DARREN SCHLANGER
Bulletin Correspondent
After a successful inaugural season, JYCA marked the beginning of its second year at a recent orientation. New participants met with returning members to discuss the philosophy of the group, as well as events and activities planned for the upcoming season.
JYCA was founded by Pella Schafer of Berkeley, who wanted to provide an outlet for Jewish youth, hoping to strengthen their Jewish identities while championing important social causes. Regretting that she did not get involved with Jewish causes until college, Schafer said Jewish teenagers need an outlet to channel both their social and cultural concerns. But when she was a teen, she couldn't find one.
"I had a bat mitzvah, but my experience with Judaism was not that positive in high school," said Schafer, who only as a student at U.C. Santa Cruz began to link Judaism with social action. Until then, she felt that the two were distinctly separated.
The organization she created fuses Jewish culture and social activism to provide Jewish youth with the vehicle that she lacked in high school.
"We started the group to bring teenagers together with both Judaism and community action as a means to develop their Jewish identity and effect positive social change," Schafer said.
The program, staffed by Schafer and internship coordinator Mark Barnett, consists of four main structural components. The first, a leadership training series, gives participants autonomy in deciding the direction of the program; this entails learning to set the social agenda and to develop leadership skills such as community organizing and establishing peer workshops.
The second feature, internship placements, enables members to volunteer and contribute to community organizations in a wide variety of fields and issues, including the environment, race relations, health services and politics.
The third component, weekend retreats, provides fun, relaxation and bonding experiences for JYCA participants. Last year, these weekend trips included the Adventure Ropes Course, a series of physical challenges aimed at building team unity and cohesion.
The fourth component is a group project, which last year involved creating a JYCA T-shirt and executing a political lobbying project.
In the year since the program's inception, JYCA has attracted a relatively diverse group of 14 teenagers from 10 high schools and a variety of Jewish backgrounds.
Benjy Brandzel, a 16-year-old junior at the Athenian School in Danville, had attended Jewish camps in the past, but felt disconnected from his Jewish heritage.
"Jewish Youths for Community Action," Brandzel said, "helped to renew my passion [for Judaism] and offered me an opportunity to interact with fellow Jews who shared my commitment to Judaism, social action and social justice."
Many members say Jewish Youths for Community Action represents their first opportunity to run meetings, determine the agenda, and decide their internships and final projects, with adults playing a back-seat role.
JYCA "is not adults running the program for youth," said Liebman. "It's us creating a sense of identity for ourselves and for our community." As a result, "our actions are probably even more rewarding."
During the next year, JYCA hopes to double the number of participants. Most of its funding comes from donations from private philanthropic organizations, including Steven Spielberg's Righteous Person's Foundation, funded from the proceeds of the movie "Schindler's List."
The rest of the funding comes from the membership fee of $345, which includes the cost of three weekend retreats; however, financial aid and payment plans are available.
Jewish Youth for Communication Action's new program begins Sunday, Jan. 19. The group is currently accepting applications. Information: (510) 450-0508.