Roll up your sleeves as a volunteer and contribute to the city's renaissance
The Jewish Federations of North America has teamed up with Repair the World to offer the opportunity for all General Assembly participants to spend time giving back to the community of New Orleans and contributing to the city's continued recovery.
**** See highlights and photos from this great day of service. ***
On Monday, Nov. 8, GA participants will be able to choose from three types of volunteer activities: off-site volunteer opportunities, service-learning site visits, and on-site volunteer opportunities. Sample volunteer experiences include helping to finish homes, maintain parkland and pack school supplies for students in the New Orleans schools. Some participants will have the opportunity for site visits to many of the community's nonprofits to meet with local residents and tour the Lower Ninth Ward. The GA will also offer breakout sessions on tikkun olam (repairing the world), social justice, the power of volunteerism and much more.
**Online registration for the GA Day of Service has now closed. If you are still interested in signing up for a service selection or you would like to make a change to your selection, you may do so on site at the GA. Please visit the Service Day Desk next to GA Registration at the Sheraton New Orleans hotel. Selections and changes can be made until 4PM on Sunday, November 7th.
E-mail gaserviceday@jewishfederations.org with any questions.
Organizers:
Partners:
THE PROGRAM
On Monday, Nov. 8, from 12:30-5:30 PM, GA participants will be taking part in one of three types of volunteer activities; allowing for people with a range of interests and abilities to engage in community action. Registration is required in order to participate. (Online registration for the GA Day of Service has now closed. If you are still interested in signing up for a service selection or you would like to make a change to your selection, you may do so on site at the GA. Please visit the Service Day Desk next to GA Registration at the Sheraton New Orleans hotel. Selections and changes can be made until 4PM on Sunday, November 7th.)
OPTION 1: Off-site Volunteer Opportunities
Join with GA participants to rebuild, clean up, finish homes, maintain parkland, plant trees, and help pack vitally needed food for New Orleans school-age children. Choose a project with one of the following incredible organizations in New Orleans that are making a difference.
Beacon of Hope (500 participants)
Volunteers will be involved in a clean-up effort for homes in the Lower Ninth Ward that have not yet been rebuilt. Five years after Katrina, many of the homes in the Lower Ninth Ward are still tied up in court over who has legal ownership of the home. If the houses and areas surrounding them are not kept in good condition, the homes can be cited as a blight and repossessed by the city. Volunteers will be cutting trees, bundling and bagging trimmings, cleaning storm drains, cleaning up trash and raking grass and leaves throughout the Lower Ninth Ward.
City Park New Orleans (400 participants)
At 1,300 acres, City Park is one of the largest urban parks in the country and was devastated after Katrina. The park has only 85 full-time employees. Therefore, volunteers play a key role in maintaining and developing a stronger park. Split into four groups of approximately 100, volunteers will take on different projects throughout the park, including mulching two miles of forest trails, painting fences, railings and walls, shoreline tree and grass planting, stringing lights for the annual park lighting display and shoreline clean-up.
St. Bernard Project (100 participants)
St. Bernard Project (SBP) is a community-based nonprofit organization headquartered in St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana. Founded in 2006, SBP’s mission is to remove barriers for families who wish to return to their homes in St. Bernard. To date, utilizing volunteer labor and donations for building supplies, SBP has rebuilt more than 280 families’ homes and is currently working on more than 50 additional homes. Volunteers will spend time in houses that are in the rebuilding phase doing insulation work and mold remediation.
KaTREEna (100 participants)
New Orleans suffered many losses in Katrina and its aftermath. One of the major casualties was the city's trees. Over 100,000 were lost, including most of the beautiful magnolias and many live oaks. Volunteer will plant trees helping to re-Green New Orleans.
OPTION 2: Service-Learning Site Visits
Meet with many of New Orleans local nonprofit leaders. Pick one of four themes: Katrina at 5, the environment, the Jewish Community of New Orleans or New Orleans today. Learn about the work being done five years after Katrina and the history and future of the Jewish community of New Orleans
The site visits are meant to offer educational, service-oriented experiences for GA participants. They will be robust and comprehensive tours that will allow participants to leave NOLA with a solid understanding of a given topic area and concrete ways for them to become advocates in their home communities.
Jewish New Orleans (100 participants)
GA participants are invited to learn more about the unique characteristics of the local Jewish community--where it was and how it has evolved— and hear about the contributions the greater Jewish community has made in the growth, development and recovery of New Orleans.
