by Jonah Rothstein, Moishe House Jewish Education Retreats Manager
Jonah Rothstein
In November of last year, over 30 young Jewish leaders from around the country gathered at Leichtag Commons for a Moishe House learning retreat with a theme of coalition building: the process through which people and groups organize to achieve a common purpose. This was the first year we had a retreat on “Jewish coalition building” and it was born out of a need for young Jewish adults to have the knowledge, skills and resources to organize for a cause that they care about both within and outside the Jewish community.
Moishe House learning retreats are 48-hour immersive experiences designed to give participants practical tools and skills to create and enhance programs in their home communities. The impact of our retreats is most evident through observing how participants – young Jews in their mid-20s and early 30s – innovate their programming with their newfound knowledge.
It’s important to equip Jews in their mid-20s and early 30s with strategies for coalition building so that they can share implement them in their own programming.
Moishe House residents, Moishe House Without Walls hosts, and community members connected to the organization. One method of showcasing these tools and skills is through case studies. In San Diego, we havewitnessed a numberofmodelsofcoalitions that havebeen effective for achieving both short-term and long-term impactful changes.
During the retreat, we highlighted the San Diego Rapid Response Network (SDRRN), a coalition formed for the purpose of connecting immigrants and asylum seekers in immediate need of assistance to volunteers via Jewish Family Services (JFS). Kate Clark, Senior Director of Immigration Services at JFS, who was a part of the formation of SDRRN, shared her direct experience with forming this coalition with our participants during the retreat. Our proximity to the US-Mexico border allowed us to showcase a real coalition that works together on an issue that is extremely relevant today, that was built with significant support and effort from a Jewish communal organization.
This case study taught our participants that it is our responsibility as Jewish people and organizations to better our communities. JFS has long been a leader in providing services for immigrant families and asylum seekers in San Diego, collaborating with other nonprofits doing the same work to advance the cause together.
The relationship between the Leichtag Foundation and Moishe House sets the stage for other possible coalitions to form. Our partnership was created because of our shared purpose of inspiring Jewish life and action in meaningful ways.With our international headquarters at The Hive at Leichtag Commons, we also have the opportunity to partner with other organizations who have a presence here. Hosting retreats on Leichtag Commons is a unique way to showcase the thriving Jewish community where we work and live.
Since this was our first year of hosting a retreat centered around “Jewish coalition building,” we’re eager to see how the participants use these tools. At the end of our experiencethey had the opportunity to plan what a coalition might look like in their own community. Here are some takeaways to think about when planning yours:
Ask questions. Coalitions are organized to address a need and achieve a shared purpose. Ask if there is an issue that would be better solved through a broad, networked response from many organizations in your community because of their different, unique perspectives and strengths. Who are the stakeholders for the issue?
Coalition building is a delicate process. Bringing people together to engage in conversation around issues challenging our communities isn’t easy. The best recipe to achieving meaningful and lasting change together is to create your coalition around the values of transparency, open dialogue and addressing – rather than avoiding – conflict when it arises.
Define the timeline. Setting deadlines is important, especially when engaging with political systems, and working consistently on your own time helps hedge against unforeseen events that could even help shape (or hurt) your strategy. Examine the urgency of your cause, the stakeholders, and the systems you have to work with to identify your timeline for action.
Being Jewish on your own personal terms is a value and philosophy of Moishe House, and we look forward to seeing our retreat participants innovate their programs with this knowledge, and take action by activating and organizing their local communities on issues that affect people every day.
https://impactcubed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Guest-Blog-Jonah-Featured.png10801080Jessica Korthttps://impactcubed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Impact-Cubed-Stacked-LogoAsset-1@2x.pngJessica Kort2020-03-09 18:50:342020-03-09 18:50:34Guest Blog: Reflections on Coalition Building
https://impactcubed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Fundraising-for-the-Small-Nonprofit-Blog-Square.png10801080Jessica Korthttps://impactcubed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Impact-Cubed-Stacked-LogoAsset-1@2x.pngJessica Kort2020-02-25 23:07:122020-02-25 23:07:12Three Tools to Effectively Fundraise for your Small Nonprofit
A few months ago, I attended Hazon’s annual Jewish Food Conference at the Isabella Friedman Center, their farm-to-table kosher retreat center in Falls Village, CT, where foodies from around the world convened to learn more about how we can apply Jewish values and heritage to identify solutions for climate change. For four days this question lingered in our minds: How do we take responsibility for fixing what has gone awry in our relationship to the Earth as it relates to the food system and Judaism?
