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JUFJ 20th Anniversary Party and Heschel Vision Awards

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Celebrate 20 years of Jews United for Justice!

Join the Jews United for Justice community on Sunday 11/11 at our 20th Anniversary Gala and Heschel Vision Awards, honoring Ana Maria Archila, Ilyse Hogue, Claire Landers, Keshini Ladduwahetty, and Mary Ann Stein! Tickets start at $54. Let’s celebrate 20 years of social justice victories and the next 20 to come!

Program: 6:00 PM
Reception (Kosher): 7:30 PM

Join the JUFJ community as we celebrate 20 years of?supporting workers in their fights for better pay and benefits, 20 years of demanding affordable housing for everyone, 20 years of working to make our region socially, racially, and economically just.

We’ll also be honoring five amazing women with the 2018 Heschel Vision Awards:

Ana Maria Archila, Co-Executive Director of the Center for Popular Democracy

Ilyse Hogue, President of NARAL Pro-Choice America

Keshini Ladduwahetty, Chair of DC for Democracy

Claire Landers, JUFJ Board Member & Baltimore Leadership Council Co-Chair

Mary Ann Stein, President of the Moriah Fund

Today Is Make a Difference Day: ThanksUSA Scholar Chelsea Briggs

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Make a Difference Day was established to serve as an annual reminder to encourage people to make a positive difference in the world. Even one small act of kindness, generosity, or creativity can begin a chain of positive reactions and ultimately result in a significant difference in your community. ThanksUSA scholar Chelsea Briggs’?story is an inspiring example of the self-perpetuating cycle of community service.

This year, Chelsea received her third $3,000 Altria Client Services/Senator Ted Stevens Memorial Scholarship to continue her education at University of Hawaii, West Oahu, where she is currently a junior majoring in Finance & Political Science. Since losing her father, U.S. Air Force SSgt Raymond Briggs, Chelsea has strived to carry on his legacy of service. Chelsea volunteers with Kids Hurt Too Hawaii, serves as an outreach volunteer for Survivor Outreach Services, serves as a peer mentor for the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors, and participates in community events such as the 66th Cherry Blossom Festival Hawaii, at which she was crowned Princess. Chelsea is also passionate about her role as an AVID tutor at Kapolei Middle School. AVID is an educational program that supports student preparation for college. Chelsea explained, “I hope to help younger students to attend college since I had the fear that I would not be able to afford college after my dad passed away.”

“Although I was worried about my college education, I worked hard because I knew my dad would want me to strive for the best no matter my circumstance. Through this, I hope to inspire those younger than me to never give up.”

ThanksUSA_2Chelsea chose to attend University of Hawaii West Oahu so she could remain close to home and be there for her mother, little sister, and little brother. She aspires to pursue a career as an FBI special agent, much like her father had hoped to pursue a career in law enforcement to continue to serve his community after completing his career with the U.S. Air Force. Chelsea described her commitment to her education by saying, “I will work hard to get a good education so that someday I can have a bright future, honor my father, and carry on his legacy. I want to pursue my dad’s dream, and this is why my college education is so important to me.”

Chelsea’s ability to make a difference by inspiring young students and pursuing a career in federal law enforcement is enhanced by the efforts of ThanksUSA and the generosity of those who help fund the ThanksUSA scholarship program. In her words, “ThanksUSA has been there to support me throughout my college education. I am very grateful for the sponsors and donors who support my education along with ThanksUSA. My father always wanted me to attend college. Thanks to wonderful organizations like ThanksUSA and the generous donors, I can continue my education and carry on my father’s legacy.”

Today, Make a Difference Day 2018, Chelsea’s story reminds us of Hawaiian wisdom `A`ohe lokomaika`i i nele i ke p’na`i…No kind deed has ever lacked its reward.

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Join Friendship Place for the annual Friendship Walk on Saturday, November 3rd!

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Registration and fun starts at 9:30! Friendship Walks is a 1.5 mile fun walk around the National Mall focused on ending homelessness in the Washington D.C. region. All proceeds benefit Friendship Place, a nonprofit organization that offers the most effective model for addressing homelessness, with innovative programs that empower participants to rebuild their lives, find homes, get jobs, and reconnect with friends, family, and the community, permanently!

Visit http://support.friendshipwalks.org for more details!

Celebrating 95 Dream Project Scholars This Academic Year

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“When I received the Dream Project Scholarship…I sat in silence for a good 20 minutes. I couldn’t believe it. I was overcome with happiness. I felt as if it was a sign from the Universe telling me that I was headed in the right direction…” — Olvin V., 2018 Dream Project Scholar

This back-to-school season, 95 Dream Project Scholars began the 2018-2019 academic year at colleges and universities across the United States. Dream Project awarded a $1,500 renewable college scholarship to these students to ensure that their immigration status – be it TPS, DACA or undocumented – does not block their access to higher education.

