Earlier this month, we launched Images of a Justice, a Facebook-based photo contest to recognize and celebrate the social justice work of Reform Jews everywhere. We asked Facebook followers to send us a photo of them putting their Jewish values into action. Once all the submissions were collected, the RAC staff selected one grand prize winner and five runners up. We got 42 outstanding submissions, and the selection process wasn't an easy one.
Drumroll, please! The grand prize winner of our Images of Justice contest is Carrie Arndt, who won us over with her photo taken in Muhuru Bay, Kenya in September 2008. On her visit, Carrie distributed Stayfree pads, taught girls about menstruation, avoiding pregnancy, and HIV/AIDS prevention and screening. You can earn more about the project at www.wisergirls.org. Mazel tov, Carrie!
[[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_large","fid":null,"attributes":{"class":"media-image mt-image-none","typeof":"foaf:Image","style":"","width":"500","height":"375","alt":"1.jpg"}}]]
And now for our runners up, in no particular order. Each will receive a Reform Movement grab bag!
David Diskin submitted this photo of the congregants of Temple Micah in Washington, D.C. participating in a monthly Darfur Vigil held in front of the Sudanese Embassy here in D.C. Temple Micah has been participatng in the vigil since spring 2006.
[[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_large","fid":null,"attributes":{"class":"media-image mt-image-none","typeof":"foaf:Image","style":"","width":"500","height":"375","alt":"18.jpg"}}]]
This photo, submitted by Katie Harry, depicts her experience with the Eisendrath International Exchange (EIE)'s Shabbat visit to a preschool. Katie writes, "They were children from underprivileged neighborhoods in Jerusalem. We did not speak any Hebrew at that point, and they did not speak any English. The only communication we had to rely on was the little Hebrew we knew ("Me At/Atah?" was about it) and our smiling faces. Leaving the school was one of the hardest and most rewarding times of my life. I felt incredibly accomplished, knowing that I had made the best of a difficult situation (one child threw a bunch of sand in my face and then came over and said "Slicha") and had had more fun than I did on any other social action project on EIE."
[[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_large","fid":null,"attributes":{"class":"media-image mt-image-none","typeof":"foaf:Image","style":"","width":"500","height":"375","alt":"24.jpg"}}]]
Alex Cicelsky was a construction manager with the human rights group Bustan, building the Medwed-Wadi El Na'am Clinic from straw bales and clay. Kibbutz Lotan's Center for Creative Ecology, a product of the URJ's Youth Division, continues to train Bedouins and students from around the world in sustainable building technologies.
[[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_large","fid":null,"attributes":{"class":"media-image mt-image-none","typeof":"foaf:Image","style":"","width":"500","height":"332","alt":"25.jpg"}}]]
Submitted by Fred Greene, the caption that accompanied this photo reads, "This is my daughter, Yael Greene. She is 11 years old and was one of the keynote speakers last May at the Georgia Walk for Autism. She is the captain of her team, The Yaya's. Her team raised $5,800. Our team was part of a larger community of walkers, Team Amit (Amit is a centralized Jewish special education agency in Atlanta). Yael, who has Autism, believes that her Autism makes her special. Indeed it does!"
[[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_large","fid":null,"attributes":{"class":"media-image mt-image-none","typeof":"foaf:Image","style":"","width":"500","height":"375","alt":"29.jpg"}}]]
Daniel Leigh Brief says, "As a participant for Urban Mitzvah Corps, I volunteered for 6 weeks in and around the city of New Brunswick. At one of my jobsites, I was a counselor for a government-funded camp for inner-city children called Camp PLAY S.A.F.E. This photo captures the children's joy and the positive effect Urban Mitzvah Corps had on their community."
[[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_large","fid":null,"attributes":{"class":"media-image mt-image-none","typeof":"foaf:Image","style":"","width":"500","height":"556","alt":"32.jpg"}}]]
And finally, a collage of all of our photo submissions, though two wouldn't fit on here, because they're collages themselves! Click through to see contestant David Diskin's photo collages of his synagogue's work with Tents of Hope and vigils for Darfur.
You can find all of the captions that accompanied these photo submissions by flipping through our Facebook album. Many thanks to everyone who submitted a photo. Thanks for all your hard work to better the world!
[[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_large","fid":null,"attributes":{"class":"media-image mt-image-none","typeof":"foaf:Image","style":"","width":"497","height":"497","alt":"IOJCollage1.jpg"}}]]
[[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_large","fid":null,"attributes":{"class":"media-image mt-image-none","typeof":"foaf:Image","style":"","width":"528","height":"528","alt":"IOJCollage2.jpg"}}]]
Drumroll, please! The grand prize winner of our Images of Justice contest is Carrie Arndt, who won us over with her photo taken in Muhuru Bay, Kenya in September 2008. On her visit, Carrie distributed Stayfree pads, taught girls about menstruation, avoiding pregnancy, and HIV/AIDS prevention and screening. You can earn more about the project at www.wisergirls.org. Mazel tov, Carrie!
