The Allied Jewish Federation of Colorado is offering a limited number of stipends to be awarded on a competitive basis for teens and young adults participating in peer group trips to Israel in 2012. The funds are targeted to assist those who cannot participate without financial support from the community. The stipends will be awarded to those applicants who demonstrate an ability and willingness to become ambassadors for Israel in Colorado upon their return. The Committee’s award decisions will be largely based on the applicant’s essay.

Who is eligible?

• Jewish teens and young adults between the ages of 16 and 30 who are Colorado residents.
• Scholarship recipients MUST agree to participate in Federation, a synagogue, school or communal organization program in which they will describe how their experience in Israel impacted their life.
• Ambassadors will provide the committee, within 12 months after their return to the U.S., with a brief summary of said communal activity or program.

Which Israel programs may receive subsidies?

• Participants must select an Israel program that is recognized by the Jewish Agency for Israel (JAFI), the Government of Israel, or MASA Israel Journey.
• The program must be an organized educational experience in Israel focusing on strengthening one’s Jewish identity & connection to Israel. It must have a Zionist component, involving travel around Israel & learning about the modern State of Israel.
• Short-term travel programs must be operated by a national/international organization (no private tours or missions).
• Program must begin in 2012.

Due Dates:

• Applications must be received by close of business (4:30pm) on Friday, March 2, 2012
• Decisions will be announced by Friday, March 30, 2012

Download application here: 2012 Teen and Young Adult Israel Community Ambassadors Scholarship

Submit application to: Debi Crawley, Allied Jewish Federation of Colorado, 300 South Dahlia, Suite 300, Denver, CO 80246
Email: dcrawley@ajfcolorado.org or fax: 303.322.8328

Questions?
Please do not hesitate to call Michal Uziyahu, Community Shlichah,
at 303-316-6472 or email muziyahu@ajfcolorado.org

Boulder Ice Rink (13th between Walnut and Canyon) 5:00 pm
Rio (1101 Walnut Street) 5:45 pm
Feel free to show up at either or both the ice rink and/or Rio. If you want to let us know you are coming, sign up on Facebook.
(You must be 21+ to attend this event)

If you have any questions, feel free to contact Michael at connect@boulderjcc.org or 720-583-5522

Rabbi Goldfeder

Rabbi Seidenberg

Friends – I had a call today from Rabbi David Seidenberg, author of the new book, “Crossing the Threshold: God’s Image in the More-than-Human World.” He saw my previous post about losing our distinctions, and he corrected me about my grave misunderstanding of his book. I stand gravely corrected – I actually have no idea what he means by “G-d’s image in the more-than-human world.” And I didn’t read his book, because it is not available yet. So, in essence, I judged a book by its cover; or at least its title. Misjudged, that is.

So Rabbi Seidenberg called me and graciously offered to dialogue with me, in public, on the subject of Torah and Evolution. And so it shall be, b’ezrat Hashem, 7:15 pm Monday January 9th at Aish Kodesh 1805 Balsam Ave. Light refreshments and some heavy conversation.

I’m excited. Dialogue is the purest form of Torah, in my view, and I look forward to discussing and learning. Hope to see you there.

In a twist this year, guests were able to purchase a ticket that included a donation to Jewish Family Service and nearly half the guests chose this – raising over $250 for JFS for safety net needs in Colorado.

A big thank you to local business sponsors:

• Falafel King
• Hapa Sushi
• Rembrandt Yard
• 303 Vodka
• Colorado Native
• TheNextStepVideo
• Lindsay’s Boulder Deli
• Rob’s Mountain Gin
• Zolar Brazilian Superfruits
• Naked Pizza

and to the nonprofit co-sponsors:

• Boulder Jewish News
• Boulder JCC
• Allied Jewish Federation of Colorado
• 18 Pomegranates
• SoulFood
• BirthrightNext Denver
• Hazon
• Keshet
• LimmudColorado
• Congregation Bonai Shalom
• Menorah
• Boulder Jewish Festival

Photos and video to follow for those brave enough to watch the sparks. Beware, adult content included!

I am writing again to talk about the expansion of my Shal OM idea.  As I have written in the past, the idea first came to fruition when I began teaching Jewish Yoga and Meditation at Hebrew High.  Since then I have taught Jewish Yoga at the Hazon Food Conference, the Teva Environmental Educator conference, and at Limmud Colorado.  After Limmud Colorado I was informed of a Jewish Learning Grant from Rose Community Foundation for programs inspired by Limmud Colorado 2011.  I applied and was awarded the grant and ran a 2 month series of Jewish Yoga classes.

I had always planned on saving some of the funding for a bigger project and when I thought of the idea for a Partner Yoga Havdallah Experience, I knew I had it.  While teaching yoga on Shavuot I met Rhonda Wallen, who led an beautiful impromptu Hebrew chant.  I recruited her to join me, and along with a musician, Jim Beckwith, we are hoping to provide an evening filled with movement, music, chanting, prayer, and connection.  When the JCC heard of the idea they graciouslly offered to provide the space.  This is truly a collaborative effort.  I hope you will join us for this certainly memorable evening.

