Today is Martin Luther King Day. Many years ago, Rabbi Gendler worked with Reverend King to try to make the world a better place for all Americans, no matter race or religion. This powerful alliance has inspired many for decades. We are honored to share this tribute of Rabbi Gendler, written by Caroline Langston. Her [...]
Yeshivat Chovevei Torah (YCT) is doing something radical. For their Gendler Grapevine Project initiative, YCT is working to forge meaningful relationships between the Jewish and Muslim American communities. There has been a lot of recent publicity regarding the ways Jews and Muslims are working together to promote religious tolerance and understanding. YCT is unique as this Orthodox rabbinical school is [...]
Beth Am Synagogue is one of Gendler Grapevine Project’s 2015 New Seeds grant recipients, and their initiative focuses on developing cross-cultural, coming-of-age curriculum. A Task Force of Beth Am members and community residents has guided the program since its inception, and they are about to move into the implementation phase of this long-term project. Recently, Beth Am engaged the services of Gabriel [...]
It's #GivingTuesday. As you consider which organizations you will be supporting this year, we hope that you will add The Gendler Grapevine Project to your list. In 2017, we will be adding to the 29 innovative initiatives we have supported thus far. Our projects continue to amaze us with the meaningful and important work they are doing. Examples of some of [...]
As part of their larger Gendler Grapevine Project initiative, Outdoor Shabbat and Holiday Program, on Sunday, October 16th, JCC Chicago held a community Sukkot program at the Chicago Botanic Gardens (CBG). The event was held outside in the CBG’s vegetable garden where they built a sukkah that stayed up for the duration of the [...]
Happy shopper at the Gendler Grapevine Fresh Stop Market New Roots, Inc. has been working on food justice issues for years in Louisville, KY, but in 2015, expanded their work into the Jewish community through a grant from the Gendler Grapevine Project. This continued into 2016 when they were awarded another Gendler [...]
JCC Chicago is a 2016 recipient of a Gendler Grapevine Project grant. The primary goal of their Outdoor Shabbat and Holiday Program is to engage families in unique Jewish experiences that will bridge the connection between Judaism and the environment. On Friday, June 17, 2016, over 150 people gathered at the Lake County JCC for [...]
We are happy to share an update from one of our Gendler Grapevine Project 2015 grantees, Congregation Rodeph Shalom in Philadelphia (see below). Their initiative centers on providing a hands-on experience for their 8th, 9th, and 10th grade students to learn about the environment, urban gardening, and mitzvah. This past year, they worked with Could9 to build a rooftop garden. Over the [...]
Two of our main goals at the Gendler Grapevine Project are to support initiatives that are both lasting and replicable. As a sunset project, requirements for our grantees include showing how their project can continue beyond our formal funding period and how it can be repeated by other organizations. Louisville-based New Roots Inc. is one of our grantees that [...]
Congregation B’nai Israel's (CBI) Gendler Grapevine Project initiative continues to thrive. While their autumn Hakhel Harvest Festival focused on the harvest, their spring and summer activities have centered on planning, planting, and blooming (both food and ideas). In May, they held a special ritual celebration to recite Birkat Ha’ilanot (blessing over flowering fruit trees) on the Farm. Their apples, [...]