[[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_large","fid":null,"attributes":{"class":"media-image mt-image-none","typeof":"foaf:Image","style":"","width":"500","height":"375","alt":"1.jpg"}}]]
And now for our runners up, in no particular order. Each will receive a Reform Movement grab bag!
David Diskin submitted this photo of the congregants of Temple Micah in Washington, D.C. participating in a monthly Darfur Vigil held in front of the Sudanese Embassy here in D.C. Temple Micah has been participatng in the vigil since spring 2006.
[[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_large","fid":null,"attributes":{"class":"media-image mt-image-none","typeof":"foaf:Image","style":"","width":"500","height":"375","alt":"18.jpg"}}]]
This photo, submitted by Katie Harry, depicts her experience with the Eisendrath International Exchange (EIE)'s Shabbat visit to a preschool. Katie writes, "They were children from underprivileged neighborhoods in Jerusalem. We did not speak any Hebrew at that point, and they did not speak any English. The only communication we had to rely on was the little Hebrew we knew ("Me At/Atah?" was about it) and our smiling faces. Leaving the school was one of the hardest and most rewarding times of my life. I felt incredibly accomplished, knowing that I had made the best of a difficult situation (one child threw a bunch of sand in my face and then came over and said "Slicha") and had had more fun than I did on any other social action project on EIE."
[[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_large","fid":null,"attributes":{"class":"media-image mt-image-none","typeof":"foaf:Image","style":"","width":"500","height":"375","alt":"24.jpg"}}]]
Alex Cicelsky was a construction manager with the human rights group Bustan, building the Medwed-Wadi El Na'am Clinic from straw bales and clay. Kibbutz Lotan's Center for Creative Ecology, a product of the URJ's Youth Division, continues to train Bedouins and students from around the world in sustainable building technologies.
[[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_large","fid":null,"attributes":{"class":"media-image mt-image-none","typeof":"foaf:Image","style":"","width":"500","height":"332","alt":"25.jpg"}}]]
Submitted by Fred Greene, the caption that accompanied this photo reads, "This is my daughter, Yael Greene. She is 11 years old and was one of the keynote speakers last May at the Georgia Walk for Autism. She is the captain of her team, The Yaya's. Her team raised $5,800. Our team was part of a larger community of walkers, Team Amit (Amit is a centralized Jewish special education agency in Atlanta). Yael, who has Autism, believes that her Autism makes her special. Indeed it does!"
[[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_large","fid":null,"attributes":{"class":"media-image mt-image-none","typeof":"foaf:Image","style":"","width":"500","height":"375","alt":"29.jpg"}}]]
Daniel Leigh Brief says, "As a participant for Urban Mitzvah Corps, I volunteered for 6 weeks in and around the city of New Brunswick. At one of my jobsites, I was a counselor for a government-funded camp for inner-city children called Camp PLAY S.A.F.E. This photo captures the children's joy and the positive effect Urban Mitzvah Corps had on their community."
[[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_large","fid":null,"attributes":{"class":"media-image mt-image-none","typeof":"foaf:Image","style":"","width":"500","height":"556","alt":"32.jpg"}}]]
And finally, a collage of all of our photo submissions, though two wouldn't fit on here, because they're collages themselves! Click through to see contestant David Diskin's photo collages of his synagogue's work with Tents of Hope and vigils for Darfur.
You can find all of the captions that accompanied these photo submissions by flipping through our Facebook album. Many thanks to everyone who submitted a photo. Thanks for all your hard work to better the world!
[[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_large","fid":null,"attributes":{"class":"media-image mt-image-none","typeof":"foaf:Image","style":"","width":"497","height":"497","alt":"IOJCollage1.jpg"}}]]
[[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_large","fid":null,"attributes":{"class":"media-image mt-image-none","typeof":"foaf:Image","style":"","width":"528","height":"528","alt":"IOJCollage2.jpg"}}]]
Related Posts
Image
Supporting Survivors of Domestic Violence in the Jewish Community
October 28, 2022
October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month (DVAM) in the U.S. Each of us likely knows someone, either in our Jewish community or our secular communities, who has been impacted by or is a survivor of domestic violence.
Image
Two Out of Two
February 15, 2022
As a graduate of both Tougaloo College and Jackson State University, the recent bomb threats to Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) are personal to me. Since January 2022, over a dozen HBCUs have received bomb threats; several of those threats were received on the first day of Black history month. The continuous attacks on institutions of higher learning; places of worship and individual attacks are a direct threat to our everyday existence.
Image
How to Make Your First Tu BiShvat Seder Meaningful and Fun
January 3, 2022
As I thought about what would be involved if we did our own Tu BiShvat seder, it seemed interesting and fun. Tasting lots of fruits? Marking a time to appreciate, mindfully and respectfully, trees and the earth? Drinking wines and grape juices? Yes, please.