Civic engagement or civic participation is individual and collective actions designed to identify and address issues of public concern. Civic engagement can take many forms— from individual volunteerism to organizational involvement. It can include efforts to directly address an issue, or work with others in a community to solve a problem. Another way of describing this concept is the sense of personal responsibility individuals should feel to uphold their obligations as part of any community.
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Creating a Jewish Culture of Inclusivity
Creating a Jewish Culture of Inclusivity,February 14, 2012, by eJP, by Lynn Schusterman

Jews everywhere - in Israel, in the U.S. and in countries around the world - feel excluded from the Jewish community because of their sexuality. Despite some progress, the pace of change within the faith-based world in general has simply been too slow in this area.

AJFCA helped the Human Rights Campaign Foundation develop the Jewish Organization Equality Index Survey (JOEI), an effort to analyze and rate U.S. Jewish non-profit on their policies, practices and programs as they are pertinent to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) employees and members. We encourage all agencies to participate in the survey, so our network can serve as leaders in the area of equality and inclusivity. With a little less than two months until the extended deadline of April 6th, please visit hrc.org/joei and take part in the survey.  

It is time we stand up and demand change. Read Lynn Schusterman's article to learn more about the JOEI, led by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation, the non-profit, educational arm of the nation's largest advocacy organization for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) Americans.