Tivnu: Building Justice
Vitals
- GYA Accredited Since: Unaccredited by the GYA. Please see the Standards for more information.
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Enrolling:
- Mission Statement:
With a focus on young adults, Tivnu: Building Justice engages and mobilizes the Jewish community on issues of shelter and related basic human rights through hands-on volunteer work with grassroots organizations, education, and advocacy
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Level of Independence/Supervision (mouse-over for definition):
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Attachments
Program Locations
Typical Itinerary
| Sun | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | |
|
W e e k 1 |
Occasional group activities Family Dinner and House meeting | Individualized Internship | Individualized Internship Social Justice Educational Experience | Individualized Internship | Individualized Internship Social Justice Educational Experience | Individualized Internship Shabbat dinner | Exploring Portland, spending time with housemates, catching up on sleep |
| Sun | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | |
|
W e e k 2 |
Example: Hike in the Columbia River Gorge Cooking your favorite recipe from home to share with housemates | Example: Build Tiny homes for a transitional housing community | Example: Help teach kids to raise sustainable crops at Outgrowing Hunger Study Urban Economics with Portland State U professor | Example: Lead crafts class at Rose Haven Women's Shelter | Example: Go to the capitol for a bill hearing with Children's First for Oregon Learn about housing justice with the Fair Housing Council of Oregon | Example: Help with an expungement clinic for the Criminal Justice Reform Clinic | Going to a poetry slam, visiting a farmers market, game night |
Program Outcomes
- Job Experience
- Leadership
- Independence
- Social Justice Knowledge
- Goal-Setting
- Grit/Work Ethic
- Community Cultivation
- Self Awareness
- Jewish Identity Exploration
- Communal Living Skills
Job Experience- Strengthen your resume and your professional skills in real-life, full time internship placements and contribute to grassroots efforts at local non-profit organizations
Leadership- develop your leadership skills by facilitating groups in communal settings, leading educational activities for your peers, and planning events for your cohort
Independence- Explore Portland, learn to manage your job and household responsibilities, and craft a life for yourself in a new city during your free time
Social Justice Knowledge- Broaden, deepen, and dissect your knowledge of a wide range of social justice issues
Goal-Setting- establish, maintain, and develop accountability practices for your personal goals in bi-weekly mentorship meetings
Grit- Build your resilience and commitment as you approach real-world challenges at your internships and through community projects
Work Ethic- Develop your intrinsic motivation and understanding of yourself as an important contributor to social change
Community Cultivation- Deepen your understanding of what it means to be a member of local, national, and global community through experiential learning and reflection
Self-Awareness- Reflect on who you are who you want to be, your strengths, and your areas of growth in an individual and group setting
Jewish Identity Exploration- Craft your own relationship with Judaism and Jewish community through an exploration of many authentic expressions and ideas
Communal Living Skills- Hone your conflict management and resolution skills among peers under the guidance of professionals
Program Details
- Program Starts: Fall, Winter
- Program Duration: Semester, Yearlong
- Typical Program Cost: $28,180
- Program Financial Aid: Yes
- Other Financial Aid Details:
Tivnu is committed to making its Gap Year accessible to young adults of all economic backgrounds. Please contact Steve Eisenbach-Budner at info@tivnu.org or 503-232-1864 with any questions about the affordability of the program for your family. Need-based financial aid is available. Please note that financial aid applications are due at the same time as program applications and priority consideration for tuition assistance will be given to early applicants. The financial aid application is located at https://sssbynais.org/parents; please use the school code 201518. For assistance with the financial aid application steps, call 1-800-344-8328. Those applying for tuition assistance must also send copies of their W2 and 1040 forms to Steve@tivnu.org.
We are deeply appreciative of the Zidell Family Foundation, which sponsors two $10,000 scholarships. Two applicants who have completed our tuition assistance application will be chosen by Tivnu; no extra application is necessary. If needed, additional assistance may be granted as well.
Refer a friend discount: If you tell a friend about Tivnu and both of you are accepted by the program, each of you will get a $500 discount off the program price.
Staff Training and Certification
Steve Eisenbach-Budner, founder and Executive Director of Tivnu: Building Justice, has worked in the construction field for over twenty years as a carpenter, general contractor and construction trainer. From 2002-2012, Steve worked with the at-risk young adults of Portland YouthBuilders, a job-training and life-skills program. He taught and mentored hundreds of students while they built homes for low-income families, developed leadership skills and, for some, experienced a supportive community for the first time. Having been raised in an affordable housing complex in New York City, he knows firsthand the centrality of housing to family and community stability and cohesion.
Adinah Miller, Program Director of Tivnu: Building Justice, has been professionally and personally engaged in creating diverse and vibrant Jewish communities for many years. Most recently, she spent 6 years as Dean of Jewish Life, Jewish Studies teacher, and house parent at the American Hebrew Academy, the pluralistic Jewish boarding school in Greensboro, North Carolina. At AHA, she helped high school students lay strong foundations in Jewish thought, practice, and history on which they could build Jewish identities, lives, and futures.
Adinah brings her experience in formal and informal Jewish education and her passions for social justice and Jewish exploration to Tivnu.
Erik, Tivnu Construction Manager, is a Pacific Northwest native and has been a licensed contractor since 1998. Waste reduction, incorporating reclaimed materials, and thoughtful use of resources have always been central to his approach, informing his work on both renovation and new construction.
A graduate of Reed College, he believes anyone can benefit from increasing their understanding of the physical world.
He has served as a staff member and director for language camps in Washington, Oregon, Minnesota, Norway, and Switzerland. Erik’s strong connection to his own Norwegian heritage makes it easy for him to appreciate the cultural focus of Tivnu.
Tivnu Resident Advisors are young Jewish professionals with backgrounds in fostering community, Jewish education, conflict management, mentorship and youth work.
Awards:
The Joshua Venture Group Dual Investment Program
UpStart Venture Accelerator
Lippman Kanfer Prize for Applied Jewish Wisdom
Included in Slingshot, A Resource Guide to Jewish Innovation