Note: This is the English version of our profile on Justin Kadis featured in the second issue of our monthly magazine, Jesteśmy. To read the rest of this issue (in Polish), click here.
You may have seen an American roaming the halls of JCC Krakow and wondered who he is and what he’s doing here. Contrary to your initial suspicion, he is not JCC Krakow Executive Director Jonathan Ornstein’s younger brother. Justin Kadis is working at JCC Krakow for one year through a program run by the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee called the JDC Entwine Global Jewish Service Corps. Here is a little more information on Justin, the JDC, and what he’s doing in Krakow.
I grew up in Cleveland, Ohio and although I had a Bar Mitzvah, Confirmation, and attended Hebrew School, Sabbath School, and Sunday School, I was always more attracted to Jewish philanthropy than religious traditions. My parents instilled a sense of Tikkun Olam in me from an early age and I felt it was always my duty to give back to the community in any way possible. Over the years this sense of giving back and helping communities locally and abroad, took on different meanings and forms. For my Bar Mitzvah I asked guests to consider making a donation to support a book drive instead of buying a gift for me. I used the donations at a local bookstore where I purchased hundreds of books in English that were then sent to a school in Beit She’an, Israel. Years later my family and I visited the school and saw the books I had purchased in the school library. It was such a gratifying feeling to see young people learning because of something I helped organize.
Fast-forward and I’m in New York City. Upon graduating from Boston University with a degree in Marketing I worked in sports marketing. After five years in corporate consulting in sports, I wanted a job in the fast-paced world of technology. I found a company that was in the email and social media business with a focus on music. I was hired to start and run their sports division. While at this company, I used my free time to volunteer for two organizations: PresenTense, a Jewish social entrepreneurship organization, and Friends of the Israel Defense Forces.
I learned about another organization through my brother Alex. The American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) is the world’s leading Jewish humanitarian assistance organization, impacting millions of lives in more than 70 countries today. When my brother suggested that we apply to participate in a JDC young professional trip to Cuba, I thought it was a great idea! It was an opportunity to build a stronger bond with my brother, while discovering a country that is mostly unknown to Americans (because of an embargo), all the while learning about the Cuban Jewish community. It turned out to be everything I had hoped for and more. Though the trip was short, the schedule was packed with unique places and wonderful people. I could see firsthand the impact the JDC was making with the Shabbat chicken dinner program and the community pharmacy to serve the needs not just of the Jewish people, but the whole community in Havana.
When I returned, I co-chaired an event in New York for the JDC about my trip to Cuba. I didn't hesitate to spend my time and energy on a cause I believed in because I wanted to share the great experience I had with a wider audience. I became more involved with the humanitarian work of the JDC in New York and learned about the Jewish Service Corps.
The JDC Entwine Global Jewish Service Corps, involving a year abroad to work and embed oneself within a community with the goal of building something meaningful, was something I decided I was really looking for at this point in my life. I applied for the fellowship and went through many stages of the application and interview process. After visiting China with the JDC on another young professional trip, and meeting the JDC Ralph I. Goldman fellow who was in Ethiopia last year, I was convinced that the JDC fellowship offered an incredible opportunity for me. The JDC asked me to speak to two individuals in Poland. Karina Sokolowska, the Country Director for JDC in Warsaw, and Jonathan Ornstein, the Director of JCC Krakow, convinced me that Krakow would be a perfect fit. They said, “Imagine that there is a place in the world where it is safer, easier and better every day to be a Jew, and that place is just down the road from Auschwitz.” The ability to combine my business background while working in a community that is rebuilding from the Holocaust and communism was a once in a lifetime opportunity I couldn't pass up.
I arrived in Krakow on September 1 not knowing one person in the country and having never visited before. I was a little nervous that first week. I wondered what my co-workers would be like, what the food would be like, what the work would be like, and how I would like the city. In every aspect, my expectations have been exceeded! My co-workers are amazing people - they are friendly, helpful, motivated, and committed to making the JCC a welcoming place for members and guests. Work has taken on all sorts of shapes and forms. My primary focus is external relations. I spend a lot of time working closely with the director of fundraising. Individuals and organizations overseas support the majority of our operating budget and it is critical for us to build sustainable relationships with them. I'm also helping with marketing, social media, producing English content for the JCC website and blog, editing content that has been translated into English, and meeting with English speaking groups. There is also other work that pops up. I helped the team build our sukkah for Sukkot, I managed the planting of daffodils in our garden symbolizing the survivors of the Holocaust, their children, and grandchildren, and I've consumed more challah in the last 60 days than in the previous 20 years of my life. That last bit might not sound like work, but I participate in every Shabbat meal at the JCC. It’s amazing to see 60-80 JCC Krakow Jewish members from the local community come together every week to eat a delicious kosher meal, hear the D'var Torah about this week’s parsha, and meet visitors and guests from all over the world who join us. I’ve even started learning Polish so I can communicate with some of the senior members of the JCC!
I've been very impressed by my first four months in Krakow and I'm really looking forward to the next eight. Or as Jonathan says “at least the next eight!"
