Sleeves Rolled Up:

Portland, OR

A milestone for your teens, a capstone for your program

What’s the best way to make your great program in Jewish ethics, social responsibility, or tikkun ‘olam into a transformative program? Put Tivnu: Building Justice’s expertise in thoughtful Jewish programming, homebuilding, and grassroots activism to work for you.

The Tivnu weekend was life- and perspective- changing for the teens who attended. It was the perfect balance of serious learning and fun; exploration of a new and beautiful place and hands-on work (with power tools, which the kids loved!) The kids felt great about their work, understood that it was a small contribution towards a much longer term goal, began to make connections about housing issues and economic inequality, and bonded as a group. I cannot recommend a teen program with Tivnu enough!

— Rabbi Lauren Grabelle Herrmann

Society for the Advancement of Judaism, NY, NY

Hosting Your Group

We'll work with your middle school, high school, synagogue, camp, or youth group to open up a world of meaningful, physical tikkun 'olam projects in Portland, Oregon. We'll engage with contemporary social justice challenges. And together, we'll learn from the people who take them on every day.

All of our three- to ten-day programs include a customized schedule of hands-on work with marginalized people and communities, working on houselessness through construction at tiny house villages and food insecurity through regenerative urban farming. Oh — and our programs are fun. Really fun, so your participants can match their feelings of real engagement and accomplishment with the wonders of the Pacific Northwest: the thrill of white-water rafting, exploring Multnomah Falls, or just sampling the most extraordinary ice cream flavors anywhere.

Tivnu: Building Justice is a unique resource for innovative, pluralistic programs that involve the hands as well as the head and heart. We show how addressing basic human needs like affordable housing, food security, and environmental justice can be central to an engaged and forward-thinking Jewish life. As one teen told us about our face-to-face encounters, “I had deep talks with people and learned a lot about houselessness issues and even more about myself.” That personal transformation is the Tivnu secret to bonding a group together, and it stretches from learning to use the compound miter saw to learning a song at the Shabbat table. Real work, for real stakes, with real impact for real people.

To talk with us about creating a program for your synagogue, school, camp, or other organization, please contact Steve@tivnu.org