American Jewish World Service (AJWS), and AVODAH: The Jewish Service Corps, a domestic year-long service program for Jewish young adults, have announced a new name and website for their partnership. Their 4-year-old joint venture for engaging Jews in their 20s and 30s in social justice issues will now be know as “Pursue: Action for a Just World – A project of American Jewish World Service and AVODAH: The Jewish Service Corps.”

AJWS and AVODAH began their partnership in 2006 with support from the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation and the Nathan Cummings Family Foundation with the goal of recruiting young Jews, including alumni of their respective programs, to build a community around civic engagement and activism that integrates their Jewish and social justice values. Over the years, staff in New York, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. have produced programming on a variety of topics including food security, the relationship between social justice and tzedakah, and immigration. These programs have come in the form of debate watching parties, discussions with prominent social justice leaders, educational workshops and leadership trainings. Often working in collaboration with several other U.S.-based Jewish organizations, Pursue has engaged over 4,000 people since its inception.

“The new ‘Pursue’ brand is the culmination of four years of work building an innovative partnership and community of Jewish activists,” said Merrill Zack, AJWS’s associate director of education and community engagement and the organization’s Pursue co-project manager. “Pursue represents AJWS’s and AVODAH’s commitment to creating meaningful opportunities for young Jews to come together around shared values to collectively advance social change efforts. Through our new brand and website we hope to make it easier for young Jews to participate in social change activities that are rooted in Jewish values.”

For more information about Pursue and upcoming programs in New York, San Francisco and Washington, D.C., visit the organizations’ website.