Monday, December 3, 2012

Final Days

It is Monday of my final week here at the JCRC and I am between making my final calls and wrapping up my projects.  I cannot believe how quickly this time has gone!  It seems like just yesterday it was the beginning of the semester and I was new here.  I wanted to take a moment to write one final entry, summarizing my time here.  Rereading my first blog, there are many parts of my role at the JCRC that have remained the same and there are other parts that have evolved and changed throughout the semester. 

To begin with, I have continued to develop and gain experience in communicating with others in a professional sense. I have spent numerous mornings and afternoons on the phone, contacting organizations and individuals.  I have come to detect when a simple email will be sufficient in communicating my objectives or the instances in which a phone call is much more appropriate.  My typing skills have also improved greatly throughout the semester and I am writing faster and with more proficiency that ever before.

 The JCRC Poverty Internship has given me a phenomenal insight into the organization, operation, and function of non-profit work.  I have been touched by the dozens of non-profits in the area that are making life better for the poor, underprivileged, disabled, and suffering as well as by the community of people that support them.  From the large crowd that gathered for the Coalition on Human Needs Community Forum that Gail and I attended in September to the JFHN Committee Members that went on numerous site visits, there is a great deal of passion for social justice supporting the JCRC and similar types of organizations. 

One of my favorite projects has been assisting with the organization of the Jewish and Muslim Day of Service.  The excitement I heard in the volunteer coordinators' voices when I asked them if they were interested in participating in the event again this year was contagious and convinced me of the importance of such an event.  I am very lucky to have not only gotten to witness the planning and allocation of such an event but also to be a part of the actual preparation. 

The time I have spent at the JCRC has reaffirmed my desire to work in the non-profit/advocacy sector.  As a Public Health major, I recognize the importance of non-profits in aiding to accomplish change among a large group of people.  The JCRC was an especially unique opportunity because I feel like I got the best of both worlds. I experienced an insider's interpretation of a non-profit through working with the Jewish Fund for Human Needs and I was able to understand the positive changes an umbrella organization like the JCRC can make for a non-profit.  I am sad to go but also ready and excited to take the skills I have learned and the experiences I have had to my future endeavors.      

Friday, November 30, 2012

Holocaust Museum and Learning Center

Monday afternoon I finally found time to visit the Holocaust Museum and Learning Center that is housed in the Jewish Federation Building below the JCRC's offices.  I spent nearly an hour and a half wandering through the silent exhibit.  I was lucky to have the entire museum to myself and took my time, reading each caption carefully.  Although I had visited the Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C. when I was younger, I do not think I was old enough then to fully comprehend and understand the content and information the museum presented.  The museum in the Federation Building, although much smaller, provided information about the Holocaust that I had yet to come across in my reading or in a history class.

The museum was set up in chronological order, making it easy for me to see the gruesome progression of the Nazis regime and the affect it had on the Jewish population.  The photographs and artifacts contained in the museum presented a startling reality that cannot be contained in books or even movies that attempt to commemorate and explain this horrific era in history.  I was impressed by the vast number of pieces contained in the museum that had been contributed by members of the St. Louis community.  Although I am coming to understand that St. Louis has a large and contributing Jewish population, I also perceive St. Louis as one of the smaller metropolitan areas not only in the Mid-West but also in the United States.  The sheer fact that a community the size of St. Louis can contribute this vast amount of information from the Holocaust is proof of the vast reaches this event has had on the world. 

Because I am not Jewish, this semester at the JCRC has been a learning experience as well as an interfaith opportunity for me.  I have appreciated the personal look into the Jewish community and culture of St. Louis.  My visit to the Holocaust exhibit was an addition to the wealth of knowledge I have been allowed to collect this semester and was a solemn reminder of a sad era of history.   

    

Monday, November 26, 2012

JAMDOS

It's somehow already the Monday after Thanksgiving Break, signifying the start of my final two weeks at the JCRC as well as the beginning of a few very busy weeks for everyone else here.  I absolutely cannot believe my semester at the JCRC is already coming to an end.  The Jewish and Muslim Day of Service that will take place on Christmas Day is in the final planning stages.  I am working on creating a list of volunteers that have signed up, contacting organizations that are helping to support the event, and spreading the word on my campus. 