Not all undocumented students are so lucky. Nationally, only 5-10% of Dreamers, out of 65,000 high school grads, start college each year.

But the Dream Project, an organization that empowers students whose immigration status creates barriers to education, is making strides in changing this statistic for Dreamers in Virginia. 90% of Dream Project Scholars stay in college.

And among those students that are in college,?97% say that the Dream Project has played a significant role in their acceptance to college and the success they have found while attending college.

The Dream Project provides the necessary tools to empower low-income immigrant students. Over the past 8 years, through scholarships, mentoring, community engagement and advocacy, the Dream Project has aided over 150 immigrant families. Although several new attacks exist to these families – such as President Trump’s decision to end DACA, and the ongoing lawsuits disputing the fate of DACA – The Dream Project is committed to continuing to provide local Virginia Dreamers the support that they need to succeed in college.

Everyone can take a step to help the Dream Project distribute more “…signs from the Universe” to Dreamers all around by getting involved.

Written by — Lizzette Arias, Executive Director, Dream Project

Helping Moroccan Women Access Land: Soulalilyates Campaign for Land Reform

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Just over ten years ago, the family of Rkia Bellout, a woman from the Kenitra region of Morocco, sold its ancestral land. While the men in her family reaped the profits, she did not receive any compensation. Rkia is a member of the rural Soulilyate minority in Morocco, and like other women in this group, she had no rights to her land.?

Rkia decided to take action and sought the counsel of Moroccan women’s organizations to help her claim her right to participate in decisions over land ownership. When she brought her complaint to an NGO called ADFM (l’Association D’mocratique des Femmes du Maroc), the organization helped mobilize a national grassroots movement of Soulaliyate women calling for equality in land ownership. For over 10 years, ADFM has been building the leadership skills of rural minority women to advocate and participate in political processes for this cause.

ADFM is a member of Women’s Learning Partnership (WLP), a coalition of autonomous women’s rights organizations located throughout the developing world that promote women’s leadership and human rights. WLP organizations promote gender equality through training programs, advocacy campaigns, and capacity building. Since 2000, WLP partners like ADFM have been empowering women and girls to make change in their communities. (Click here to read more about WLP’s global impact on its Catalogue for Philanthropy profile.)

ADFM’s advocacy for Soulaliyate women’s rights pressured Morocco’s Ministry of the Interior to pass a specific law guaranteeing equality between men and women in communal land ownership and transactions. The Ministry reacted to the pressure, but not nearly as decisively as ADFM demanded. The government issued a series of non-binding ministerial guidelines called “circulars” that merely paid lip-service to the Soulaliyate movement. The latest one, Circular 17, recognized Soulaliyates’ right to land ownership in theory, but not in practice.

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Then, to mark the 10-year anniversary of the Soulaliyate movement, ADFM organized its greatest advocacy push to date: a three-week “Caravan of Soulaliyates.” From October 24 to December 15, 2017, the caravan mobilized 660 Soulaliyate women and allies who traveled to three regions: Fez, Daraa-Tafilalt, and Rabat-Sale. The caravan met with policymakers and raised the voices of Soulaliyate women.

ADFM also held 10 leadership workshops during the caravan, with an average of 50 women attending each one. They used WLP‘s manual on inclusive leadership, Leading to Choices, which has been the cornerstone of ADFM’s capacity building work with the Soulaliyate communities since the movement’s inception in 2007. The leadership methodology in the manual empowers Soulaliyates to participate effectively in decision-making processes in their tribes.

Three to four Soulaliyate movement-leaders from different regions shared their advocacy experiences at each stage of the caravan. This dialogue between Soulaliyates from remote corners of the country fostered camaraderie. Even though 465 kilometers and the Atlas Mountains separate the coastal city of Kenitra and the Algerian border-town of Errachildia, women from these two areas discovered that they have shared experiences and are working towards a common goal. The caravan’s mobility strengthened the bonds of solidarity among Soulaliyates across the country.?

ADFM President Saida Drissi Amrani emphasized those bonds, “We have met women who, even if they do not know how to read or write, are very aware of the principle of equality,”?Amrani told HuffPost Maroc. “They denounce contempt and they are ready to fight. We will support them until the end.”

In July 2018, their campaign resulted in a major victory — for the first time, Soulaliyate women of the Ben Mansour and Ouled Mbarek tribes in the Kenitra province were awarded financial compensations and land transfers. While ADFM and WLP celebrate this success, they continue to campaign and fight for equal land rights for women throughout Morocco.

