5 things you should know about 248 CAN (Community Action Network)
On October 27, representatives from two 248 CAN cohorts shared a delicious Israeli brunch and talked shop about “doing Jewish.” 248 CAN, the yearlong program that gives participants the space to create a Jewish initiative, announced its third cohort this fall, and the brunch served as a great time for alumni to give advice to Cohort 3 and share their own experiences. Here’s what we learned about 248 CAN—and what to keep on your radar in the coming months.
Cohort 1’s initiatives are all about connecting with community. Libby Parker used 248 CAN to explore scaling TC Jewfolk to new communities. Josh Awend’s “Our Stories” podcast documents the stories of modern Jews from around the world, connecting the Jewish community from Minneapolis to Israel and places in between. Greg Arenson’s coffee and conversation initiative helps welcome transplants to the area, and strives to connect them to organizations or other like-minded Jews. “What my goal is, is to build bridges,” says Greg—and really, that about sums up the power of each member of Cohort 1’s initiatives.
248 CAN has a global reach. Each local cohort goes on a trip to Israel and connects with other cohorts from around the world, where they gather together for a Do-A-Thon. It’s part of what 248 CAN calls being “glocal”—being part of a local community and a global people.
Cohort 3 is made up of four local Jews. They are Ben Schein, Shirley Aurand Weisman, Jesse Bronson, and Lex Dorfman. The four of them will be travelling to Israel in December to share their initiatives at this year’s Do-A-Thon.
Lex Dorfman is coming up with a new way to celebrate Shabbat and bring it to more people. “I’ve always been super involved with the Jewish community. I’ve found that’s not as common for people my age,” she says. “I connect to Judaism most when I’m in nature.” Those two things combined—wanting to connect more of her peers to Judaism, and her own love for experiencing Jewish traditions in nature—sparked Lex’s interest in bringing more nature-based experiences to a Shabbat, combining yoga, meditation, and being outdoors with traditional Shabbat practices.
248 CAN gets members of the community involved—both in Federation, and in other local Jewish orgs. In fact, 248 CAN has proven to be a gateway to other Jewish activities for many cohort participants. Prior to joining the first cohort, Josh was not involved with Federation. Now he’s an active participant in Federation events and experiences, having most recently traveled to Ukraine on a MJF Global Experience to Ukraine. “You do have that community,” he says. “I know people in the Ukraine, I know people in Israel.” Involvement in 248 CAN introduced him to a global Jewish community while also involving him in the local Minneapolis community.
248 CAN is a place for future leaders in our community to meet up, bounce ideas off of each other, and, with Federation’s support and network, apply their Jewish values to a cause that’s important to them. We’re excited about the work that Cohorts 1 and 2 have done, and we can’t wait to see where Cohort 3 goes!
Interested in learning more about 248 CAN? Stay tuned for more info on what our cohorts will be getting up to later in the year!