Source: eJewish Philanthropy
Alliance for Global Good, Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation, and Pears Foundation are partnering to launch OLAM, a shared platform to promote global Jewish service – volunteering and service learning, international development, and social justice advocacy – in order to support communities in need around the world.
OLAM will serve as a field-building resource, championing, coordinating and educating for the benefit of existing organizations, practitioners, and volunteers. It will expand the global Jewish community’s awareness and philanthropic support of these fields; build and strengthen practitioner networks to facilitate sharing knowledge and best practices; and grow the number of volunteers and practitioners and direct them to Jewish opportunities for involvement around the globe.
From providing urgent health care in Haiti, to training farmers to maximize their yields in Kenya, to rescuing people from the ruins of an explosion in Mexico, Jewish and Israeli organizations are pursuing meaningful ways to relieve suffering and inspire a new generation of Jewish global citizens in the process. A landscape analysis commissioned by OLAM in anticipation of its launch, Global Citizens Changing the World, identifies over 40 Jewish organizations in the fields of volunteering and service learning, international development and social justice advocacy. Despite their numerous achievements, many are underfunded, under-networked, and under-recognized as they address vast challenges, such as disease, poverty, and hunger.
OLAM will help existing organizations work effectively together and multiply their collective impact while also engaging a new generation of Jews in global Jewish service. Among its initial activities, OLAM will convene and network professionals in the field and provide shared professional training, curricular resources, evaluation tools, and other opportunities for strategic planning and learning. OLAM will also work to organize study trips around the world for key funders and influencers, such as rabbis and other leaders, to raise the profile of global Jewish service generally.