COLORADO

Colorado Jews for Justice (COJJ) is a program of VBM Denver, the first ever hub organization of the Jewish nonprofit Valley Beit Midrash, a global center for learning and action.

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The COJJ program aims to mobilize local communities, of any faith and background, to impact the most vulnerable in our communities. We aim to do so through three distinct platforms:

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• Direct Action Projects COJJ hosts 1-2 volunteer projects a month to provide direct aid to the unhoused, migrant communities, environmental efforts, sheltered animals, and more.  We work to identify causes our audiences are passionate about, then we develop relationships with local organizations working on those areas to organize day projects for our constituents to roll up their sleeves and serve.  We believe these moments of shared service not only impact our neighbors who need it the most, but they also build community between people who otherwise may not have had the opportunity to interact with each other, thereby creating relationships which bridge the divides of our societies. 

• The COJJ Social Action Fellowship   This fellowship is designed as an incubation space to help young Jewish professionals bring to life their own social action projects which benefit a cause important to them. During the yearlong program, fellows receive high level education and guidance which foster their specific passions in social action, hands-on assistance from VBM Denver staff in the production of their social action project, and access to partnerships, resources, and financial support VBM Denver has garnered specifically for this fellowship.  By the end of the year together, our professional team will help each fellow bring their project to life to impact our communities.  The program is open to people of Jewish identity ages 20 to 40 years old; applications for the 2024 cohort will be released in October of 2023. 

• Policy Advocacy Our professional team meets regularly with political leaders to advocate for the furtherment of policy which fights bigotism, including antisemitism, and supports the growth of equity and opportunity for all peoples in our communities.