Avodah: The Jewish Service Corps

Who are we? The Avodah Jewish Service Corps is an immersive service year program for individuals ages 21-26 who are passionate about social justice and ready to engage in deep Jewish community.

What do we offer 20s? Corps Members are matched with leading nonprofits in Washington D.C. While serving on the ground at organizations tackling crucial social issues, Corps members deepen their social justice framework through Avodah’s innovative curriculum and pluralistic communal living.

Corps Members graduate with a year of real-world job experience, joining our active 1,400+ alumni network of Jewish social justice professionals that will continue to support their future careers and serve as their Jewish community for life. The Jewish Service Corps has been in Washington D.C. for over 20 years.

In addition to the Jewish Service Corps, the Avodah Institute for Social Change helps Jewish organizations center tzedek (justice) as fundamental to Jewish life. There is a clear need and desire for Jewish communal spaces to be responsive to current events, engaged in challenging conversations, and part of broader movements for social change, all of which has only been exacerbated in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, movements for racial justice, and urgent calls for more diverse, equitable, and inclusive communities. After 23 years of leading such programming for young Jewish changemakers, the Institute will provide powerful resources and guidance to Jewish communal leaders to make authentic structural changes within organizations, and ultimately in our communities at large.

Want to learn more? Contact Ellen Oshinsky, call us at 202-450-6947, visit our website, or watch this video!