| UpStarters (Participating Organizations) |
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Click here for a list of UpStart Alumni. Freshest Group of UpStarters:Bay Area Sustainable Kosher Meats Bay Area Sustainable Kosher Meats plans to create a Jewish owned and operated integrated farm and animal processing facility that merges commitments to Halachah and care for the environment, animals, workers, and health. They will provide sustainable, ethical, animal products for the Greater Bay Area; educate the local Jewish community about ways to fulfill Jewish ethical requirements in diet and agriculture; and establish and operate to support the adaptation of such ventures in other communities. Contact: Mickey Davis, CEO
In the Market Buying healthy, fresh, sustainably grown food from local farmers and food businesses should be something that everyone can do with ease, in their neighborhood and within their budget. But it is not, even in Northern California. In The Market will work collaboratively with organizations and individuals in the Bay Area Jewish community to understand the economic, environmental and social value that can be created by building a local, sustainable food system in the Bay Area - and the role that the Jewish community can play in making this happen. In The Market will inspire, educate and organize Jewish households and institutions in the Bay Area to use their food purchases and investments to support development of local, sustainable farms and food businesses. Finally, In The Market will help local farmers and food entrepreneurs access information, resources and relationships they need to offer healthy and sustainable food choices to their customers, create jobs and protect the environment. In The Market will begin its work on food systems in the Bay Area, but build a model that can be replicated and scaled up in other regions, as well as applied to other industry segments such as apparel and building products. Contact: Rebecca Calahan Klein, Executive Director
Moishe House is creating a network of vibrant Jewish communities throughout the world for young Jewish adults in their 20s. They provide rent subsidies for "Moishe Houses" in which 3-5 young Jews live and produce 10-15 Jewish programs per month. There are approximately 21 Moishe Houses in the US, and another 10 around the globe. Contact: David Cygielman, Executive Director
Zeek Media, Inc. provides a platform for addressing the most pressing issues facing Judaism. Their work acts as a catalyst for conversations about the Jewish tomorrow in print, online, and in person. Currently, they publish an online magazine updated daily, a quarterly print journal, and hold events throughout the year around the country. The committee was intrigued by the opportunity to support the effort to successfully navigate the changing media landscape and provide venues for serious discussion and exploration of topics that must be discussed if Jewish life will continue to be meaningful and compelling. Jo Ellen is an award-winning, accomplished editor, author and publisher who is well known in the Jewish world for her articles on Jewish spirituality and social justice. Contact: Jo Ellen Green Kaiser, Executive Director
Continuing UpStarters: KEVAH (formerly Bay Area Learning Initiative - BALI) KEVAH's mission is to help Jews of all backgrounds make Torah study a part of life. We enable adults to explore the spiritual and intellectual richness of the Jewish textual tradition in a comfortable setting. Regardless of participants' background knowledge or level of ritual observance, study of classical Jewish texts can facilitate personal growth, build Jewish community, add depth and nuance to Jewish communal policies, and improve interfaith relations. Contact: Sara Heitler Bamberger, Founding Executive Director FTJ seeks to increase the availability, diversity, and purchase of fair trade Judaica products by the U.S. Jewish community, helping to ensure that commerce in Judaica is informed by sacred principles of fairness and justice. Contact: Ilana Schatz, Founding Executive Director G-dcast is a concrete, colorful step towards elevating Jewish literacy. In a weekly four minute cartoon, G-dcast encapsulates the entire Torah. 55 voices - teachers, storytellers, rabbis and musicians - tell each week's parsha, and G-dcast animates their voices in a vivid, fun style. Contact: Sarah Lefton, Founding Executive Director MOTR creates entry-points into the Jewish community for young adults who are interested in building or developing their connection to Judaism in a social, non-denominational, welcoming environment. Contact: Ronny Beer, Jake Hamlin and Ryan Cohen, Co-Founders Remember Us: The Holocaust Bnai Mitzvah Project Remember Us offers an invitation to children preparing for bar/bat mitzvah to connect with the memory of children lost in the Holocaust. Contact: Gesher Calmenson, Founding Director WT brings earth-based Jewish spirituality to the Bay Area to help individuals deepen their connection to Community, Earth, Spirit and Self through celebratory land-based festivals, rituals, and rites of passage. Contact: Zelig Golden and Julie Wolk, Co-Founding Executive Directors UpStart Alumni
American Jewish World Service fosters civil society, sustainable development and human rights for all people, while promoting the values and responsibilities of global citizenship within the Jewish community. Contact: Elizabeth Friedman-Branoff, Regional Director of Development. Feinsmith Quartet uses modern classical music to promote Torah principles and to honor the tradition of the great Jewish classical virtuosos. Contact: Josh Seidenfeld, Co-Founder and Artistic Director. The Friendship Circle pairs South Bay Jewish teen volunteers with local Jewish children coping with physical, mental, or emotional disabilities. Contact: Ezzy Schusterman, Executive Director. Institute for Jewish Spirituality nourishes the inner lives of Rabbis, cantors, educators, and lay leaders. IJS's programs weave text study, meditation, prayer, yoga, and spiritual direction. Contact: Rabbi Margie Jacobs, Bay Area Founder. Jewish Community Youth Orchestra brings together young classical musicians to develop their skills through professional training, while building Jewish identity and community through the arts. Contact: Gary Sheldon, Founding Conductor & Artistic Director Jewish Gateways welcomes wandering or wondering Jews and non-Jews, singles, couples, and families, those in interfaith and multiracial relationships, Jews-by-Choice, adult children of interfaith families, members of the LGBT community, and people of color to help you explore Jewish choices and discover those that work for you. Contact: Rabbi Bridget Wynne, Founding Director Jewish Milestones supports Jews in creating lifecycle rituals that are authentically Jewish and personally meaningful. Contact: Rachel Brodie, Executive Director Jewish Mosaic partners with Jewish organizations, communities, and individuals to include all Jews in communal life, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity. Contact: Karen Erlichman, Director & Program Coordinator of the Bay Area Office. Jewish Partisan Educational Foundation develops and distributes effective educational materials about the Jewish partisans, bringing this celebration of heroic resistance against tyranny into educational and cultural organizations. Contact: Mitch Braff, Founder. Progressive Jewish Alliance educates, advocates, and organizes on issues of peace, equality, diversity and justice, as a progressive voice in the Jewish community and a Jewish voice in the progressive community. Contact: Rachel Biale, Interim Executive Director. The Curriculum Initiative (TCI) is the leading Jewish educational organization serving independent schools by strengthening Jewish identities and nurturing appreciation for the Jewish heritage. Contact: Adrian Schrek, Bay Area Regional Director. The Forest Foundation Moishe House program provides a rent subsidy and a program budget for young Jews to live in and create their vision of an ideal Jewish communal space. Contact: contact@theforestfoundation.net. The Jewish Webcasting Service organizes and disseminates quality Jewish webcasting resources to the public. Contact: Lawrence Grossman, Founder & Director. Currently not operating. Tikshoret Jewish Youth Media Project provided Jewish educators and youth with the practical skills to change the way we teach and learn about Israel, making it relevant to the current and future generations of Jewish Youth. Contact: Gabe Salgado. Currently not operating. |