Power of Women youth wisdom: 'You have something incredible to bring to the table'

Throughout May, we're celebrating the women who make Jewish National Fund what it is. Next up in our Power of Women series is Carly Sobol, one of our rock-star Campus Fellows. The JNF Campus Fellowship program is an amazing opportunity for students to be a voice for Israel at their college. Applications for the next school year are being accepted now. 

Why did you first get connected to JNF? 

I first visited Israel with NFTY (North American Federation of Temple Youth) on a summer semester abroad in high school and fell in love with the land and its rich history. My first experience with JNF was participating on an Alternative Spring Break trip during my freshman year of college. JNF's mission immediately resonated with me as I had previously struggled with my love for Israel and my desire to stay out of the political world involving the country. JNF's ability to support Israel through environmental and community-based service provided me with opportunities I was comfortable supporting. 

Did you grow up with involvement in Jewish life/organizations? 

I grew up in Dayton, Ohio, in a very small Jewish community. I think because of this I strived to connect with other Jewish people and make Judaism a large part of my identity through attending Goldman Union Camp Institute for 12 summers.

Spending spring break doing community service in Israel was 'magical'

JNF's Alternative Spring Break program gives young adults, ages 18-30, a chance to spend a week doing community service in Israel. Here, one recent participant shares her experience. 

By Jessica Peden

For many, spring break is a week of relaxation. To some, it means a lot of partying. This spring break, I joined 50 other college students who decided to do something a little different. We set off to Israel to volunteer.

The first night we ate dinner at Kibbutz Shomrat, our new home for the majority of the week, and played some ice breakers. We made a giant circle on the lawn and sat and shmoozed, giving us time to get to know one another before the week of hard work began. 

Each day that followed was filled with incredible new experiences. Every time we got to our new location, we were assigned our task, and it often felt too big a project for us to accomplish in such a short amount of time. I, for one, am not someone who normally works outside and I was given a saw and told to start sawing away. It took me a good minute to figure out what exactly I was doing but once I did, I was really good at it!

Alternative Spring Break: Election Day spurs musings on democracy

Working on beautifying a community garden in Haifa.  

By Ali Cohen, Alternative Spring Break Young Professionals chair

The second day of Jewish National Fund's Alternative Spring Break for Young Professionals was particularly special, as Israelis went to the polls. As we embarked on another meaningful day of volunteering, I reflected on the vibrancy of Israel's democracy and the vast diversity of opportunities, challenges, and visions for the future of this tiny, but beautiful and important country.

We spent our morning in one of Haifa's oldest neighborhoods, Bat Galim, working with a local resident on the beautification of his small, self-made community garden. We jumped right in after a brief introduction from the two main gardeners, Omer and Tzur, and for several hours, we removed overgrown weeds, prepared plots for summer crops, developed artwork, and planted herbs and fruit trees. We definitely broke a sweat, and by the time our service hours were over, the garden looked completely different than it did when we arrived. Omer and Tzur, who have been working for seven years to bring members of the community together in their once neglected space, were very grateful for our assistance and enthusiasm.

More Alternative Spring Break: Students become sudden farmers

Enhancing the kitchen at Earth's Promise with mud. 

Participants in our second Alternative Spring Break trip of the season are off and exploring Israel while physically working the land. And they're having a ball! Read on for an update from Michael Newfield, a student at UMass Amherst. 

We have had quite an exciting first day over here in the homeland!

We kicked off our adventure at the Earth's Promise sustainable farm in Be'er Sheva, where we split up and participated in multiple projects to improve the well-being and sustainability of the the local community. In the blink of an eye, 42 college students transformed into farmers as we began preparing the unused plots of land for planting food.

Alternative Spring Break: Tasting deliciousness and danger in the same day

By Janie Brown, University of Michigan 

Today started off with the same type of savory breakfast, although there was chocolate pudding! For breakfast! Israel is an amazing place.

Our destination was the Halutzah region, which sits in the Negev between the Egyptian border and Gaza. We worked in the village of Shlomit, which was similar to yesterday's Zuqim, although Shlomit is smaller with only 40 families. The project today was creating a play area for the kids of the community: laying sod in a small lot, building a roof on a patio for some shade in the hot desert, and painting murals inside to create a welcoming indoor playroom for the kids. 

I worked on planting the grass, which required clearing out and flattening dirt, laying down gravel, and nailing the sod to the ground. It was hard work, but looking at it before we started and after we finished was amazing. Even before we were done, kids started playing and wrestling in their new play area, and it felt so wonderful to instantly see the impact our work had on this little community. 

Alternative Spring Break: Experiencing life in the brutal, fascinating desert

Alternative Spring Break participants build a stone wall in the Negev desert.  

JNF's Alternative Spring Break program gives Jewish young adults, ages 18-30, a chance to spend a week doing community service in Northern or Southern Israel. Hear from one of our Alternative Spring Break participants, Cheryl Geliebter, about her first days "on the job"! 

Day one of Alternative Spring Break found the 15 of us, college students and young professionals from across the US, pushing past our exhaustion and jet lag to explore the Central Arava region of the Negev. We began the morning in Zuqim, a settlement unlike any other in the Negev. Its inhabitants, mainly artists, chose not to plant any trees in their settlement, and are living life in the desert in its natural -- and often brutal -- state. The extreme temperatures, lack of water, flooding, sandstorms, and proximity to Jordan make the Arava an intense place to live, but these pioneering people are fulfilling Ben Gurion's dream, with some help from the Jewish National Fund.