A couple of weeks ago, I had the pleasure of talking with Rabbi Everett Gendler and Ambassador Andrew Young. They first met in Albany, Georgia, in August 1962, when Rabbi Gendler participated in an interracial prayer vigil. In the interview, they discuss a variety of topics, including the relationship between the Black and Jewish communities during the civil [...]

Since our first grant cycle in 2013, the Gendler Grapevine Project has supported 43 innovative, effective, and replicable initiatives at summer camps, rabbinical schools, synagogues, and non-profit organizations. This year, we have developed a comprehensive report explaining each project and providing an update on how they are faring in 2019. The report can be found in [...]

Hazon's capstone project, Teva Lessons for the Classroom and Beyond, has already been a great benefit to the Teva program. Over the winter months, they drafted lesson plans for each topic. The ones that were more developed were piloted during the spring Teva season. Silk Painted Challah Covers and Clay Mezuzot were a successful addition to their ritual [...]

When I picked up my daughter (age 12) up from Sunday school last week, she got in the car, handed me a plastic cup wrapped in aluminum foil, and stated flatly, "It's supposed to be a kiddish cup." I turned it over, thinking about how it couldn't even serve its purpose, as liquid would get caught under [...]

While the Gendler Grapevine Project is moving into its sunset phase, we have been busy behind the scenes. One thing we've been working on is our Capstone Initiatives. These larger-in-scope and longer-term initiatives focus on two key aspects of the Gendler Grapevine Project’s goals: replicability and longevity. Both capstone initiatives reach beyond their local communities and strive [...]

New Roots continues to do great work through their Gendler Grapevine Project. They assembled two groups of eight high school freshman to help with spring organizing. Each group got to pick what they wanted to do.   The first group wanted to work on an Interfaith event that was linked to fundraising. They all went to one [...]

Ganei Beantown is using their Gendler Grapevine Project grant to develop and implement a new workshop track focused on youth and families at their Boston Jewish Food Conference. The annual Boston Jewish Food Conference (BJFC) brings together community members to learn about Jewish agriculture, labor issues, health, food access, kashrut, and local food history. The fun day of [...]

Canfei Nesharim's Gendler Grapevine Project initiative is to create 8 teaching modules for Orthodox high schools focusing on core Jewish environmental values. The goal of these modules is to easily integrate them into the standard 9th grade science curriculum of most Orthodox day schools. Although many schools do not teach the regents curriculum, they focus [...]

Edlavitch DC Jewish Community Center is sponsoring an event called "Beans, Basil, and Bees: A Family Gardening Workshop," which will be held Sunday, June 3 from 2-4 pm. Workshop participants will learn about starting their own container garden, dig in the dirt and learn about composting, and meet some urban beekeepers who are helping the city retain its native [...]

Oshman Family JCC's (OFJCC) Gendler Grapevine Project is to create Youth Service Havurah (YSH), a social action program that gives middle and high school students the opportunity to deepen their connection to Judaism through social action and hands-on opportunities. The program empowers teens by asking them to be proactive and identify gaps they see in [...]