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May 24th, 2012
Young Innovators Will Take Center Stage at ROI Global Summit in Jerusalem

To view the a social media version of this release, click HERE

YOUNG INNOVATORS WILL TAKE CENTER STAGE AT ROI GLOBAL SUMMIT IN JERUSALEM

Three-time Cancer Survivor and LIVESTRONG CEO Doug Ulman to Keynote on Overcoming Adversity as a Catalyst to Social Entrepreneurship

June 10-14, 2012, Jerusalem Crowne Plaza Hotel

(Jerusalem, May 22, 2012) In June, 150 Jewish social and business entrepreneurs, technology whizzes, thinkers and artists will model the Jewish future in action as they collaborate on trailblazing initiatives designed to impact the Jewish world and beyond at the ROI Global Summit in Jerusalem. The five-day gathering will connect participants to leading global innovators and activists, including keynote speaker Doug Ulman, president and CEO of Lance Armstrong Foundation—better known as LIVESTRONG—who will share how his three-time struggle with cancer led him to shape a foundation that supports cancer survivors and the fight against the disease.

ROI Community is an international network of over 800 social entrepreneurs and innovators in more than 40 countries who are leaders and change agents shaping the Jewish world. This year’s Summit participants hail from 26 countries, including first-timers from Bolivia, Iceland, Peru and Uganda.

“ROI is a proudly diverse community, bound by our love for the Jewish people and for Israel,” said Lynn Schusterman, the American Jewish philanthropist who, in 2005, created ROI Community. ”Individually and collectively, ROI members are creating new avenues of Jewish expression and experiences that are enabling more people to explore Jewish life in exciting, meaningful ways. At the heart of our investment in these young leaders and activists is our belief in their limitless potential to inspire their peers, transform communities and strengthen the Jewish future.”

Highlights of the 7th annual ROI Summit  will include master classes by top Israeli entrepreneurs and thought leaders, such as social media wizard Lior Zoref – who gave the first-ever crowd-sourced TEDtalk in February; Jerusalem Global Group CEO Dr. Shlomo Kalish; Jerusalem YMCA CEO Forsan Hussein; and, Start-Up Nation co-author Saul Singerand, former Israel ambassador to the United States and Syria expert Itamar Rabinovich; as well as environmental sustainability expert and TEDxAmsterdam organizer Irene Rompa. Participants will also engage in peer-to-peer training and collaborative project-building. And, there will be a global brainstorm, where ROIers in Jerusalem and potential partners throughout the ROI Community abroad will generate ideas and initiatives to present at the ROI Innovation Showcase, before a panel including high tech start up guru Yossi Vardi and Azrieli Group Vice Chair Danna Azrieli.

At the heart of the Summit, of course, are the newest ROIers. Among them:

  • Moshe Madoi, of Uganda, who is now studying in Israel and will return to teach and serve as a ritual slaughterer for the 142 other Jews in his village
  • Melisa Goldfinger, of Argentina, who oversees a network of 10 golf therapy schools in Argentina, Chile and Uruguay for children and adults with special needs
  • Hollywood screenwriter Micah Fitzerman-Blue, whose first feature film, The Motel Life, starring Dakota Fanning, Emile Hirsch and Kris Kristopherson, is due out this fall. Even as he continues to develop comedies for Fox TV Studios, Micah co-founded East Side Jews, transforming LA’s East Side into a hopping Jewish scene.
  • Magda Koralewska, who symbolizes the flowering of Jewish life in post-communist Poland. Vice President of Warsaw’s New Jewish Music Festival, Magda co-founded Beit Krakow, southern Poland’s first progressive community since before the Shoah.
  • Eyal Levit, who opened Mikveh Bar, which gave Jerusalem’s gay community its first safe environment for hanging out openly. A music producer, Eyal has introduced more than 40 singers and bands to stages across the city, highlighting how much Jerusalem has to offer in arts and culture.

“This community is about creative engagement, connecting dynamic innovators, and watching the sparks fly as they conceive ways to transform the Jewish world,” said ROI Community Executive Director Justin Korda. “These new ROI members will now be joining a network of over 800 around the world, who learn from and nurture each other as they engage their circles and communities.”

ROI Community has played a key role in supporting such cutting-edge Jewish start-ups as Moishe House, G-dcast, Jewcology and Omanoot. ROI also offers an expansive Micro Grants program to help ROI members bolster their professional and leadership development as well as their projects.

ROI is a part of the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Philanthropic Network, a global network of philanthropic initiatives focused on igniting the passion and unleashing the power in young people to create change for themselves, in the Jewish community and across the broader world. CLSPN also includes the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation (CLSFF) and the Schusterman Foundation-Israel (SFI).

