WELCOME TO FREEDOM CITY

Welcome to Freedom City, on-the-ground workshops in Jewish justice, for the teens of The Kitchen. We’re creating this experience for our young adults to put Torah into practice and bring real freedom to San Francisco.

We meet monthly for a service-workshop to explore issues of homelessness, racism, climate injustice, and systemic poverty in San Francisco - and then take action to do something about it. We’ll tap into the wisdom of Judaism, activists on the ground, and ourselves, to make change in our city.

In February of the second year** we’ll head to Montgomery, Alabama for a Justice Pilgrimage to the National Memorial for Peace and Justice to confront the racism and inequity in American first hand. When we get back to San Francisco we’ll figure out what we can do about it, right in our backyard.

**As long as travel can be done safely for all

FREEDOM CITY 2020-2021

This year as we adapt to changing circumstances in the world, we’re bringing three different tracks for you to choose from to get engaged in the justice of the city. You can opt into one, two or all three of the following:

• ACTIVISM This is for those seeking to make systemic change. We’ll gather virtually (for now) and work with awesome organizers including Reed Kolber, The Kitchen’s Community Organizer, to connect with your friends and do meaningful activism and organizing work around anti-racism and Black Lives Matter. You’ll learn real organizing skills and lead us to real action.

• SERVICE This is for those who want to do hands-on work. We’ll meet in-person (outside, distanced, masked) with Rabbi Michael Lezak and other Glide staff at Glide to bake challah, do works of service, connect with your friends, and bring freedom to the Tenderloin.

• STUDY This is for those who want to know why justice work matters. We’ll meet (hopefully in-person, outside) with Rabbi Jessica, for in-depth dives into what Jewish and worldly wisdom has to say about any number of justice and contemporary issues. You’ll walk away changed.

Several times over the course of the year, each track will converge and we all will come together for a social-activism SUMMIT: one piece of action with a lot of hanging out and good fun (in person, if we can do it safely, otherwise virtual).

SESSION SCHEDULE + CALENDAR

Our first SUMMIT will be over the High(er) Holidays and all the tracks will begin in October, after the High(er) Holidays.

SERVICE will meet on the 2nd Thursdays of the month; ACTIVISM and STUDY will be scheduled with the participating teens.

Enrollment for 2020-2021 is open. If you want more information or have questions, please contact our Senior Family Educator, Joel Abramovitz. 

REQUIREMENTS 

→ Be in 8th-12th grade in fall 2020
→ A desire to bring more justice and Torah into the world
→ Become a subscribing The Kitchen member (optional)
→ Pay tuition - $800

Please contact Joel Abramovitz to have a conversation about financial assistance or if you want to further support us by contributing to our Scholarship Fund.