More than two dozen organizations from across the Jewish communal, educational, religious and social cause spectrum, as well as secular service organizations, already are part of organizing Service Matters 2019, to be held May 15-16 in New York City. The Summit will convene in Riverside Church in Harlem, which provides many volunteer-led social services in the community. The church was selected in part to spotlight the importance of connecting Jewish Service with service partners doing deep, impactful work in local communities; also, Riverside Church was the site a half-century ago, where MLK delivered a speech in which he invoked “the fierce urgency of now” in calling followers to take action.

Organizers say the Summit will succeed if it creates action-oriented next steps that partners want to prioritize in making Jewish Service more effective in engaging participants, more easily accessible to Jewish communities and organizations, and more impactful in addressing urgent issues, including some of the most challenging issues of our day – #MeToo, anti-semitism, racism, power and privilege, disaster relief, immigration, and more.

In addition to targeted invitations to Jewish and secular leaders, changemakers, philanthropists, and innovators in the field, around half of the space is being held for participants to sign up through open registration.

Service Matters is driven by partners Amplifier, Avodah, BBYO, Challah for Hunger, HIAS, Hillel International, J-Teen Leadership, JDC Entwine, Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia, Jewish Multiracial Network, Jewish Volunteer Connection National (JVC), JFNA, Moishe House, Olam, One America Movement, OneTable, PJ Library, Points of Light, Revolve, Service Year UJA-Federation of New York, Yahel – Israel Service Learning, and is convened by Repair the World.

Partners and Repair are recruiting participants to the Summit by emphasizing that all involved will have the opportunity to create next steps, take action, and build momentum for Jewish Service and engage more Jews in addressing urgent needs. Summit participants will experience:

The People: Collaborate with educators, social entrepreneurs, policy influencers, nonprofit and philanthropic leaders.

The Dialogue: Connect action with participant experiences to consider paths of social change, structural barriers to racial equity, challenges of civic and political polarization, divisions within the Jewish community, and more.

The Future: Identify long-term aspirations for expanding engagement and deepening impact in the Jewish service field, as well as the steps necessary to reach them.

The Now: Build an agenda and take next steps together in the urgency of today’s political and social landscape to understand the urgency of NOW.

To learn more about the Summit and take advantage of early registration pricing, visit: www.servicematters.net/home.