To learn more about this year’s ROI participants, click here.

Contact:

Sara Averick, Israel: 052-867-4966 or sara@leadstoryplus.com

Jose Rosenfeld, Israel: 052-287-7646 or jose@leadstoryplus.com

Toby Dershowitz, USA: 202-250-6104 or toby@dershowitzgroup.com

Abram Shanedling, USA:  202-250-6158 or abram@dershowitzgroup.com

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January 20th, 2011
VIDEO: A Tale for Tu B’shvat

Happy Tu B’shvat—also known as New Year of the Trees! Our learning comes to you this week courtesy of G-dcast, ingenious creators (and ROIers!) of quirky cartoons rooted in classic Jewish texts.

In honor of Jewish Arbor Day, our friends at G-dcast put together this super awesome animation of the story of Honi the Circlemaker. Don’t know it? Watch the video!

It is an especially meaningful story for us here at CLSFF because, in case you never noticed, it is the inspiration behind our logo. Indeed, the very words around the tree read: “As our parents planted for us, so we will plant for our children.”

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May 5th, 2010
Lynn Schusterman Broadens Her Investment in Young Jewish Activists through ROI Community Grants

LYNN SCHUSTERMAN BROADENS HER INVESTMENT IN YOUNG JEWISH ACTIVISTS THROUGH ROI COMMUNITY GRANTS

Grantees worldwide to receive funds totaling nearly $500,000

JERUSALEM, May 5 – The ROI Community announced today that nearly $500,000 will be awarded to 35 initiatives that are being led by members of its international network of young Jewish activists. Hailing from 11 countries, the projects range from early to mid-stages of development. The ROI Community is funded by philanthropist Lynn Schusterman and aims to support young leaders worldwide who are making Jewish life more exciting and accessible.

“The announcement of these grants, as well as a special gathering this summer for our alumni, are two of the ways that we are celebrating ROI’s fifth anniversary,” said Lynn Schusterman, Chair of the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation. “I’m very proud of the ROIers.  In their hands, the Jewish future looks very bright.” This funding reflects Schusterman’s growing focus on expanding experiences and networking for Jewish young adults by working directly with individuals to foster collaboration between organizations.

The initiatives are diverse in subject matter, tackling issues such as global Jewish identity, social justice, Jewish education and inclusivity. In order to enhance the impact of these grants, the staff of the Schusterman Foundation and the ROI Community will provide professional support and networking opportunities aimed at creating partnerships with other organizations operating in similar spaces.

“After five years of expanding this network, we are now focusing on how to best mobilize it,” said ROI Director, Justin Korda. “These grants are meant to support idea generation within the network, direct engagement and collaboration among ROI members, and the recruitment of new members to the community.”

The 35 finalists were chosen from a pool of over 120 applications that were submitted by ROI members who attended at least one of the organization’s international gatherings, including the annual ROI Summit that has taken place in Israel every July since 2006. One of the key elements of the ROI network is its global nature, explains No’a Gorlin, the ROI Grants Manager. “With network members spanning nearly 40 countries, it was important to us that our grantees reflect this global scope.” Gorlin adds that “focus was put on projects that deploy the ROI network in a variety of ways: they are the products of collaborative initiatives between members; they create diverse opportunities for experiencing enriched Jewish content and programs; they offer platforms for communication and collaboration using various media; and some of them support leadership development in small communities in Latin America and Europe.”

One noteworthy project is Jewcology, a collaboration of 17 ROI members that will be a web portal for Jewish environmentalists. Others include AlmaLinks, Bat Kol, Bible Raps, Challah for Hunger, G-dcast, Haggadot.com, Jew It Yourself, Jewish Salons, Oleh! Records, Omanoot, and Unmasked Comics for Social Change. A complete list of grantees as well as a list of the participants in this summer’s unique ROI gathering—a 5th Anniversary Summit bringing together alumni from all four previous gatherings—is available online at www.ROIcommunity.org.

About the ROI Community

ROI is a global community of young Jewish leaders that was created by Lynn Schusterman as a partnership between the Center for Leadership Initiatives and Taglit-Birthright Israel. ROI offers international gatherings, professional development and financial support to its membership of innovators and activists. Over the past five years, ROI has become one of the leading vehicles for young Jewish leaders to network with peers, gain skills and get traction toward implementing their visions for the Jewish future. Since the first ROI Summit in 2006, the network has grown to over 500 members spanning nearly forty countries. More information is available at www.roicommunity.org; twitter.com/ROIcommunity; facebook.com/ROICommunity.

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