I was incredibly surprised to watch the number of volunteers that have signed up soar in the first few days the registration website was live.  The list is up to 95 total entries, most with up to 4 or 5 people signed up per entry!  It is heart-warming to watch a community reach out and join in on this spectacular event.  It certainly puts more meaning into the holiday season than the incessant Christmas music playing in the stores already and the lines upon upon lines of people who waited for hours this past weekend for "a deal."  I am excited to hear about the success of this year's event and I am going to miss the opportunity to watch it all come together. 

The website for the event is http://www.stljewishmuslimdayofservice.org/.  It provides a full list of our sponsors and the service sites to which we will be sending volunteers.  I will be forever grateful to have had the opportunity to work with each of these organizations.  The staff I have been in contact with have helped me understand the process of communication and the art of working together.  I have also greatly enjoyed and benefited from learning about the work each of the agencies and organizations are doing in the St. Louis community.   

Monday, November 12, 2012

Fighting Poverty With Faith Initiative

Every year the JCRC hosts an initiative in collaboration with a national organization, the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, known as Fighting Poverty With Faith.  In the past few years, a group of Jewish youth has been the target of the JCRC's efforts.  This year the issue addressed nationally was homelessness.  After partnering with the group's parents and teachers, we realized that our targeted group had been learning about the issue of homelessness for the past few months. 

It was decided that we would address the issue of hunger, a topic this group has been presented with several times through the JCRC.  The important aspect of this event, however, would be a hands-on volunteer opportunity in which the kids would be able to give back while learning about an important issue in their community.  This Sunday, sixteen students worked for two hours at the Harvey Kornblum Jewish Food Pantry.  We helped pack bags with food that would be picked up throughout the week by local clients.

The kids absolutely loved the work of labelling the bags, collecting the necessary items from around the pantry, and organizing the cans and boxes in each bag.  It was wonderful to spend time with the huge amount of energy and excitement the kids had for this new adventure.  I was reminded that I could put more energy into my own volunteer endeavors and give the people I am helping the same contagious happiness these students brought to the food pantry.

The volunteer outreach coordinator was incredibly patient and flexible as our group needed more adaptability than a typical group of volunteers.  The pantry was absolutely packed with three different groups working at the same time.  The pleasant noise level of laughing and talking made the work fun for all.  Our group had a blast racing around and finding the different types of food and playing with the food carts.  I think they were all surprised that volunteering can be fun. 

Afterwards, we came together for a quick debrief in which the kids surprised me with their input and knowledge about the issue of hunger in St. Louis.  The experience these kids are gaining through the JCRC initiative each year is priceless.  A permanent desire to help those less fortunate is developing inside their young hearts and, with continued input from the JCRC, hopefully they will continue to seek volunteer opportunities and grow in helping others.   

Monday, October 15, 2012

Busy, Busy, Busy!

I cannot believe it has been nearly a full month since the last time I posted.  We have been incredibly busy this month and I have been even busier with midterms and fall activities outside of the JCRC.  I am enjoying every moment I spend here and I am learning a great deal about the social justice initiatives of the Jewish community, the fantastic organizations that are based in St. Louis, and the time and effort that goes into protecting those misrepresented and underprivileged in our area.

As of right now, my projects include the organization of our Jewish and Muslim Day of Service on Christmas Day.  I am continuing to contact organizations that might be interested in receiving volunteers for the day as well as working with a few of them to create lists of donations needed for their events on Christmas Day.  Last week, I finished up with scheduling site visits for organizations that are candidates for the Jewish Fund for Human Needs.  I have the awesome opportunity of going along on one next week and will get to see first-hand the benefits of the Fund.

I am beginning my next big project of the semester which is an event sometime in November that will be hosted to raise awareness for homelessness.  This event will be in conjunction with a national call to action know as Fighting Poverty with Faith.  I am excited for the opportunity to work with kids and to share with them the suffering that is occurring around us.    

