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Youth Engagement: Door-Knocking Event
On Saturday, November 14, just under one
hundred Jewish teenagers piled onto buses at Mount Zion Synagogue and
got dropped off to try their hand door-knocking and talking with
residents in the Rondo community. They had been trained by JCA organizer
Dave Snyder, and they had chosen their own topics of discussion: voter
registration, marriage equality, and the genocide in Darfur. For an
hour, they knocked on doors and engaged residents in sometimes
challenging, sometimes inspiring discussions about these issues.
Afterwards, they all converged on Unity Baptist Church to debrief and to
hear from Reverend Ron Smith. One of the adult chaperones, Rabbi Saks of
Temple Israel, happened upon a group of youth engaged in a spirited
discussion with a resident who turned out to be a pastor himself. The
pastor and the Rabbi spoke at length, and exchanged cards, both
interested in the possibility of an interfaith service in the future.
Elaine C., Jenna P., and
Becca F. door-knocking ----------------------------------------------- Recently, in the span of several hours, JCA members and allies generated over 40 calls to City-County Federal Credit Union president John Seeman. We urged him to negotiate in good faith with Don, a south Minneapolis home owner who was about to lose his home. By the end of the day, Don and City-County informed us that they had reached a deal that allowed Don and his wife to stay in their home. Thanks and mazel tov to everyone who made this happen! -----------------------------------------------
"There are eight levels of tzedakah, one above the other. The
greatest level, above which nothing is higher, is to strengthen the hand of the
poor by means of gift or loan or by going into partnership with him, so
that he can become self-sufficient." Jewish Community Action (JCA) and our allies believe that giving residents of working class neighborhoods fair and equitable access to capital challenges some of the deep, systemic roots of poverty. Through our Community Reinvestment project, we have directed over $14 million in individual and institutional deposits to Twin Cities banks that work actively with low-income communities to support sustainable homeownership, and small business and community development. Without a network of community-oriented banks and other financial and community institutions, the Twin Cities face overlapping and mutually reinforcing obstacles:
In consultation with JCA leaders, several years ago the City of St. Paul established a Socially Responsible Investment Fund. The $10 million fund purchased CDs from banks that received an ‘Outstanding’ rating on their most recent Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) evaluation, and demonstrated an increased level of investment each year in targeted low-income census tracts in St. Paul. Our goal in 2007 is to advocate for the establishment of similar CRA Deposit Funds in Minneapolis, and Hennepin and Ramsey Counties. Having convened several discussions of community reinvestment within the philanthropic and higher education sectors, we also seek to involve leaders from those fields in our ongoing work. For more information, please contact David Snyder at david@jewishcommunityaction.org
Community
Reinvestment Brochure
Jump to: Equal
Access
Equal
Access This audit is the first of a series of recommendations by the Equal Access Working Group, of which Jewish Community Action is a member. Equal Access’ goals are:
Work to pass this resolution began in November 2003, when the St. Paul City Council held a public hearing. The city learned that many contractors and developers from communities of color reported difficulty of securing contracts and bids, despite laws that had been passed to improve access. Testimony indicated that access to contracts for businesses owned by women and people with disabilities also lagged behind. A member of JCA testified in support of organizations of color at this November hearing, and JCA was then invited to serve on the Equal Access Working Group created by the City Council. Besides JCA, Equal Access includes the St. Paul NAACP, the Community Stabilization Project, the Minnesota Chapter of the National Association of Minority Contractors, Kaposia, and Women Venture.
Equal
Access RFP Resolution (will open with Adobe Acrobat Reader)
Living
Wage Ordinance passes in Minneapolis!
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Community
Reinvestment |
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Action 2375 University Avenue West, Suite 150 St. Paul, MN 55114 Phone 651/632-2184 Fax 651/632-2184 |