With stops at notable Jewish sites and opportunities to meet local leaders, participants gain access to the people and places that have, and are, changing the face of Jewish New Orleans.
New Orleans Today (100 participants)
New Orleans is a place of rich cultural and historical heritage but where does it stand today? Participants will learn about some of NOLA’s most pressing social issues and the people and organizations that are carving out creative solutions. Expect to hear from health experts, local government leaders, food justice activists and community organizers.
Katrina at 5 (100 participants)
2010 marks the five-year anniversary of the hurricane that devastated New Orleans. Through a guided tour of the Lower Ninth Ward with stops at rebuilding-oriented organizations, a fair housing center, community research organizations and more, participants will gain a comprehensive understanding of where the recovery efforts stand today.
Environment
Long before hurricane Katrina and the recent oil spill propelled the issue of wetland preservation into the nation’s headlines, advocates and community members have been championing the protection of Louisiana’s coast. Hear about activists groups, major wetland preservation foundations, and enforcement agencies are continuing this needed and necessary work.
OPTION 3: On-Site Volunteer Opportunities
Stay at the GA venue and attend workshops on social justice and volunteerism. Participate in a project for UNITY, an organization combating homelessness in New Orleans by packing welcome bags for newly-housed New Orleans residents.
12:30 PM- 2:00 PM WORKSHOPS
Funding Jewish Social Justice: Perspectives from Donors
Social justice has become a buzzword throughout Jewish circles, with the concept of tikkun olam informing a wide range of programmatic and advocacy efforts both within the Federation movement and among a growing group of Jewish social justice organizations. This session features perspectives about the Jewish social justice movement from a panel of distinguished donors and foundation representatives who have supported efforts both inside and outside of the Federation movement. Insights will be shared about recent changes in this field, opportunities for growth and innovation, regional and national trends, and what has drawn donors to support Jewish social justice causes.
Elevating Social Justice from Inside the System
Social justice causes have increasingly become areas of focused activity for Jewish organizations. The pursuit of tikkun olam serves as a powerful motivating factor in engaging people to join in the work of various Jewish organizations. This session will showcase innovative social justice partnerships that connect partners within the Federation movement to emerging nonprofits outside of it. The groups featured in this panel are connected to the Jewish Social Justice Roundtable. Session attendees will learn about successful collaborative social justice efforts between agencies within and outside of the Federation movement, whether they take the form of political advocacy, direct service, educational programming, organizing, or community relations. In addition to featuring innovative social justice programming ideas, best practices for program development and implementation, examples of community organizing and other methods of engagement, and helpful resources, there will be a discussion of issues that can arise when forming partnerships between organizations inside and outside of the Federation movement.
2:00 PM-4:00 PM
Pack Bags for UNITY
Volunteers will:
Create 1000 kits for homeless in New Orleans who currently live in abandoned buildings. UNITY’s staff uses these kits when they make their site visits. The kits include small shampoos, soaps, toothbrushes, small tubes of toothpaste, healthy snacks such as granola bars, bottles of water, underwear, toilet paper, fast food gift cards and other items to which those who are living on the street do not have access.
A second set of 1000 kits will be created for the newly housed. UNITY focuses on getting people into permanent housing. They use the “welcome home” kits as a starter kit for many of their clients who have not had regular access to basic items including shampoo, soaps, toothbrushes, toothpaste, toilet paper etc.
UNITY is committed to ending homelessness and bringing New Orleans home. Its mission is to: Provide services to those who are homeless – those families and individuals who were homeless prior to Katrina, as well as those who have lost their homes as a result of Katrina, Advocate for effective public policies to bring home and rebuild the lives of all low-income people in New Orleans and Jefferson Parish, and Work to prevent new homelessness as we rebuild our community. http://www.unitygno.org/
4:00 PM-5:30 PM WORKSHOPS
Volunteering Through Disaster: How Katrina Changed the Face of Volunteerism
Hurricane Katrina changed the way organizations and individuals look at volunteering. Instead of taking part in one-day projects in their own communities, people are uprooting their lives and going to disaster sites. This concept is being replicated as other disasters happen. We will hear from major organizations as they describe their work in New Orleans and how it impacted decisions they made in responding to other disasters.
What's Jewish About Jewish Service Learning?
Ever wonder what is actually Jewish about service? Come take part in a text-based learning session taken directly from leading Jewish service curricula and led by young Jewish Service alumni from around the country. Look at the power of overseas service experiences and the Jewish values that drive them.