Search Results for "intern"
Dvar Tzedek: Parshat Nitzavim-Vayelech 5771
When I was eighteen, my grandfather enlisted me in a signature-gathering campaign. We advocated for the addition of an amendment to Oregon’s state constitution that would declare health care a fundamental right. Working alongside him, I found myself captivated by his tireless insistence that we each have the responsibility to care for the vulnerable. “We …
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A Closer Look at the 2012 Farm Bill
Originally posted on The Jew and the Carrot. While headlines about the Farm Bill focus on the role of commodity subsidies in creating the ubiquity of processed foods in the U.S. (and increasingly in the global) food system, on the final day of the 2011 Hazon Food Conference, some of the most passionate and committed …
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Dvar Tzedek: Parshat Ki Tavo 5771
Several months ago, my husband was stopped by one of the ubiquitous young people on the streets of Manhattan fundraising for good causes. He was told that for just $22 a month, he could sponsor a needy child in the Global South. Moved by the pitch, he signed up, and soon after, a photo of …
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AJWS Brings Jewish Communal Leaders to Capitol Hill To Protect International Food Aid as East Africa Famine Continues
Rabbis, Rabbinical Students and Educators Draw from Experience in Developing World with AJWS to Lobby Congress on Proposed Foreign Aid Budget Cuts Washington, DC; September 12, 2011—An inter-denominational group of 20 rabbis, rabbinical students and Jewish educators from across the U.S. will meet with their local members of Congress this afternoon about preserving funding for …
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Vote for Sameena and Molly—Two Powerful Women Pioneering Social Change
We’re really excited that not one but TWO of our grassroots partners and colleagues, Sameena Nazir and Molly Melching, are finalists for the Guardian International Development Achievement Award. It’s an award that honors the unsung heroes of international development; those who have gone above and beyond the call of duty to make a positive difference …
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"Disability is Not Inability" – Advocating for the Rights of Disabled Sri Lankans in the Aftermath of Civil War
Imagine finding yourself suddenly blind in the prime of your life. Now imagine that you’re not only blind, but displaced from your home by civil war, living in an entirely new place, trying to navigate the world with a daunting new disability. This is the hand that Vellayan Subramaniam was dealt, when, at 24, he …
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Rugged Altruists: Supporting Characters, Not Stars
In last Tuesday’s New York Times, David Brooks neatly balances a healthy cynicism for the “[m]any Americans going to the developing world to serve others” with the “smaller percentage” actually having some impact. Brooks describes three virtues necessary for these “rugged altruists” to be successful in catalyzing change: “courage,” “deference” and “thanklessness.” In spite of …
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AJWS Board of Trustees Elects 3 New Members
New York, NY; August 25, 2011—The Board of Trustees of American Jewish World Service (AJWS), an international development and human rights organization, has elected three new members: Monte Dube, Scott A. Edelman and Eileen Epstein. “We are thrilled to welcome these talented professionals and committed philanthropists to our board,” said AJWS board chair Barbara Dobkin. …
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My Summer at Pursue: It’s what you do, not what you think…right?
Originally posted on Pursue: Action for a Just World. At school, we always complain that we’re not doing anything. In my classes, we study feminist theory, race theory, queer theory, postcolonial theology, postmodernist thought, liberatory pedagogy; an alphabet soup of academic jargon about justice. But what’s missing, we object, is action. So we work to …
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Dvar Tzedek: Parshat Eikev 5771
If you ask people why they’re involved in community service, few—if any—would include personal reward or accolades on their list of motivations. There seems to be an expectation in our culture that good works should be accompanied by a Mother Theresa-like abdication of personal benefit. Admitting otherwise generally elicits squeamish responses. And yet, public service …
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