Please join me at the Boulder JCC, Saturday November 5, from 7-9pm for a Partner Yoga Havdallah Experience.  Welcome in the new week with movement, music, chanting, and spirituality.  No yoga experience required and people of all faiths welcome.  Bring a partner or come alone.  We will be guided through accessible poses and led through beautiful Hebrew chants and prayer.  Live music from Jim Beckwith will accompany us throughout this journey.  Donations are welcome but not required. Please contact me with any questions.

Blessings, Shalom, Namaste,
Raj
303-588-5581

Roots & Branches Foundation invites nonprofit organizations to submit grant proposals for programs that serve people in the seven-county Denver/Boulder area and meet one or both of the following grant priorities:

1. Promote participation in Jewish life and a sense of Jewish community for families with children ages 5 to 13, and:

• Appeal to children (ages 5-13) and their parent(s)
• Embrace pluralism and value all approaches to Jewish life without aligning with, or promoting, any one specific denomination
• Explicitly incorporate Jewish values, traditions and culture or draw on Jewish ideas in underlying, thematic ways
• Require an ongoing time commitment from participants (i.e. over consecutive days or a span of weeks or months)
• Are financially accessible to participants

2. Engage young Jewish adults in their 20s and 30s in Jewish community, and:

• Deepen participants’ understandings of what it means to be Jews by building avenues for them to find and create their own meaning in a Jewish community that reflects their multifaceted interests
• Use culture to bring people together, including music, film, exhibitions, lectures or salon series about Jewish topics, arts, theater, Israeli/Palestinian conflict, Israel and Israeli culture, current events, history, language, literature, food and/or create opportunities for dialogue and discussion
• Employ innovative outreach strategies, such as effective use of the web and social media, to engage and attract new participants and newcomers
• Demonstrate inclusivity and embrace diverse participants and a diversity of Jewish practices, beliefs and values
• Offer ongoing opportunities for participation
• Are financially accessible to participants

Interested organizations should review the complete Request for Proposals for a full description of these grant priorities and an explanation of how to apply. The Request for Proposals is available online at rcfdenver.org/initiatives_roots.htm or by calling Sarah Indyk at 303.398.7416. The deadline to submit a grant proposal is Friday, December 9, 2011 at noon.

Roots & Branches Foundation’s members are a diverse group of Jewish people, age 25 to 40, from throughout Greater Denver and Boulder. They represent a broad spectrum of Jewish practice. The group has been meeting every three weeks since July to learn about Jewish philanthropic traditions, work together to identify needs in the community, and learn about grantmaking approaches and strategies.

Roots & Branches Foundation 2011-2012 Members
Emily Barter
Frank Borman
Leah Bry
Emory Dinner
Marisa Ellman
Katie Frisch
Aaron Frishman
Maia Stone
Avi Loewenstein
Julie Milliken
Jenna Monaster
Eli Oderberg
Todd Sainer
Dave Tencer
Andy Thangasamy
Scott VanDaele
Dana Waldbaum
Michele Weingarden

Slingshot is used by philanthropists, volunteers, nonprofit executives and others to identify path-finding and trailblazing organizations addressing challenges in Jewish life such as identity, community and tradition.

Each year, Rose Youth Foundation brings together a diverse group of 23 Jewish youth from more than a dozen high schools and every denomination of Judaism to form a grantmaking team at Rose Community Foundation.  Explains Sarah Indyk, Jewish life initiatives manager,

“Instead of telling young people that they are tomorrow’s leaders, Rose Youth Foundation recognizes that youth have the potential to be leaders in the Jewish community today and provides them with the tools, resources and support they need to make a real difference now.”

The youth work together for seven months and make grants totaling $60,000 to address the issues they identify as important to Greater Denver and Boulder’s Jewish and broader communities. The only requirements placed on the group are that their grants must be local – in keeping with Rose Community Foundation’s grantmaking mission – and they must make grants that are “primarily Jewish” in nature. “It is up to each group to determine what giving in a primarily Jewish way means to them,” explains Lisa Farber Miller, senior program officer, “and to explore how Jewish traditions and teachings can be relevant to the good they wish to do in the world today.”

Since Rose Youth Foundation’s inception in 2001, 160 Jewish youth have participated, awarding more than $460,000 in grants to organizations throughout Greater Denver and Boulder. “Rose Youth Foundation gave me confidence in my ability to change my community,” reports Sarah Zapiler, a former Rose Youth Foundation member who has gone on to found her own nonprofit organization.

A forthcoming study, Rose Youth Foundation: Ten Years of Impact, documents the results of Rose Youth Foundation’s first decade in terms of both grantmaking impact and engagement of youth in Jewish life.