Monday, September 24, 2012

Everyone Has Something to Give

The Community Against Poverty Volunteer Fair was held yesterday afternoon at The Heights Community Center in Richmond Heights.  It was a gorgeous day both outside and inside the open and warm facility that accommodated our event.  The day began with over twenty organizations arriving and setting up their displays and presentations that were unique to each of their organizations.  Before the public arrived, it was fantastic to witness the different organizations networking and communicating with one another.

The fair officially began with remarks from the Community Against Poverty chair Renee Marver.  Reverend  C. Jessel Strong, the President of  the St. Louis Metropolitan Clergy Coalition, gave his thanks to all of the volunteers present.  His message of gratitude set a fantastic tone for the entire event.  The keynote speaker, Martin Rafanan, is the executive director of Gateway 180: Homelessness Reversed and spoke about the attribution of success of his agency to volunteers.  Martin gave a powerful insight into the importance of not only volunteering but also about the benefits of bringing together different organizations with varied strengths to fight poverty on a united front.

After the keynote speaker, the volunteer organizations opened up their booths to the public and those present walked around the room, stopping at nearly every table.  I took my own trip through the room and recognized several organizations that I had been in contact with prior to the event.  It was exciting to put names to faces and to touch base with several people that I have been working with on other projects. 

I would like to highlight a few organizations that I was not familiar with that I became informed of as a result of the CAP Fair.  Ready Readers is an organization that trains, places and supports volunteers to read weekly in an assigned classroom of pre-school age children in low-income communities throughout the St. Louis area.  This organization originally caught my attention because two of my favorite books from my childhood were displayed on the table.  After speaking with their representative, I was inspired by the mission of Ready Readers and was ready to add another hour of volunteering to my already jam-packed schedule.  I was also introduced for the first time to St. Louis Bworks.  This organization provides opportunities for at-risk children to expand their abilities in a safe, supportive environment.  They have programs that incorporate bicycles, books, and computers.  These organizations are just two of the many that made the CAP Volunteer Fair a true mix of opportunity.   

CAP is a part of the Jewish Community Relations Council's Bohm Social Justice Initiative.  Through this initiative, the JCRC develops community collaborations for social justice education and social action projects.  The CAP Volunteer Fair is a perfect execution of both parts of the Bohm Social Justice Initiative.  I learned a great deal about the social inequalities and the commitments that exist in the St. Louis area to rectify them.  The CAP Fair opened my eyes to the diverse non-profit organizations that are making St. Louis a better place.  It truly reminded me that anyone, with any particular skills, experience, or interests, has something to give.

    

Monday, September 10, 2012

Share Love, Spread Peace

This Sunday, hosted at the gorgeous Sheldon Concert Hall, several foundations and organizations associated with the St. Louis interfaith effort hosted a September 11th Interfaith Memorial.  The event was open to the public and brought together musical groups from numerous faith traditions.  Each group presented a musical piece that promoted an appreciation for religious diversity, a sense of unity under the American flag, or peace after the 9/11 attacks.  The St. Louis Police Department presented the flag and their Pipes and Drums group began the show.

I was brought to tears by several of the performances.  Each group put their whole hearts into their music and the message they were presenting.  It was inspiring to see the Sheldon full of people from the St. Louis community who supported the idea of using the interfaith themes of peace, love, and hope to commemorate the 9/11 attacks.  The Michael and Barbara Newmark Institute for Human Relations at the JCRC was one of the sponsors of the event.  It was this connection that caused me to appreciate the event even more.  The fact that I have the opportunity to work with an organization that promotes and supports interfaith efforts such as this means a great deal to me.

As we left the Sheldon, a local artist by the name of Lyndsey Scott invited everyone present to participate in an interactive sculpture.  The sculpture stood for the religious diversity that is honored in the St. Louis area.  Everyone was given a small, yellow ribbon and asked to think about how each of us can embody a greater connection with others in our day to day lives.  We were given the opportunity to write our intentions on the ribbon and then each of us tied our ribbon on the sculpture.  Inspired by the concert, I wrote simply, "Share love, spread peace."