Jewish Service Corps

Option 1

Searching for your place in justice movements and post-college Jewish community? Spend a service year in the Jewish Service Corps! You’ll launch your career in social justice by serving full-time at a local non-profit addressing crucial justice issues in Chicago, New Orleans, New York City, or Washington, DC.

Outside of your work, you’ll build powerful, pluralistic community in the bayit (communal home) while exploring the intersections of social justice and Jewish life in programming. Corps Members receive a monthly living stipend, furnished housing, health insurance, a travel allowance, an exit stipend, access to our Economic Access Fund, and a year of professional and personal development.

We are now in rolling admissions until all spots are filled for the September 2026-August 2027 service year. Start your Jewish social justice journey today by visiting avodah.net/serve, or email apply@avodah.net to learn more.

Option 2

Do you know an emerging leader between the ages of 21-26 ready to launch their career in social justice? Avodah is now recruiting for the Jewish Service Corps!

Corps Members spend a service year engaging in deep learning and pluralistic community building in the bayit (communal home) while serving full-time at a local organization tackling crucial justice issues in Chicago, New Orleans, New York City, or Washington, DC.

Corps Members receive a monthly living stipend, furnished housing, health insurance, a travel allowance, an exit stipend, access to our Economic Access Fund, and a year of professional and personal development.

Nominate a candidate or learn more at: avodah.net/serve.

Start your Jewish social justice journey with Avodah’s Jewish Service Corps, an immersive service year program running September 2026-August 2027 for emerging changemakers ages 21-26. 

Jewish Service Corps Members spend a service year serving full-time at a non-profit in Chicago, New Orleans, New York, or Washington, DC while living and learning in a justice-oriented Jewish community. As a Corps Member, you’ll: 

• Create lasting Jewish community. Home-cooked Shabbat dinners, late-night conversations, and holiday celebrations make living in the bayit (communal home) memorable and meaningful. Corps Members co-create intentional, pluralistic communities that help them envision and embody how the world could be. 
• Launch your career in social justice.  After matching with a placement organization, you’ll contribute meaningfully to on-the-ground efforts on crucial justice issues such as the criminal legal system, immigration, housing and food insecurity,  education, and healthcare. 
• Dive into deep learning. Through experiential programming, you’ll explore how to live out your justice values, the role of community in creating a more just world, and what role your Jewish identity plays in your life and work.  Our dynamic curriculum will deepen and contextualize your day-to-day work, while supporting you in finding your long-term place in broader justice movements. 
• Have your essential needs met. Avodah takes care of the most important things. Corps Members receive furnished housing, a monthly living stipend, health insurance, a travel allowance, exit stipend, and a year of professional and personal development.  Corps Members can also tap into the Economic Access Fund to support unmet financial needs. 
• Start your next chapter with confidence. Move to a new city (or a familiar one!) with tons of support. Explore free events, local activism, and Jewish life with a built-in group of friends from your cohort. Through your placement, experts, and Avodah staff, receive guidance and professional development that will set you up for workplace success.
• Join our active alumni network for life. Our community of over 1,700 Jewish social justice professionals and activists across the country are there to help with apartment hunts, job references, Shabbat dinner invites, and everything in between. Stay connected to Jewish justice opportunities for the long haul.

Avodah is committed to building a Service Corps that inclusively represents the diverse Jewish Community. Sephardi Jews, Mizrahi Jews, Jews of Color, people of color, women, people with disabilities, immigrants, LGBT2QIA people, and people who come from poor or working-class backgrounds are strongly encouraged to apply!

They are now in rolling admissions until all spots are filled for the September 2026-August 2027 service year. Start your Jewish social justice journey today by visiting avodah.net/serve, or email apply@avodah.net to learn more.

Please personalize this as much as possible!

Hi [FIRST NAME],

I hope this email finds you well! I’m reaching out to share an opportunity that might be a powerful next step for you: Avodah’s Jewish Service Corps. 

Applications are now open for emerging changemakers ages 21-26 who are excited to spend a year working at a local non-profit tackling crucial justice issues in Chicago, New Orleans, New York City, or Washington, DC. Avodah covers the most important things (housing, transportation, health insurance, monthly living expenses) while supporting Corps Members in building powerful, pluralistic communities in the Bayit (communal home). Corps Members gain not only a year of on-the-ground work experience, but also a systemic analysis of injustice in the US, extensive professional development, Jewish social justice insights, and communal networks that will launch their career paths and help them find their place in broader justice movements. After the service year is over, Corps Members join our powerful 1,700+ alumni network, getting plugged into Jewish justice opportunities for life!

The impact of the program speaks for itself. A recent alum shared, “Avodah [is] a transformative experience. After graduating college I knew I wanted to do social justice work but I had no idea where to begin in terms of finding meaningful work and a community to support me in it. Avodah has set me on a path for a career rooted in fighting for social justice, with a community to ground myself in along the way.”

I hope to see you apply! You can learn more and apply at avodah.net/serve. You can contact Emily, Avodah’s Director of Recruitment and Partnerships, if you have any questions: apply@avodah.net.

Best,

[YOUR NAME]

P.S. If you know someone that would be a good fit, you can nominate a friend!

Please personalize this as much as possible!

Hi [FIRST NAME],

I hope this email finds you well! I’m reaching out to ask for your help in spreading the word about Avodah’s Jewish Service Corps.

Applications are now open for emerging changemakers ages 21-26 who are excited to spend a year working at a local non-profit tackling crucial justice issues in Chicago, New Orleans, New York City, or Washington, DC. Avodah covers the most important things (housing, transportation, health insurance, monthly living expenses) while supporting Corps Members in building powerful, pluralistic communities in the bayit (communal home). Corps Members gain not only a year of on-the-ground work experience, but also a systemic analysis of injustice in the US, extensive professional development, Jewish social justice insights, and communal networks that will launch their career paths and help them find their place in broader justice movements. After the service year is over, Corps Members join our powerful 1,700+ alumni network, getting plugged into Jewish justice opportunities for life!

The impact of the program speaks for itself. A recent alumni shared, “Avodah [is] a transformative experience. After graduating college I knew I wanted to do social justice work but I had no idea where to begin in terms of finding meaningful work and a community to support me in it. Avodah has set me on a path for a career rooted in fighting for social justice, with a community to ground myself in along the way.”

Every year, word of mouth is the top way young people find out about the Jewish Service Corps. You can help spread the word by: 

1. Sharing a blurb with your networks in an email or newsletter;
2. Posting on your social media using Avodah’s ready-made posts;
3. Nominating a potential candidate.

Many thanks for all you do!

[YOUR NAME]