For Aaron Vomberg, spring break isn’t just about parties, sunshine and expensive resorts. It’s about bringing people together.
Vomberg, the vice-president of programming at the Canadian Federation of Jewish Students (CFJS), is working with National Jewish Campus Life (NJCL) on CFJS’s first annual winter symposium for leadership and social justice.
The symposium, which takes place in Chicago from Feb. 16 to 21, will focus on teaching leadership skills and merging them with volunteerism and social action. Participants will be hosted by Spertus College and will be involved in lectures and discussions, as well as volunteer work in Chicago’s less fortunate areas. They’ll also earn a leadership certificate from the college.
“It’s very important to maintain a network of strong, large communities across North America,” Vomberg, who is also a student at Dalhousie University, said.
For Vomberg, the concepts of leadership and social action are intertwined.
“Social action serves as a good mechanism for… attracting and maintaining good leaders,” he said. “It also teaches good fundamentals surrounding leadership. Social action opportunities really bring people together.”
Vomberg, 22, knows the importance of promoting social awareness and volunteerism. The urban planning and development student was president of Hillel at Dalhousie University and involved with Habitat for Humanity. He later got involved with CFJS and went to Israel with the group.
“When I got involved, it was kind of one of my personal goals to… promote this idea of tikkun olam,” he said.
While students will be focusing on a variety of subjects during their time at Spertus College, they will also participate in hands-on experiences.
“We’re not just focusing on advocacy and identity-based issues – it will be directly intertwined with tikkun olam,” Vomberg said. “This could involve working through food banks and homeless shelters. It’s going to carry a significant load of our time there.”
The symposium, which organizers hope to hold in different cities every year, took around two years to develop.
“There seems to be a lack of opportunities to bring students from across Canada together. We were aiming to fill that void,” Vomberg said.
“We’ve explored a variety of different opportunities. We created this objective with… different goals in mind, one of the goals involves making these opportunities meaningful but accessible.”
This means making the symposium both geographically and financially accessible for participants. The trip will cost about $500 per student, said Samuel Konig, the national director of NJCL.
“Wherever you’re from, we wanted to make it a trip which is feasible economically,” he said. “We realize that students are working and going to school. We’re trying to just be realistic.”
Konig sees the trip as an important opportunity for Canada’s undergraduate students.
“This is at a critical age. [You can] explore your Jewishness [and] explore who you are,” he said. “It’s an opportunity to forge relationships.”
Konig hopes the symposium will act as a networking exercise.
“This is the place to do it – to come up with ideas and initiatives,” he said, adding that the free time between activities may prove the most useful.
“It’s during your dinners, your social time, during Shabbat. It’s about creating that forum, a safe place for Jewish students to come together… This will make them grow.”
Students will be selected through an application process to participate in the symposium. While Jewish undergraduate students throughout Canada can apply, only 15 will be chosen.
“We want to make it selective, we want to really attract a certain group. It’s a prestigious thing,” Konig said.
The trip’s organizers are looking for students with some leadership experience who are involved in the Jewish community. While the symposium’s target audience is undergraduate students, graduates may apply as well.
“It’s a diverse trip, we want a diverse crowd,” Konig said.
Students can apply online at www.students4israel.ca/cfjs-chicago-trip by Jan. 10.
