February 24th, 2012
As part of Philanthropy Magazine’s Winter 2012 issue on global giving, 13 of America’s leading international donors and development experts responded to a series questions:
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Thursday, May 17, 2012 -
Iyyar, 25 5772
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February 14th, 2012
This article first appeared on the Huffington Post.
This past summer, I had the opportunity to spend time with nearly 60 Teach For America corps members taking part in our Foundation’s REALITY Israel Experience, a program that enables corps members to travel to Israel to explore the values that undergird their commitment to public service.
When I asked these passionate young people what motivated them to apply for the program, I heard a wide variety of responses, some inspiring, some empowering, some soulful—and one in particular that was heartbreaking.
“I applied,” one participant told me, “because I knew it would be the first time since I decided to live openly as a gay person that I would feel equal and accepted by the Jewish community.” She desperately wanted to find a place where she could be herself.
Her story is one I have heard far too many times from Jews everywhere—in Israel, in the U.S. and in countries around the world—who feel excluded from our community because of their sexuality. Despite some progress, the pace of change within the faith-based world in general has simply been too slow in this area. Read More »
January 16th, 2012
On the occasion of Martin Luther King, Jr., Day, I am honored to share an article of mine that ran in The Huffington Post. It looks at the connection between Martin Luther King’s call to action and the Jewish narrative, suggesting that at a time when our country and our world are so polarized, it is the passion and idealism of the next generation who will return us to the sense of purpose and values inspired by both MLK and Jewish tradition.
In the spirit of the challenge I issue in the article, I am also making a pledge. In the coming year, I will create and support more opportunities for young people to serve real needs in meaningful ways. I am looking at a variety of models, including partnerships with secular service and Jewish organizations, expanding service-learning experiences and supporting innovative efforts, like Repair the World’s Campaign for Jewish Service, focusing on literacy and educational equity in the United States and Israel. I welcome your input and suggestions on experiences that interest you. Read More »
June 15th, 2011
The 2011 ROI Summit kicked off Sunday in Jerusalem with a welcome address from the organization’s founder, Lynn Schusterman. A global community with participants and alumni from more than 40 countries, the ROI Community brings together young Jewish innovators and social entrepreneurs, in their twenties and thirties, who are creating innovative ways to connect their peers to Jewish life. The annual summit is the capstone event, a five-day collaborative conversation about the future of the Jewish people.
Lynn called on the more than 150 young people to rise up with pride in their Jewish heritage and help shape our community for the 21st century and beyond. Herewith, a transcript of her remarks.
Shalom y’all, and welcome to the sixth annual ROI Summit! Read More »
June 1st, 2011
When our Foundation began supporting BBYO more than a decade ago, my late husband, Charlie (z”l)—himself a BBYO alumnus—said, “We must invest smartly—and this is a smart investment.”
Why is it a smart investment? Because pluralistic organizations like BBYO offer a range of experiences and opportunities proven to engage and impact a diverse population of Jewish teens. This assertion is born out in several pieces of research, the most recent of which our Foundation commissioned to look at the impact BBYO is having on Jewish teens. (Read BBYO Impact Study: A Summary)
As I write in a recent op-ed in JTA, it is up to us to ensure that the organizations, experiences and programs best fit to work with teens have the resources they need to grow, expand and deepen their impact. It is up to us capitalize upon this extraordinary opportunity to insure an under-resourced investment guaranteed to yield high returns. (Read Upping the Ante: Why I am Doubling Down on the Teen Years) Read More »
May 9th, 2011
In 2010, Warren Buffett and Bill and Melinda Gates launched the Giving Pledge to help address society’s most pressing problems by inviting the wealthiest American families and individuals to commit to giving more than half of their wealth to philanthropy or charitable causes either during their lifetime or after their death. Lynn recently became a signatory to the pledge, hoping that by doing so, she could help to inspire and motivate more donors to give to the causes closest to their hearts. We share here her letter to Warren Buffett.
Dear Warren,
As you know, my initial reaction to your kind invitation to sign the Giving Pledge was one of reticence and concern. Would my stepping forward make a difference? Could doing so be misconstrued as an act of self-aggrandizement rather than one motivated by a deep appreciation for the transformative power of philanthropy?
Upon further reflection, however, I found myself moved to action by the words of the great Jewish sage, Hillel, found in the text of Pirkei Avot (“Ethics of the Fathers”), part of the rabbinic writings:
If I am not for myself, who is for me?
If I care only for myself, what am I?
If not now, when?
January 19th, 2011
This was first published in the JTA.
On Monday, the 25th anniversary of the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday, 35 volunteers and 15 Teach For America teachers joined our team in Washington, D.C., to honor the life and legacy of Dr. King through a day of service. Together, they created thousands of study materials for hundreds of students in struggling schools across D.C.
The volunteers came together as a diverse group, from big cities and small towns, a range of professions and varying degrees of Jewish connection. But for those five hours, they were a community united in answering Dr. King’s call to greatness. In fitting testament, each wore a shirt proclaiming:
Everybody can be GREAT because everybody can SERVE. Read More »
December 16th, 2010
It is with both great respect and grave concern that I write today, as the six-month moratorium on the conversion legislation proposed by MK David Rotem draws to a close.
I was among the Jews in North America who welcomed the call for a freeze on this proposed legislation and supported the appointment of Jewish Agency Chair Natan Sharansky to lead the efforts in finding an acceptable solution to this issue, one that is of critical importance to the unity of the Jewish people. (Read The Perils of the Israeli Conversion Bill.)
Should the proposed conversion law go into effect, I fear it would send a dangerous, exclusionary and wholly unacceptable message to many: that there is only one “official” brand of Judaism. Most of North American Jews—85 percent—belong to, or identify with, the Conservative and Reform movements, which would be directly—and negatively—affected by this proposal. Read More »
November 12th, 2010
On Wednesday, November 10, I had the privilege of speaking at the dedication of the new home for the Schusterman Center for Israel Studies at Brandeis. I believe deeply in the message I shared with the 30-plus people in attendance and wanted to post my remarks here as well. I hope you find them worthwhile and in return will share with me your thoughts on this very important topic.
Good afternoon and shalom! It is a pleasure and an honor to have you with us today to celebrate the dedication of our new home for the Schusterman Center for Israel Studies. Read More »
September 16th, 2010
My heart sank. There, front and center on the magazine rack, was the recent issue of Time. The Star of David, a symbol of so much that I cherish, filled the cover. But the headline is what really caught my attention: “Why Israel Doesn’t Care About Peace.”
Even before reading the article, I experienced a range of emotions. Anger. Despair. Resolve. Read More »
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