Jewish social justice around the worldA friend of mine recently asked me if I am glad that I participated in Avodah: The Jewish Service Corps, even though it was one of the most challenging years of my life. I responded without hesitation, "Yes, I am so glad!" It was an incredible life-changing experience, and I learned a great deal in a very short period. One of the greatest and unforeseen benefits of participating in Avodah was (and is) the alumni network, both with Avodah and the Jewish Coalition for Service (JCS).As a participant in "Leading Up North" (LUN), I had the great fortune of working with JCS, which sent about 120 young professionals to participate. I was surprised to see that I already knew about 20 people on the program from different contexts - Avodah, Otzma, Brandeis University, friends of friends. Not only did I have the chance to catch up with old friends, but every other participant had volunteered with some other Jewish service program - American Jewish World Service (AJWS), Young Judaea, World Union of Jewish Students (WUJS), Amitim, the list goes on and on. I was incredibly impressed with the quality of participants who were selected to participate in LUN with JCS. Spending time with many like-minded young Jews, who also care a great deal about Israel and about making positive changes in the world, I realized that I am truly part of something greater than myself. I have no doubt that for the rest of my life I will bump into people that I know from LUN. The JCS Network is a burgeoning community of Jewish leaders who will no doubt change the world.
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