check-out, the rest of us then had some time to discuss what we had just experienced. As we reviewed the activity, I remember thinking, “Never once did they think that this money was for themselves. Not a nickel of it.” I was also impressed that had these kids been shopping for themselves, they could have easily spent all of the money. Many, but not all, of them are from well-to-do families and quite possibly wouldn’t even flinch at spending $500 or $1,000. It was clear, though, that they had really learned the difference between “shopping shopping” and “Mitzvah shopping”. There is one thing, though, that they didn’t “get”. They had succeeded in spending only about $1,550. They were new at Mitzvah shopping on such a grand scale, and couldn’t get used to the fact that they could have bought 20 of some items instead of a dozen, or 50 instead of 30. But that will come with time as they grow up, earn their own money, and begin to do Tzedakah with their own resources.

When it was all over that evening, we filled a huge van with the purchases. On Sunday, it would be loaded into the container which would be picked up later in the week. Then, it would be put on the ship to work its way, so far away, to the refugee camps. In fact, by Sunday, it was already evident that there would have to be a second container because the congregants had donated so much.

It was quite an evening, and a few days later, quite an afternoon working with congregants to load up carton after carton of Tzedakah items for people they would never meet but who were, in some very intimate way, part of their lives.

Let Your Light Shine

As the shortest day of the year comes to an end, an article that I had snipped out of The Boston Globe a year ago fell onto the floor as I pulled out one of my reference books. 'Dark energy' stunts galaxy growth, astrophysicists find, By Carolyn Y. Johnson (December 17, 2008).

Basically it touches on the astrophysical discovery that the universe is expanding even faster than anyone thought and most if it is this “mysterious dark matter,” which stunts the growth of galaxy clusters.

This antigravity force makes up roughly 70 percent of the universe. This takes me back to a rabbi and JChoice friend’s concerns on a Jewish college campus, “What about the other 70 percent of Jewish kids that are not involved in Jewish life?”

Is it a coincidence that the same percentage of our Jewish college age population (that run from anything that sounds “too Jewish”) fall into this same astrophysical conclusion’s “dark matter” percentage value?

What if it isn’t a coincidence at all? Now I am not suggesting that it is “evil” to run from a college Jewish ice cream social event (especially if you are lactose intolerant), but there is something much larger going on than anyone quite understands.

If 70 percent of the universe is a powerful force of anti-matter, how much “normal matter” is there? The answer is apparently somewhere around 5% (This article never really explains what happened to the other 25%, but I will leave that for another day).

Some might say that those numbers are a grim revelation of an overwhelming dark power that is knocking out the galaxies of light.

But I would like to offer a different possibility. What if it was never about quantity in the first place? There is only one area to turn for value and that is quality. I would like to suggest that this dark matter is indeed pure nothingness and it can expand all it wants to.

All that matters is the little spark of light that we hold on to. I will take this 5 percent of light any day over eternal nothingness. To me, that is Judaism. We take it on faith and we cling to the light. We carry on because well, we carry on. The odds have always been stacking up against the Jewish people from the beginning. The universe can spin its space and nothingness and darkness for 13 billion years like a hamster on a wheel in a cage: it moves and moves but goes nowhere. It is a waste of energy. (Hmm..but we could hook up the wheel to a generator some day…)

Should we put our faith in an honest 5% of matter that you know is real because everything else is illusion? Wealth comes and goes as it circulates in its own course, but the light is so precious. There is a goodness and a sweetness that only the light can provide, like a glimpse into eternity.

For me, there is no question in my mind that God is behind this cosmic operation and we are meant to be the light unto the nations. Not that Jewish people are better than anyone else, far from it. We just have been handed a torch and have to find new ways in every generation to keep it burning, that’s all. Otherwise the light could go out. And with Chanukah still fresh on the brain, no way. As the Darfur campaign would say, “not on my watch.” (EXPLORE THIS CAUSE ON JCHOICE: Jewish World Watch - Solar Cooker Project)

JChoice.org is a beacon of faith for all that love the light. At JChoice, we aim to open the doors to an inclusive Judaism that recognizes all humanity. Jews are charged to keep the light going but anyone can have the calling to understand it. And please, by all means, help us learn together.

We have launched JChoice.org, and like a rocket, we are heading to the stars. The thing is, we are actually on our way to lighting up the universe…

…And all with the click of a mouse.

It turns out that the stars are right here on earth, inside everyone's heart and soul, just waiting to shine.

And we are just getting started. Come let your light shine!

Joe The Butler

Years ago in one of my books, I re-told a story I had read in the newspaper. It was about a certain Joe Lejman who used to dress up as a butler and serve in a local shelter for victims of domestic violence. I thought it was a brilliant idea. The article I had read was a short blurb, so there was only one incident-moment that the reporter chose to relate. I had hoped for more, but, in retrospect, and with years to reflect, I understand the reporter’s wisdom. The incident was The Incident, the one that would teach us almost everything we needed to know about Joe Lejman and his marvelous Mitzvah.

