The American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) –  through its Entwine initiative for young Jewish leaders – will further expand its educational and global service opportunities for West Coast Jews in their 20’s and 30’s thanks to grants from the Jim Joseph and Leichtag Foundations. As the region is home to a growing and influential population of young Jews, these combined grants aim to increase the reach of the Entwine Global Learning Networks in Los Angeles, San Francisco and San Diego. Part of the funding will also expand the number of California-based young adults participating in JDC global service programs. Additionally, San Diego will become a hub and center for JDC Entwine programming in California.

Offerings from JDC’s Entwine initiative have quadrupled since it’s founding. In 2012 alone, JDC will have some 500 young Jews participating in short and long term service and study opportunities in over 26 locations globally. In the U.S. – through a series of grassroots, peer-led Global Learning Networks in New York, Boston, Washington D.C., Houston, San Francisco, Los Angeles and San Diego – JDC’s locally based educational opportunities for Jewish young professionals has reached more than 5,000 young Jews to date.

Through JDC Entwine’s continuum of programming, young Jewish adults are serving abroad and creating local education-based programs in the U.S. These programs address poverty, community-building, Jewish education and culture, and development-related challenges in countries like Argentina, Ethiopia, China, Germany, Haiti, India, Israel, Latvia, Russia, Rwanda, Turkey and Ukraine.