COMMUNITY
JEWFRO
The Wonderful Thing
About PeerCorps ...
s PeerCorps is a wonderful
thing. An innovative and
intentional thing. A thing
that, for all its early success-
es, you may not have heard
about. Until now! So get to
know PeerCorps and you'll
get to know:
An idea. Mine, and like
most of my ideas, a half-
baked one. After years of
turning middle schoolers
away from Summer in the
City (liability!), what if, I
thought thoughtfully, there
were a service program where they
could be an asset? And what if the
most dedicated teen volunteers
could facilitate formative experi-
ences for their "near peers"? That was
as far as I got. And the original name
was Raise the Bar Mitzvah.
A vision. The vision of Nora
Feldhusen and Blair Nosan, who fully
baked the idea into PeerCorps, a ro-
bust and respectful program. In their
own words:"PeerCorps is a yearlong
mentorship program inviting Jewish
teens and b'nai mitzvah students
and their families to build deep rela-
tionships with one another and with
community-based work in Detroit.
"Mentors begin with a Gesher
(bridge) experience in August. This
immersive week of living, working
and exploring together in Detroit
provides an opportunity for men-
tors to develop mentorship skills,
self-awareness, critical thinking and
to deepen their understanding of
tzedakah — the religious obligation
to do what is right and just, integral
to living a spiritual life — through
connecting Jewish values to learning
about self and society."
A springboard. For teens who
are eager to stretch themselves for
their own growth and the growth
of others. These juniors and seniors
have run the gamut of great volun-
teer experiences (Friendship Circle,
Yad Ezra, JARC, J-Serve, Mitzvah
Day, Fall Fix-Up and Jewish Senior
Life, etc.) and, like teenage Socra-
teses, know enough to know that
they know nothing. Which is some-
thing. So they come together as a
group, live together for a week in
southwest Detroit and start a con-
versation together — about Detroit,
Judaism and living one's values —
that continues for the year.
An on-ramp. For middle school
students who want to go beyond
the boundaries of their immediate
community as a way of expanding
I
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their definition of what
community means
and whom it includes.
They get to volunteer
for 18 hours alongside
super cool teen mentors
who, themselves,
have continued their
commitment to service
beyond becoming bar
and bat mitzvah.
A wellspring. For
community partners
who are excited to work
with young, energetic
volunteers and motivated to move
beyond one-and-done service days
(that risk depleting more resources
than they marshal) into a yearlong
relationship with teen leaders who
learn the tone, tempo and tenor
of their organization so they can
steward the work of two cycles of
mentees. These partners include:
•Clark Park Coalition: Playing
hockey, soccer, and pingpong
with kids of all ages in southwest
Detroit.
• Downtown Synagogue and
Eden Gardens Block Club: A
creative combination of social
action projects and working in a
partner garden on the east side.
• Freedom House: Cooking,
eating and learning with a
population of people from all
over the world who are seeking
political asylum after facing
persecution in their home
countries.
• Mount Elliott Makerspace:
Building bikes, speakers (out of
old coffee cans!) and much more
with kids at this neighborhood
workshop.
• D-Town Farms: Planting,
growing, weeding, watering
and harvesting together at this
Afrocentric farm on the west
side.
• Plus, the James and Grace Lee
Boggs School.
An investment. By you —Thanks!
— and our community, specifically
the Hermelin-Davidson Founda-
tion for Congregation Excellence.
The Alliance for Jewish Education,
Repair the World, shuls (across
denominations), their members and
unaffiliated families are investing
in PeerCorps as a way for emerging
Jewish leaders to be the change they
wish to see in Detroit.
For more information, visit peercorpsdetroit.
tumblr.com or call Nora at (313) 355-3417.
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Rth TREAD I September 2014 37