To our Adamah community,
The world looks very different today than it did back in August 2023. In the wake of increasing climate disasters and anti-Semitism, as well as the continued heartbreaking war, Adamah has been supporting young Jews through its two youth empowerment programs: Jewish Youth Climate Movement (JYCM) and Adamah on Campus.
These programs empower middle, high school, and college students nationwide to lead on Jewish environmental education and climate action, integrating meaningful opportunities for nature-connection, community-building, and leadership development. Through Adamah’s youth empowerment programs, we are building a joyful and resilient generation of Jewish environmental leaders. This year’s highlights are captured below. We are working across differences (religious, political, socioeconomic, to name a few), and bridgebuilding to grow a healthier, more sustainable, and equitable world for all.
And our youth empowerment work is growing and evolving! Thanks to the generous support of the Covenant Foundation, we are launching a new initiative called Shamati (which means “I have heard”). Shamati will equip Jewish educators with the resources and networks necessary to support their youth who are grappling with climate anxiety and channel their grief into collective action.
Please consider supporting this meaningful, joyful, and timely work.
Shabbat Shalom,
Liana Rothman
Youth Empowerment Director
Adamah on Campus Year in Review
Adamah on Campus launched at the start of the 2023-2024 academic year.
As a member of Adamah on Campus, it was really meaningful for me to participate in organizing Reclaim Earth Day. I got my start to climate activism through the Jewish Youth Climate Movement, and that experience was monumental in my development as an organizer. Especially because Reclaim Earth Day fell on Passover, I appreciated the chance to consider Jewish themes of renewal and change in the context of the current Reclaim Earth Day movement.
Anna, Adamah on Campus student leader at Brown
In our first year, we:
✔️Launched 16 Adamah on Campus chapters (and connected with 100+ campuses in total!)
✔️Nurtured 50 Adamah on Campus chapter leaders
✔️Engaged over 1500 students through 50+ chapter-led programs
✔️Supported 15 Hillels in climate action planning through Adamah’s Jewish Climate Leadership Coalition
JYCM Year in Review
My favorite parts of the time we spend together as a [Jewish Youth Climate] Movement are the times we get to build a strong community. When we sing together during Shabbat, pray together in the morning and take time to acknowledge the land and people around us, we build connections that strengthen our movement and inspire us to mobilize each other!
Leila, 11th grade, Middlebury, VT
Our impact this year:
✔️We have grown from 52 to 70 Kvutzot (chapters) since August 2023
✔️We held our first Northeast JYCM Climate Action and Education Retreat at the Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center
✔️We piloted and launched the Kvutzah Leaders Fellowship
✔️Our Tu B’Shvat Climate Justice Haggadah was used by over 150 Jewish communities
✔️We held numerous Days of Climate Education and Action coast to coast
✔️Our Kvutzot reached thousands of community members nationwide
