Jewish Organizing Initiative

Posted on 07/06/2010 @ 01:12 PM

Impact: Boston

On Monday, the teens spent an afternoon with the Jewish Organizing Initiative (JOI) and MassVOTE, an organization that works to register, educate and mobilize voters. Groups of participants spread out all over Boston with clipboards and signs to help with a voter registration drive. The teens enjoyed the opportunity to empower citizens to find their public voice through voting.

Representatives from MassVOTE and JOI returned to campus with us on Tuesday to debrief Monday's activities and present a workshop on community organizing. In addition to learning about the process of organizing, the participants re-enacted a successful organizing endeavor with YMORE, a collective youth organizing effort in Boston. Through mock meetings with a state representative, the teens were able to see how a group of students like themselves were able to secure more funding for youth jobs in the state budget.

For more information on JOI and their community organizing work, visit them on the web.