ACC News

Don't Kvetch, Organize! ACC Cohort Registration Early Bird Deadline November 22

November 12, 2019

If you were in Atlanta, you were introduced to Don't Kvetch, Organize! sponsored by JOIN (Jewish Organizing Institute & Network) for Justice. This course is intended to help people learn effective community organizing strategies and to be more involved in social justice campaigns. If you join the cohort of cantors you will participate in a seven-week online training course. Participants will be guided by experienced trainers and instructors and will examine different ways that community organizing can be used to build a more just world for all and how Jewish tradition and history inform our commitments and approaches to social justice. Many of you expressed an interest in Atlanta or at the Consultation on Conscience in May.

The ACC has received funding from a very generous donor to reduce the cost of the training. Liz Dunst, chair of the RAC's Commission on Social Action, has committed to helping ACC members attend this cohort at significantly reduced fees.

Registration for the ACC cohort is $145 if you sign up by November 22 and then goes up to $195 for registration before December 15.

If you have been thinking, "I should do more" or "I wish there was a way that I could do more than sign a petition", please consider taking advantage of this opportunity. Many of you are already out there doing things to make our world better. For you, these opportunities will enhance your personal experiences and help you bring others along.

If you are ready to sign up, click on this link to register for the ACC cohort. The course will run from January 26 to March 18 and will be scheduled around the co-horts' availability. All classes are also recorded for anyone unable to attend in person. 

Don’t Kvetch, Organize! Syllabus Highlights

Week 1: Why Do We Organize?

• How Jewish values challenge us to act
• What community organizing is, and why we might turn to organizing to make change
• Developing resilience as organizers and connecting with our vision of the world we want to create
• A success story from Baltimore about organizing to fund major school repairs across the district
Week 2: How We Win: Campaigns That Make A Difference, Not A Statement

• A behind the scenes look at the campaign that set the model for national healthcare reform
• Moving from being overwhelmed to building campaigns that can win
• Using stories to show who we are and tell where we are going

Week 3: Living Out Our Values: Organizing For, Not Against
• The motivation to take a risk – Jewish involvement with immigration and criminal justice reform
• Connecting with people’s values and interests
• How our relationships can be one of the most powerful things we have

Week 4: Nothing Changes Without Power and Strategy
• How the people behind the Montgomery Bus Boycott used the resources they had to get the change they wanted
• How we organize communities and resources to build power

Week 5: The Growing Inequality Gap and the Struggle Against It: How Did We Get Here?
• Human equality in the bible and our quest for justice
• Why fewer Americans today have the opportunity for upward mobility
• Working for racial justice and the importance of relationships

Week 6: What Is Our Place as Jews in Justice Struggles? How Will We Lead Successfully and Respectfully?
• Finding our place in justice struggles
• Finding our Jewish connection to justice
• Becoming the leaders our communities need
• Risk-taking in the Jewish religious tradition