Jewish Greening Fellowship
Testimonials from the First JGF Cohort
Current Participating Organizations
In the News | Monthly Updates
How to Apply for JGF 2013-2014
The Jewish Greening Fellowship aims to cultivate environmental change leadership among Jewish communal professionals, reduce the environmental impacts of Jewish organizations in the New York area, and generate meaningful responses to global climate change while strengthening Jewish life.
This innovative program provides intensive training, grants totaling up to $20,000, and organizational support to New York area JCCs, camps, synagogues, health and human service organizations, and day schools with the goal of making their facilities more efficient and operations more sustainable while raising awareness of environmental issues and engaging members and constituents. During the first cohort of the program, participating agencies seeded nearly 100 new programs. To date, they have collectively raised more than $1.4 million toward energy efficiency, solar, green roofs, and green programs and implemented energy efficiency upgrades that will save them well over $500,000 in the next decade. The second cohort is currently underway. Click here to download a PDF with the complete 2011-2012 Schedule, which provides detailed descriptions of each training day.
The Jewish Greening Fellowship is generously funded by UJA-Federation of New York and is part of a larger effort to address global climate change by providing grants and educational opportunities.
The Jewish Greening Fellowship is a proud membership organization of Makom Hadash, a residency center for Jewish non-profit organizations, especially those in the second stage of organizational life.
Please note that this program is only open to organizations in UJA-Federation of New York's catchment area (the Five Boroughs, Westchester and Long Island). Please check back here as we hope to launch applications for a third cohort of the program in Fall 2012.
In Their Own Words:
Testimonials from the First JGF Cohort
 "On both a personal & professional level the 18 month fellowship exceeded any possible hopes I ever had. The depth of my knowledge broadened and deepened in profound ways. The personal relationships I developed were such an unexpected outgrowth of the process. What an amazing adventure!" —JR Rich, Greening Fellow, JCC of Staten Island
 "UJA's vision for encouraging network agencies to use greening and sustainability to enhance Jewish communal meaning and experience, make positive change in the world, and spark fiscal growth has had a huge impact on our center." —Dr. Stephen Hazan-Arnoff, Executive Director, 14th Street Y
 "The Jewish Greening Fellowship was a great experience for me. This program allowed me to become a leader within my agency and connect with program directors in new and innovative ways." — Shara Perlman, Greening Fellow, Y of Washington Heights and Inwood
 "The environmental movement is taking hold across the country, and through this fellowship Ramapo is working at the forefront of this movement, and relating it to our mission." —Jennie Stokum, Greening Fellow, Ramapo for Children
- The Staten Island JCC is installing a solar thermal system and was awarded $550,000 from the Staten Island Borough toward a solar PV installation.
- The Central Queens Y was awarded $40,500 by NYSERDA toward energy efficiency upgrades at its facility and has held its second annual Earth Day Fair attracting 600 community members.
- The Kings Bay Y Teen Green Team lobbied elected officials in Washington D.C. about environmental legislation. According to one teen green team leader at the Kings Bay Y: "We had awareness before, now we've implemented change ourselves. This is a big confidence booster for teens, each of whom now knows: 'my voice can be heard, I can make a change.'"
- The 14th Street Y underwent a green theater renovation and and was just awarded $125,000 by the New York City Council to install a green roof.
- The Sid Jacobson Jewish Community Center has enriched its Teva specialty at camp and started a vegetable garden and a CSA.
- Camp Poyntelle Lewis Village of the Samuel Field Y has implemented a full-scale recycling program and is eliminating disposables from both its dining halls.
- Eden Village Camp installed solar panels and introducing a "Solar Shabbat" program.
- Surprise Lake Camp installed an interactive kiosk to help campers understand and track the savings for its new solar panels.
- The Hebrew Educational Society launched a garden and composting program.
- The Riverdale Y installed an eco-friendly salt water pool and launched its own community farmers market.
- Teens at the planned and implemented a 10-day environmental extravaganza including an Earth Day Fair, classes, and a green Shabbat dinner.
- The YM & YWHA of Washington Heights & Inwood held its second annual Earth Day Fair for hundreds of local residents and launched a CSA.
- Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center created a green tour of their very green facility.
- Ramapo for Children created an interactive ecology program for children to learn about soil, water, local ecology and human impact at their site.
- The Marks JCH of Bensonhurst made sustainability a key theme of their camp programs.
- The Henry Kaufmann Campgrounds, Inc. on Long Island launched a full-scale composting program that serves the entire camp.
- The Sephardic Community Center held its first Earth Day Fair and has launched a new Teva program at its camp.
- The Samuel Field YM & YWHA launched "Operation Awareness" to build staff and member awareness of energy efficiency measures on site and started a raised-bed garden for their adult day care participants.
- The Rosenthal JCC camp installed a new educational garden of native plants with the help of its campers.
Monthly Updates
Learn how the Jewish Greening Fellowship is transforming communities in the New York area! Monthly updates feature highlights from the JGF training program and examples of the Greening Fellows' environmental change work in the field.
Sign up for the monthly Greening Updates
Current Participating Organizations
Block and Hexter Vacation Center
Bronx House
Camp Oakhurst
Congregation Beth Elohim
Educational Alliance
Friedberg JCC
Henry Kaufman Campgrounds Pearl River
Camp Jacobson at Robin Hood
JCC on the Hudson
Jewish Home Lifecare
Metropolitan Council on Jewish Poverty
Mid-Island Y JCC
North Shore Synagogue
Reconstructionist Synagogue of the North Shore
Shorefront Y
Solomon Schechter School of Queens
Suffolk Y JCC
Synagogue for the Arts
JGF In the News
Suffolk Y Saves $75,000 and Inspires Politician
Jewish Greening Fellow JR Rich Wins Staten Island Green Award
UJA Federation Synergy Newsletter (7.4 MB PDF download)
COEJL: US has Moral Obligation to Respond to Climate Change
East Village Y Serious About Going Green
UJA Federation: Greening Our Communities
Training the Green Team
Inside the Activists' Studio: Starting From Wherever You Are
Rachel Jacoby Rosenfield featured in PresenTense's "Greening Jewish Institutions"
Jewish Greening Fellows Hailed for Savings, Programs
Rachel Jacoby Rosenfield featured as Greenfaith’s Leader of the Month
Heed the Warning Signs, July 15, 2010 Op-Ed from the Washington Jewish Week by Fellowship Director Rachel Jacoby Rosenfield and Evonne Marzouk
Greening Your Community Through Learning and Action an inspiring talk by Rachel Jacoby Rosenfield and Evonne Marzouk at the 2009 Hazon Food Conference
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