Why School Lunch Will be Better This Year: Real Food for Kids

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I don’t know who’s happier that school’s back in session, me or my kids. Some days it felt like the longest short summer ever. But now, we’re back in the groove and I’m adjusting to the rhythm of having twins in high school. I know — I’ve been warned. Thankfully I’ve always been pretty good with routine, even if it doesn’t always make me very popular at 6:00 AM. The moment I see the opening of one sleepy teenage eye, my first question is “whad’ya want for breakfast?” Imagine how that goes over.

But, I’ll bet those of you like me who have kids are asking that same question and making sure they’ve eaten something before heading off to the bus. Why? Because this is what you know. When kids are fueled up with healthy, delicious foods they are fired up to learn.

Here’s something we at Real Food for Kids know. School meals — when done right — fire up kids to learn.

But here’s something you may not know.

School meals these days are a lot better than you’d expect. And we can take some credit for that.

  • The quality of food in our school lunchrooms — after decades of decline — is improving. Every day we are blown away by the school nutrition professionals we get to work with who care as much as you do about what your kids eat every day. These are their customers and they are demanding. The response has been impressive. It’s just that a lot of us haven’t peeked into the cafeteria recently to see the transformation that’s been happening. If you haven’t, you should.
  • School meals have a solid, balanced nutrient profile. Studies show that the meals kids get at school — in most cases — power them better than lunches sent from home. Think about it. I’m the first to admit that what goes out in my kids — brown bag isn’t always ideal.
  • At the schools where kids regularly, consistently eat school meals, their attendance, concentration, grades, test scores, behavior, and physical activity all improve. The schools actually improve. This is all backed up by valid research, not just stories.
  • When done right, school meals not only increase kids — fruit and vegetable consumption, they increase kids desire to consume more fruits and vegetables because they learn how delicious they are. What parent doesn’t want that?
  • School meals can — and do — impact the choices our kids make outside of school walls. Done right, they can have a lasting impact on their health into adulthood. But there are still so many challenges that keep our kids from having the best school meals experience they can. And those are the challenges Real Food for Kids is working to change.

Our school systems are still grappling to understand that school meals — when done right — are an integral part of learning. When we shift that mindset, our kids can truly begin to make the connection between what they eat and how they learn. As one of our wonderful school nutrition partners likes to say, school food is an “education intervention.”

School lunch continues to be viewed as a support service to the instructional day instead of a critical component to student success (just like recess). The environment in which kids eat is less about nourishment — social, emotional and physical — than it is about hurrying on to the next academic subject. And food services staff — even though they are wonderful and love our kids — are often relegated to the sidelines of our school communities, limiting their interaction with our students to a 10-second transactional relationship.

When the culture of the lunchroom becomes integral to the culture of a school, we create an environment in which healthy relationships are organic and lifelong healthy eating behaviors are inspired and embraced.

Real Food for Kids‘ work in the Metro DC area over the last 8 years has resulted in changes to the quality of school meals served to over 250,000 kids. Now it’s time to change the environment in which they get those meals so they can be fueled up by the food and the experience, ready to learn, ready to thrive.

This fall, our funding will go directly toward work already underway to identify best practices in school meal environments and how to change perceptions so that those practices can be replicated in our schools — in your schools. Your support will go a long way to pushing that tray down the lunch line.

This post was written by Mary Porter, Director of Programs.

Community Advocates for Family & Youth Launches SafeNight App

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Community Advocates for Family & Youth (CAFY) is a non-profit victim services agency that works in partnership with the Prince George’s County and City of Laurel Police Department. CAFY offers victim support services such as court companionship and financial assistance along with counseling and pro bono legal services. The newest venture coming out of their organization is the SafeNight app.

SafeNight sends an alert to its users when a victim of crime needs a place to stay and there is no available space in a shelter. Users can make an immediate anonymous donation to pay for a hotel room for the person in need.

“I was in a very stressful and trying, abusive situation,” said one woman who was able to get shelter after she became a victim of domestic violence, thanks to a SafeNight donation. To protect her safety, the woman wishes to remain anonymous. “That’s what I needed, was time to think, reflect, gather my thoughts so I can know which way I’m going,” she said.

“We really believe we can place hundreds of people, that we can be in a position where no one is turned away when they’re trying to get out of danger or trying to leave a domestic violence situation,” Arleen Joell, the Executive Director of CAFY, explains.

It’s so simple to become a SafeNight donor:

1. Search in your app store for “Safe Night” (available on iPhone and Android).

2. Select “MD” and click “Community Advocates for Family and Youth.”

3. When survivors contact the organization for help, an alert is sent out to donors.

4. Donors can accept the request and make a donation.

Donors do not have to live in the DMV area. You can sign up anywhere. Once a survivor goes to the hotel, oftentimes escorted by police, the funds are released. All donations are tax deductible.

If you or someone you know needs help, CAFY can be reached 24/7 at (301) 882-2002 and online at www.cafy.org