TEVA-THON 2009 Total Raised: $8,173.00 The Teva Learning Center relies heavily on the support of individual contributors to bring its message to communities across the Northeast. Donations from parents, students, staff alumni and other supportive individuals continue to enable Teva's growth and makes us the nations leading Jewish environmental education institution. Donate Online! Donate by Mail

Goal: $31,000 $27,900 $24,800 $21,700 $18,600 $15,500 $12,400 $9,300 $6,200 $3,100

• Fall '08 Week 1: SSDS Nassau, HA Morris County, Hannah Senesh, Bet Shraga, WFHA
• Fall '08 Week 2: SSDS Raritan, Monmouth, Howell, Sinai, Gerard Berman
• Fall '08 Week 2 (Achdoot): SSDS Monmouth
• Fall '08 Week 3A: Sager Solomon Schechter Middle School
• Fall '08 Week 3: Saligman, Kellman, Barrack, Bergen
• Fall '08 Week 4: Gittleman! November 3 - 5, 2008
• Fall '08 Week 5: Brandeis, East Midwood, Manhattan, Queens
• Fall '08 Week 6: SSDS of Essex & Union, Heritage Academy, Lander Grinspoon, Striar

The Teva Learning Center’s mission is to renew the ecological wisdom inherent in Judaism and to renew the Jewish community through connection with God’s Creation.

The Teva Learning Center is the leading Jewish environmental education program in the country. It is the only full-time year-round program dedicated to innovative, experiential Jewish education taught through the lens of the natural world. Teva reaches four thousand participants annually. It works with all denominations, ages, and constituent groups, including Jewish day schools, congregational schools, community centers, synagogues, youth groups, and camps. Teva’s programs are inspirational and consistently receive outstanding evaluations from participants.

The Teva Learning Center defines Jewish environmental education as exciting, experiential Jewish education that is enlivened by contact with the natural world and informed by three thousand years of dialogue about the relationships between God, creation, and humanity. All of the core elements of Jewish education (holidays, life cycle events, Israel, Hebrew, tanach, halacha, etc.) are taught within Jewish environmental education. Indeed, it addresses in a Jewish way one of the most important challenges of our time - how to take care of our planet so that human life and all life will not be threatened. The ultimate goal is to aid Jewish continuity by creating communally connected, intellectually and morally engaged, spiritually motivated Jews prepared for a new ecological age.

Each year, Teva’s Jewish day school programs work with over 1300 students in 4th through 8th grade from 45 day schools across the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic United States. Teva’s new congregational programs are already reaching over 1,700 participants annually. Programs are for families, grade school students, bar mitzvah students, teens and adults. Teva runs Shabbaton retreats with themes such as Menucha v’Simcha – A Restful Joyous Shabbat for All Creation; Becoming B’nei Mitzvah – What is our Responsibility; and Havurah Yerukah - Creating a Green Community. Teva Educator in Residence programs focus on holidays such as Tu B’Shvat, Chanukah, and the Shalosh Regalim. Educator in Residence programs also examine environmental issues such as “Israel and the Environment,” “Food and Ecology” and “Global Climate Change and Energy.” Teva’s annual Seminar on Jewish Environmental Education is a four day program during the first week of June with over 100 participants. The Seminar provides participants with the tools to create exciting Jewish environmental education programs in their respective institutions.

Teva is dedicated to training a new group of Jewish educators each year. The Teva Learning Center devotes a third of all paid work time to staff training and development. Pre-season training, a staff backpacking trip, and weekly guest educators engage staff with issues such as Jewish ethics, personal prayer, educational pedagogy and ecological awareness.