Tzedek Social Justice (TSJ), is Hillel's Community Service and Advocacy group on Campus. Framed by the Jewish imperatives of tzedakah (righteousness), gemilut chasadim (acts of loving-kindness), and tikkun olam (repairing the world), Penn Hillel TSJ is committed to engaging and empowering students in meaningful public service both on and off campus and encouraging creative Jewish thinking about social justice issues. Some of our annual events include Mitzvah Day, Adopt-a-Family Drive and Relay for Life.
How can I get involved?
1. Email Penn Tzedek Social Justice to join our listserve.
2. Keep your ears open for one of our information sessions.
3. Join TSJ for one of its community service projects.
4. Contact Elana Stern or Gabriella Meltzer if you have an idea for a service project or initiative! We will help you share your commitment to social justice with others!
For more information contact:
Gabriella Meltzer (Social Justice Programming Chair )
Elana Stern (Co-chair)
Maytal Saltiel (Repair the World Coordinator) Join us for one or ALL of our projects - regularly or JUST once.
Current Project Descriptions:
Alliance & Understanding (AU) is dedicated to creating dialogue between Blacks and Jews on Penn's campus with the goal of achieving a greater degree of understanding and education. AU aims to break down the barriers between these communities through training workshops that concentrate on the fascinating history the two groups shared during the Civil Rights Movement. The culmination of this learning experience is a moving Spring Break trip through the South, where students explore first hand the momentous events that took place there. For more information, email Maytal Saltiel
TSJ runs Alternative Spring Break, a trip that combines Judaism and social justice in a week-long service trip. Most recently, students have traveled to Honduras and Argentina. Students have many opportunities to explore new cultures and deepen their connections to Judaism and their Jewish peers all while working for the greater good. For more information, email Debbie Yunker
Big Brothers Big Sisters: Make a BIG difference in a child’s life. Penn Hillel is partnering with Big Brothers Big Sisters to recruit Penn students to mentor boys and girls in West Philadelphia. If you have been looking for the opportunity to give back and want to do something fun– become Big Brother or Big Sister with Penn Hillel!
For more information, email Maytal Saltiel
Bikkur Cholim (Visiting the Sick) sends a team of volunteers on regular visits to patients in Penn's hospitals, both during the week and on Shabbat to chat, comfort, and distribute challas and other goodies. In addition, Bikkur Cholim works with other Philadelphia aid organizations to provide kosher meals and babysitting relief for sick patients and their families.
For more information, email Maytal Saltiel
Blood Drives: Students organize one Red Cross Blood Drive a semester that takes place in Steinhardt Hall. A great way for the entire community to get involved!
For more information, email Emily Hart
Bridging Generations will visit the residents of the nearby Park Pleasant Nursing Home where we will brighten up their day with fun arts & crafts! The program runs about 3-4 times each semester for about 2 hours each, but you can choose to come on whichever dates work best for you. This is really a tremendous opportunity to forge a connection with elderly people who love being exposed to the "young folk" from Penn, so don't miss out!
For more information, email Emily Hart
Food Drives: Tzedek works with many different institutions throughout the year to organize food drives on Penn's campus to help low-income Philadelphia residents.
For more information, email Emily Hart
FocusFirst is a project that aims to address the vision care problems of children who live in urban poverty in Philadelphia. Students screen children, ages six months to five years, in Head Starts and lower-income daycares for vision problems. FocusFirst then provides free follow-up care for those who need it. FocusFirst is a unique service opportunity for Penn students who wish to make an impact on the quality of life for a large segment of Philadelphia's population.
For more information, email Leah Apple
International Projects will focus on engaging in social justice projects that are global in nature. They will be partnering to help Agahozo Shalom Youth Village in Rwanda and an orphanage in Tanzania. If you are interested in international issues, this committee is for you!
For more information, email Emily Hart
Jewish Genetic Disease Screening: Dr. Adele Schneider began a program to screen college students and newly-weds for dangerous Jewish genetic diseases. There are now yearly screenings on Penn's campus. This group helps fundraise and organize these screenings.
For more information, email Rachel Eisenstadt
Mitzvah Day is one of Tzedek's annual events. It is a campus-wide service day which gets people all around the school involved in community service for the day. Tzedek organizes a large variety of projects on campus and around Philadelphia that students can choose to participate in.
For more information, email Lisa Piontnica
The Moral Voices program at the University of Pennsylvania selects one social justice topic each year to explore in depth and through a variety of channels. Issues are approached from Jewish perspectives as well as other faith-based and secular perspectives. For the 2009-10 year, Moral Voices explored human trafficking through film screenings, panel discussions, and a major campus event including an address from New York Times journalist Nicholas Kristof. For the 2010-11 year, Moral Voices focused on food justice, a problem with global, domestic, and local dimensions. For the 2011-12 year, Moral Voices is focusing on genocide prevention.
For more information, email Debbie Yunker.
Click here for the Moral Voices website
OCP Chessed is planning lots of great events including a panel of formerly homeless speakers, Manicure for the Cure to raise money for Breast Cancer, a charity auction and lots more! Committee members can choose their level of involvement and which events they would like to work on. Lots of important planning positions are available!
For more information, email Aliza Keller or Sophie Gindea
Project Sunshine: Students work under the supervision of Project Sunshine to visit patients at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. Through Project sunshine, students organize and participate in art projects and activities with the young patients. The projects often have themes ranging from movies to sports to books to holiday celebrations. It's a great way to be involved with people in need in the area.
For more information, email Lucas Salzman or Rose Kleiman-Weiner
The Ronald McDonald House serves as a temporary residence for families of children receiving treatments at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. Small groups of students go to the Ronald McDonald House in West Philadelphia twice a month to bake and decorate cookies with the children. It is a fun way to bring a smile to the face of a child going through difficult times.
For more information, email Eva Bernfeld
Social Justice Education Programs: In addition to coordinating many service projects, Tzedek is also dedicated to ideas of social justice education. Throughout the year Tzedek holds speakers, discussions and social justice learning groups to encourage personal and campus-wide reflection on issues of social justice.
For more information, email Ben Bennett
The Soup Kitchen at Hillel convenes every sunday evening from 5:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Sunday Night Soup Kitchen is a space for community guests and Penn volunteers to get to know each other over plates of steaming pasta with meat sauce and veggies. Each Sunday, our dedicated volunteers arrive before dinner to roll out tablecloths, make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, fill cups of iced water, and bag pastries. Then, when the dining room doors open, volunteers are ready to serve our guests and to sit down with them, the latter our favored activity. In this informal setting, volunteers and guests build enduring relationships. Each individual, from Penn freshmen to middle-aged construction workers and impoverished seniors, brings unique stories and perspectives to the dinner table. Sunday Night Soup Kitchen welcomes many diverse and wonderful people who share a common need for basic sustenance. We buy grocery store gift certificates, warm winter clothing, and toiletries for our guests, using proceeds from a fundraiser. These items are distributed at our December Holiday Party. Students serve food to guests in the Falk Dining Commons at Steinhardt Hall. Aside from providing a warm meal, Soup Kitchen is a welcoming environment.
For more information, email Danielle Wasserman
What's the next step?
Want a leadership role?
Apply to be a . . .
Tzedek fellow!
Tzedek Fellows, selected at the beginning of each semester, create a culture of community service by organizing the Tzedek projects and initiatives. Tzedek Fellows also plan service days, hunger advocacy events, drives, and an annual campus-wide Mitzvah Day.
Please contact: Emily Hart
| 
