When Avodah launched the Avodah Kansas City Justice Fellowship in 2018, we felt confident that Jewish early-career professionals in Kansas City, if provided with the best social justice leadership development training available and connected to a network of supportive peers, would have an even greater positive impact on the City and across the region.
And in a short period of time, our first Kansas City Justice Fellows have done just that.
Through the Justice Fellowship, Avodah Justice Fellows develop professional, communal, and spiritual resources to enrich their Jewish lives, strengthen and sustain their work for social change, and prepare to lead the Jewish community. Alumni of Avodah’s Justice Fellowship tell us that they are more effective in their professional lives and that they are taking on ever greater roles as volunteer leaders. The bottom line: Kansas City is stronger and the Kansas City Jewish community is more vibrant and dynamic thanks to Avodah Justice Fellows and alumni.
Members of the Kansas City Avodah community – including Justice Fellows, alumni, and donors – now gather regularly to learn together about the ways that Jewish wisdom can inform and sustain our service and activism. We help convene the Kansas City Jewish community for Shabbat and holiday celebrations. And we come together to take action on the most pressing issues in our community.
Our work and impact in Kansas City is made possible by the generous support of many donors. Major support is provided by the Community Legacy Fund, the Marion and Henry Bloch Foundation, and the White Family Foundation.