As it happened, one day, Joe had finished serving a meal for the residents, then poured the coffee. He poured for one woman, and then lit her cigarette for her. She began to cry. She cried because she told Joe that this was the first time she could remember that anyone had done something nice for her.

Now, years after reading that story, my mind is wandering and I am beginning to wonder —

Is it possible that this woman regained every shred of her lost self-respect because of Joe Lejman’s single act of unadulterated caring and radiant goodness? It’s possible.

Did she then tell the social workers she had emerged from despair, regained her energy, and wanted to go job hunting the next day? She might have.

Did she get a job, give the appropriate portion of her first and every subsequent paycheck to Tzedakah, do homework with her kids at night, and help get them through high school and into college? Perhaps.

Did the children then go to college, graduate, get jobs, give the appropriate percentage of their first and every subsequent paychecks to Tzedakah, and raise their families to do the same? Maybe they did.

Were the other women in that shelter so inspired by what she did that they did the same, start life all over again because of Joe Lejman? Maybe they did, too

How many more heartbeats were added to the world’s total? Billions upon billions.

How far out into the entire population of Planet Earth did the concentric circles reach because Joe Lejman, one man, got this crazy idea to be a butler in a shelter for women, who, by all reasonable possibility, should have sunk into lifelong oblivion?

Grand total, how much did Joe spend on a butler’s outfit?

You save one life, you save the world.

Joshua Troderman President & CEO

Welcome to JChoice! Up until now, the technology and methodology did not exist to create an all-inclusive Tzedakah community on-line.

We are the only social network for creating Tzedakah (charitable donations) embodied in traditional Jewish values while led by the next generation of contributors. This meeting place for Tikkun Olam (repairing the world) is intended to be a perpetual moment in real time, enlisting contributions from all of the Children of Israel (a.k.a. the Jewish community) simultaneously.

According to the Torah, this feat was done once before, thousands of years ago in the desert way before computers (or electricity for that matter) existed. Back then, our ancestors were building a sacred structure called The Mishkan (Tabernacle), and all took part in bringing donations into one collective that served a holy purpose of channeling God’s Presence.

Now I am not suggesting that we are building a place on-line to perform ritual sacrifices with the ancient high priests of Israel directly communicating to some manifestation of God (although that would be interesting). What I am suggesting is that Jchoice is a place on line, where our energy as a people, is focused on doing the right thing. And when I say the right thing, I am referring to the “Just” thing.

A very respectable Hebrew translation of the word “justice” is “Tzedek.” Tzedek is the heart (and root) of Tzedakah.

Tzedakah is often translated as "charity." And that is not too far off from our modern understanding of what it has become, but it should be pointed out that it is more than charity. Giving to others is righteousness and justice because it simply is not right to “stand idly by” while others suffer.

You are probably not surprised when I tell you that repairing something unjust usually takes time, energy and funding. The more people that are involved for standing up for social justice, the more powerful the change. But then again, one can make a difference with his or her own determination and individual choices. One does not need to wait for “a group consensus” if you follow your heart to help another.

Let me offer an example of Tzedakah: If you were just about to take a bite of a sandwich and a starving person showed up and sat next to you, you would give them half your sandwich. It is not because you are such a great person; it’s not even because you feel a sense of love for that person; but rather; it’s just “the right thing to do.” The Creator has blessed you with a sandwich, and it is only “right” that you share it with the one next to you who was not as fortunate. That is how Judaism looks at Tzedakah. On Jchoice, from the public's eye,

ALL donors give anonymously. However, although your gifts are anonymous, you can also social network with others by inventing a screen name. Here you build your "donor profile" and become part of a vibrant giving community that you create and contribute ideas, songs and videos.

The consciousness is what matters. You choose a screen name and you give Tzedakah. YOU contribute and YOU know what you gave. You even have an account history on your “MyJChoice” page that keeps track of your interests and contributions. And just watch the wonder that comes back to you.

So do it. Pick up your mouse and make some choices. If you want more causes that aren’t up there, contact us and let us know what you want. Even though we have made it simple to give, it is definitely not easy to make a decision of which program to give to when they are all so worthy and compelling.

I suggest that you follow a category, a Jewish value, or a region that interests you all the way to a cause, and enjoy the journey. Feel free to surf around J-mix and explore our videos. Load in a donor reflection or a D’var Torah and earn $18 to give away in 48 hours. You might even be the monthly winner and receive an additional $180 of Tzedakah to give away!

You will quickly find a growing community in our social network that can find each other through shared places of thoughtfulness and generosity. Come share your light with the world, as this website was made for you to shine on! Please feel free to write to me and let me know what you think. I really love to hear from you.

Thank you for being here and helping to repair the world!