With fully engaged minds and taste buds, we integrated this topic into workshops, cooking demonstrations, panel discussions, and dinner table conversations. I contemplated this question in relation to our operations at The Hive and Leichtag Commons, especially with Tu B’Shvat – the JewishFestival of Trees – coming up,and I recognize we’re a leader for combating climate change in the Jewish world. Here’s why:
Eliminating Unnecessary Wastes
At the conference, Jeffrey Yoskowitz, co-founder of the Gefilteria, led a fascinating discussion around how the old-world Jewish concept of the ‘shtetl mindset’ can offer a present-day solution to limiting our food waste. This idea encapsulates the reintroduction of finding value in everything and not letting anything go to waste, using traditional Jewish food as a blueprint (for instance, matzah balls, which typically includes leftover animal fat and bread respectively). How are we applying the shtetl mindset here at Leichtag Commons?
Our Hive Catering chefmakes use of uneaten whole foods by pickling, preserving, and freezingand re–plating them for future events
We donate most leftover catering meals to Hive members who willingly help divert them from the landfill
Coastal Roots Farm composts much of the remaining food waste
Building Ecosystems
One of the many fascinating projects that takes place here is the development and ongoing growth of the 15-acre food forest managed by Coastal Roots Farm. This lush part of the property uses low levels of inputs to ensure long term balance between food production and the sustainability of natural resources. Through this process, soil quality is improved with higher levels of organic matter. This helps mitigate climate change by pulling carbon out of the atmosphere into the soil.
We’ve planted new trees and cared for them with Coastal Roots Farm for their Tu B’Shvat Food Forest Festival,which has become a celebration of ecological awareness and joy. This year’s festival theme “Trees of Change” is about honoring the role trees have in keeping our planet healthy.We see this, for example, in how the Food Forest sequesters carbon from the atmosphere and attracts an incredible diversity of wildlife, including red-tailed hawks, which now reside here on the Commons.
Supporting Local Farms
Much of the seasonal produce Hive catering obtains comes from right here at Coastal Roots Farm, where farmers are paid a livable wage and delivery is done on foot. When certain produce is not available here, we support other local North County farms such as Ashburner Farm, Wonderland Farm, and Cyclops Farms. Food transportation is certainly a contributor to climate change, and the shorter distance food travels to get to this property, the better environmental stewards we become.
Education Practices
At each Hive event we set out attractive waste bins with informational signage that helps guests better understand how to properly sort and dispose of their waste (whether it goes to landfill, compost, or recycling). The separated food waste gets picked up by the farmers and emptied into the vermicompost (worms) and compost piles at Coastal Roots Farm, where the Farm team teaches community members about our food system and how to take care of the land inthe tradition of various Jewish agricultural practices. In this case, they talk about the importance of alternative waste streams that diverts food waste away from the landfill. This Leichtag Commons collaboration provides an educational outlet to future generations on how to better take care of the earth by experiencing it firsthand.
I walked away from the conference refreshed and ready to tackle some of the hard questions knowing that while we are moving in the right direction, there is still a lot more work to be done. As Tu B’Shvat invigorates us with Jewish wisdom about how to care for trees, guidance about preserving the land, and ideas to combat climate change, and I want to explore that by initiating a collaborative Green Team at The Hive, which will be committed to reducing our negative footprint and increasing our positive impactin our pursuitof environmental justice on Leichtag Commons.
Guest Blog: Reflections on Coalition Building
by Jonah Rothstein, Moishe House Jewish Education Retreats Manager
Jonah Rothstein
In November of last year, over 30 young Jewish leaders from around the country gathered at Leichtag Commons for a Moishe House learning retreat with a theme of coalition building: the process through which people and groups organize to achieve a common purpose. This was the first year we had a retreat on “Jewish coalition building” and it was born out of a need for young Jewish adults to have the knowledge, skills and resources to organize for a cause that they care about both within and outside the Jewish community.
Moishe House learning retreats are 48-hour immersive experiences designed to give participants practical tools and skills to create and enhance programs in their home communities. The impact of our retreats is most evident through observing how participants – young Jews in their mid-20s and early 30s – innovate their programming with their newfound knowledge.
It’s important to equip Jews in their mid-20s and early 30s with strategies for coalition building so that they can share implement them in their own programming.
Moishe House residents, Moishe House Without Walls hosts, and community members connected to the organization. One method of showcasing these tools and skills is through case studies. In San Diego, we have witnessed a number of models of coalitions that have been effective for achieving both short-term and long-term impactful changes.
During the retreat, we highlighted the San Diego Rapid Response Network (SDRRN), a coalition formed for the purpose of connecting immigrants and asylum seekers in immediate need of assistance to volunteers via Jewish Family Services (JFS). Kate Clark, Senior Director of Immigration Services at JFS, who was a part of the formation of SDRRN, shared her direct experience with forming this coalition with our participants during the retreat. Our proximity to the US-Mexico border allowed us to showcase a real coalition that works together on an issue that is extremely relevant today, that was built with significant support and effort from a Jewish communal organization.
