Tivnu Blog
Giving Thanks, Among Other Things
It’s no secret that Portland is a rainy place. Around Thanksgiving, the days become shorter, colder, and more dreary and gray. The sidewalks are kaleidoscopic from shedding trees....
A Week With Yoni
Hi! I'm Yoni and I'm from D.C. I graduated high school last year and decided I wanted to do Tivnu because it's a Jewish program that offers a chance to work with Habitat for Humanity....
Tivnusletter – Tivnu: It Begins With Home
The Tivnu Gap Year begins with establishing our home in Portland, Oregon’s terrific Irvington neighborhood. We begin our hands-on education by learning about affordable housing and houselessness in Portland and beyond....
The Thrill of the Build
Last week I had the pleasure of visiting the ReBuilding Center in Northeast Portland. After weaving my way through isles of refurbished doors and windows, baskets of miscellaneous appliances, and piles of mismatched house furnishings, I found the Tivnu construction crew....
Shanah Tovah from Tivnu
I hope everyone is having a sweet start to their new year. On Erev Rosh Hashanah we hosted a dinner with 19 people. It was very pleasant, although we ran out of grape juice....
Tivnusletter: A Sweet – and Action-Packed – New Year with Tivnu!
Our third cohort of Tivnu Gap Year participants comes from California, Illinois, Maryland, New York, and Oregon. They are excited to join the Tivnu: Building Justice Gap Year Program for lots of different reasons....
First Threevnu Blogpost
My name is Ayla, and I am excited to be writing the first blog post of the year. I am one of the participants of the third year of Tivnu (aka Threevnu). ...
Goodbye and Thanks
As you might know, this year's Tivnu gap year came to an end on Tuesday the 24th, so it’s time for the participants to go home. Although we are all sad that Tivnu is ending for us, it is time to go on with life....
Tivnusletter: Becoming Part of the Tivnu Family
OK, so maybe Malia isn't signed up for Tivnu's gap year program (yet), but she and her parents have discovered the transformative possibilities of a gap year program. ...
Why I’m Jealous of My Son: Guest Post from a Tivnu Parent
This might sound terrible, but I’m jealous of my son. Nadav, 19, is part of the current Tivnu cohort (affectionately known as the Tivnoodles) and is having a wonderful year. But enough about him (!) – this is about me, and my jealousy....