Dear Friend,

We are excited to share with you the Jewish Eco Seminars Rosh Hashana Newsletter, including updates on:
* Engaging Jewish Teens from North America
* Working with Birthright and MASA Israel Programs
* Teaching Emerging Young Leaders from Latin America
* Launching Eco Israel Tours
* Media Coverage of Jewish Eco Seminars
* About Jewish Eco Seminars
* Donate to Jewish Eco Seminars
* Ways You Can Help
* Thank yous

Engaging Jewish Teens from North America
This past summer, Jewish Eco Seminars provided educational programming to eight groups from BBYO-Passport Israel and the Jewish Community Centers Association, reaching 275 teenagers from North America. Both institutions have expressed their desire to work with us in the coming year for even more groups.

Working with Birthright and MASA Israel Programs
Jewish Eco Seminars recently received approval from Birthright Israel to offer our programs to Birthright trips, and aim to do so the winter of 2011. We also began a series of 20 Israel-focused Jewish environmental seminars for the MASA-sponsored Ashrei program, based in Jerusalem. In September, we hiked at the Sataf Nature Reserve, volunteered at a community garden in Jerusalem, and explored Jewish teachings relating to ecology in Israel.

Teaching Emerging Young Leaders from Latin America
Thanks to the generous support of Lynn Schusterman's ROI Innovation Fund, we engaged 180 young Latin American Jews studying in Israel. We provided outdoor seminars to 80 participants of the Jewish Agency's training program for youth group advisers returning to Latin America, as well as to participants from a range of Jerusalem-based educational institutions.

Launching Eco Israel Tours
In an effort to reach out to the broader tourism market in Israel, we launched a separate brand, Eco Israel Tours. The official news agency of China, Xinhua News, published two articles about our offerings. To see them, click here and here

Media Coverage of Jewish Eco Seminars
Jewish Eco Seminars was featured in Na'amah Women Magazine, the Jewish Advocate of Boston, and in Haaretz English addition. To see the writeup in Haaretz, click here.

About Jewish Eco Seminars
Jewish Eco Seminars (JES) engages Jews with Israel in an inspiring way and spurs Jewish environmental action. Our programs educate the Jewish community by revealing the powerful connection between modern Israel, ecological innovation, and Jewish values. Since September 2010, JES has reached over 1200 Jews in Israel and North America with its innovative, dynamic programming. JES has worked with groups from institutions including Birthright, BBYO, the JCCA, and Hadassa—Young Judaea. It has developed and implemented a range of innovative outdoor educational programs relating to food, water conservation, trees, and sustainability. The JES faculty team is comprised of a cohort of dynamic Jewish environmental educators based in Israel and North America. Want to learn more? See our updated website through this link.

The Vision of Moses Montefiore
Jewish Eco Seminars is based in the Nachlaot neighborhood of Jerusalem, which was built in part by the great Jewish philanthropist Moses Montefiore. He once told Queen Victoria: “The only wealth that I truly own is that which I have given away to good causes.”

Jewish Eco Seminars endeavors to be one of those good causes. In the academic year beginning in September 2011, JES aims to reach 2,500 participants. In order to expand to a new market segment—North American summer camp and other teen trips to Israel and synagogue trips-- JES seeks to undertake a focused outreach campaign to coordinators of these trips.

Donate to Jewish Eco Seminars
As the Jewish new year approaches, we want to ask you to consider supporting our innovative work. Donations can be made by clicking here. JES aims over the next several years to generate a robust client base, which will enable financial self-sustainability of the organization. Your donation promotes our securing potential long-term clients from the myriad summer teen trips and synagogue missions that visit Israel every year. Canfei Nesharim serves as the fiscal agent for Jewish Eco Seminars, and donations are tax-deductible.