an interview with SimhaRosenberg at the Jewish Coalition for Service

What is J-Serve 2005?

J-Serve 2005: Jewish youth, Repairing the world, One day at a time is the first ever national day of service for Jewish teens.   This date corresponds with Youth Service America's National Youth Service Day.   Each year on that weekend, hundreds of thousands of young people engage in tens of thousands of service projects, providing service to communities throughout the United States.   This year J-serve 2005 will be offering Jewish teens a way to get involved in many local communities.  

Who came up with this idea, and why?

J-Serve 2005 came from a brainstorming session at the first annual Jewish Teen Leadership Summit, held in Washington, DC in October 2004.   The summit was sponsored by PANIM: The Institute for Leadership and Values and funded by the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation.  

During brainstorming session, teens from around the country came up with the idea of a nation-wide day that would focus on Jewish teens doing service. They also saw it as a way to encourage greater collaboration between diverse groups in Jewish life.  

Following the summit, PANIM, the Jewish Coalition for Service, and the North American Alliance for Jewish Youth came together to sponsor J-Serve: 2005.  

What kind of services are you hoping that youth will do?

We're hoping teens will do service that both answers a real community need and also is fun for the teens themselves.   Local organizations will set up a variety of service projects in their communities.

As Allison Gold of Harleysville, PA put it, "I hope to work in a soup kitchen, fix up an inner city park, collect food or clothes for people who need it, baby sit for people who are job hunting - anything related to tikkum olam, that really makes a difference in someone's life.

We believe that service is best when it comes from the strengths and areas of enjoyment of the volunteers.   Everyone is more likely to keep serving if they enjoy it!

Is it only Jewish services you're encouraging? Explain.

J-Serve 2005 is connected to Youth Service America, which is a nationwide effort to mobilize teens all over the country to make a difference in their communities.   We want the teens who join in J-Serve 2005 to do two things: to learn more together, from different points of view, about Jewish values - and then to act on those values, to live them.   So, whether they're helping Jews who are poor or struggling with other problems, or they're helping non-Jews who live in their area, they will be serving their communities as Jews - and promoting a greater sense of community.

How should Jewish teens get involved?

J-Serve 2005 is reaching out to youth groups, schools, JCCs, and synagogues and encouraging them to join with other groups in their area to plan their local J-Serve activities and to encourage teens to participate.   Teens who want to find out more right now can ask their youth leaders or teachers about J-Serve or they can contact us directly by emailing rachelm@panim.org .   Starting in mid-February, there will be a new website - www.jserve.org .   If we can't direct them to a program in their area, we'll connect them with the nearest Youth Service America activities.

What if they are unaffiliated?

One of the most important goals of J-Serve 2005 is that it is open to all Jewish teens.   We know that many teens may not participate in youth movements or Jewish schools.   They may feel that doing service programs is the way they express what being Jewish means to them.   So, if they don't know where to look for J-Serve activities in their area, as we said, we hope they'll get in touch with us by emailing rachelm@panim.org or, in February, by visiting www.jserve.org .  

What are you hoping that teens will get out of this day?

We hope that teens will be inspired by seeing that they are not alone in their quest to make the world a better place! We also hope that teens will see how Judaism teaches us that we must care about the larger world and those less fortunate than us. J-Serve 2005 hopes to inspire teens who aren't already participating in service to join in the Jewish act of Tikkun Olam on an ongoing basis.

"I'm hoping that the teens who participate will be able to come out of the day with a sense of community - that we're coming together and making a difference," says
Samantha Wilco of Fort Lauderdale, FL

Are you planning on having media cover the event? Explain.

We definitely plan to have media cover the event - before, during and after.   We will be publicizing J-Serve 2005 beforehand through local newsletters, bulletin boards and word of mouth to make sure that teens who might want to take part hear about it.   We will also be sending out media kits and helping local communities get media coverage of their J-Serve events.   Right after the day itself, we plan to collect pictures and stories so that we can have some follow-up coverage in the media - and to get ready to publicize J-Serve 2006.   We hope that JVibe will join us in this effort!

Other J-Serve 2005 National Partners include: · B'nai B'rith Youth Organization, Inc. · Bnei Akiva · B'nai Tzedek Teen Philanthropy Program · Institute of Service Learning at the Jewish Community High School, a division of Gratz College · Jewish Education Service of North America (JESNA) · Jewish Community Center Association · National Conference of Synagogue Youth · North American Federation of Temple Youth · No'ar Hadash · spark : Partnership for Service · United Synagogue Youth · Young Judaea