This case study taught our participants that it is our responsibility as Jewish people and organizations to better our communities. JFS has long been a leader in providing services for immigrant families and asylum seekers in San Diego, collaborating with other nonprofits doing the same work to advance the cause together.
The relationship between the Leichtag Foundation and Moishe House sets the stage for other possible coalitions to form. Our partnership was created because of our shared purpose of inspiring Jewish life and action in meaningful ways. With our international headquarters at The Hive at Leichtag Commons, we also have the opportunity to partner with other organizations who have a presence here. Hosting retreats on Leichtag Commons is a unique way to showcase the thriving Jewish community where we work and live.
Since this was our first year of hosting a retreat centered around “Jewish coalition building,” we’re eager to see how the participants use these tools. At the end of our experience they had the opportunity to plan what a coalition might look like in their own community. Here are some takeaways to think about when planning yours:
Being Jewish on your own personal terms is a value and philosophy of Moishe House, and we look forward to seeing our retreat participants innovate their programs with this knowledge, and take action by activating and organizing their local communities on issues that affect people every day.
Three Tools to Effectively Fundraise for your Small Nonprofit
The Hive’s Climate Change Commitment
Michelle Poliner, Events Manager
by Michelle Poliner, Events Manager
A few months ago, I attended Hazon’s annual Jewish Food Conference at the Isabella Friedman Center, their farm-to-table kosher retreat center in Falls Village, CT, where foodies from around the world convened to learn more about how we can apply Jewish values and heritage to identify solutions for climate change. For four days this question lingered in our minds: How do we take responsibility for fixing what has gone awry in our relationship to the Earth as it relates to the food system and Judaism?
With fully engaged minds and taste buds, we integrated this topic into workshops, cooking demonstrations, panel discussions, and dinner table conversations. I contemplated this question in relation to our operations at The Hive and Leichtag Commons, especially with Tu B’Shvat – the Jewish Festival of Trees – coming up, and I recognize we’re a leader for combating climate change in the Jewish world. Here’s why:
Eliminating Unnecessary Wastes
At the conference, Jeffrey Yoskowitz, co-founder of the Gefilteria, led a fascinating discussion around how the old-world Jewish concept of the ‘shtetl mindset’ can offer a present-day solution to limiting our food waste. This idea encapsulates the reintroduction of finding value in everything and not letting anything go to waste, using traditional Jewish food as a blueprint (for instance, matzah balls, which typically includes leftover animal fat and bread respectively). How are we applying the shtetl mindset here at Leichtag Commons?
Building Ecosystems
One of the many fascinating projects that takes place here is the development and ongoing growth of the 15-acre food forest managed by Coastal Roots Farm. This lush part of the property uses low levels of inputs to ensure long term balance between food production and the sustainability of natural resources. Through this process, soil quality is improved with higher levels of organic matter. This helps mitigate climate change by pulling carbon out of the atmosphere into the soil.
We’ve planted new trees and cared for them with Coastal Roots Farm for their Tu B’Shvat Food Forest Festival, which has become a celebration of ecological awareness and joy. This year’s festival theme “Trees of Change” is about honoring the role trees have in keeping our planet healthy. We see this, for example, in how the Food Forest sequesters carbon from the atmosphere and attracts an incredible diversity of wildlife, including red-tailed hawks, which now reside here on the Commons.
Supporting Local Farms
Much of the seasonal produce Hive catering obtains comes from right here at Coastal Roots Farm, where farmers are paid a livable wage and delivery is done on foot. When certain produce is not available here, we support other local North County farms such as Ashburner Farm, Wonderland Farm, and Cyclops Farms. Food transportation is certainly a contributor to climate change, and the shorter distance food travels to get to this property, the better environmental stewards we become.
Education Practices
At each Hive event we set out attractive waste bins with informational signage that helps guests better understand how to properly sort and dispose of their waste (whether it goes to landfill, compost, or recycling). The separated food waste gets picked up by the farmers and emptied into the vermicompost (worms) and compost piles at Coastal Roots Farm, where the Farm team teaches community members about our food system and how to take care of the land in the tradition of various Jewish agricultural practices. In this case, they talk about the importance of alternative waste streams that diverts food waste away from the landfill. This Leichtag Commons collaboration provides an educational outlet to future generations on how to better take care of the earth by experiencing it firsthand.
________________________________________________________________________________
I walked away from the conference refreshed and ready to tackle some of the hard questions knowing that while we are moving in the right direction, there is still a lot more work to be done. As Tu B’Shvat invigorates us with Jewish wisdom about how to care for trees, guidance about preserving the land, and ideas to combat climate change, and I want to explore that by initiating a collaborative Green Team at The Hive, which will be committed to reducing our negative footprint and increasing our positive impact in our pursuit of environmental justice on Leichtag Commons.