JCorps is an international social volunteer network of thousands of Jewish young adults, aged 18–28. It is currently active in New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

, Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

, Los Angeles

Los Ángeles

Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...

, Denver, Boulder

Boulder

In geology, a boulder is a rock with grain size of usually no less than 256 mm diameter. While a boulder may be small enough to move or roll manually, others are extremely massive....

, Montreal

Montreal

Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...

, Jerusalem, Tel Aviv

Tel Aviv

Tel Aviv , officially Tel Aviv-Yafo , is the second most populous city in Israel, with a population of 404,400 on a land area of . The city is located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline in west-central Israel. It is the largest and most populous city in the metropolitan area of Gush Dan, with...

, Kiev

Kiev

Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....

, Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

, London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

 and Toronto

Toronto

Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...

. It is non-religious, non-denominational, and independent of any other organization.

To date, JCorps has had volunteers from over 180 colleges and universities, over 500 companies, and over 20 countries.

Volunteers feed the hungry in soup kitchens, entertain the elderly in senior centers, play with children in hospitals, and clean and improve the landscapes of city parks, among other activities.

Volunteers are notified about events via email

Email

Electronic mail, commonly known as email or e-mail, is a method of exchanging digital messages from an author to one or more recipients. Modern email operates across the Internet or other computer networks. Some early email systems required that the author and the recipient both be online at the...

 and Facebook

Facebook

Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...

 invite and must sign up at the JCorps website, to attend any event.

"Social Volunteering"

JCorps is considered the first "Social Volunteer Network" in the world. It volunteers in groups of 20, so that volunteers can "Make Friends, and Make a Difference." (JCorps' motto).

Mission

JCorps' mission is to enable young Jewish adults to connect while making a difference through volunteering. It provides a low-pressure, high-activity environment where people can get to know each other while working on a shared task.

History

JCorps International, Inc. was founded in December, 2006 in New York City by award-winning comedian Ari Teman

Ari Teman

Ari Teman is an award-winning comedian, co-founder of NextGen:Charity and NextGen:Health conferences, founder of international volunteer organization JCorps, an author, designer, programmer, actor and TV personality. He has received numerous awards for his comedy, charity, and design work...

. It began as a website and Facebook Group and quickly grew to thousands of members. In May 2008, JCorps began operations in Montreal, and in July 2008 it opened in Jerusalem and Toronto. JCorps held its first event in Washington D.C. in September, 2009.

On August 7, 2008, JCorps was invited to Gracie Mansion

Gracie Mansion

thumb|250px|Western sideGracie Mansion is the official residence of the mayor of the City of New York. Built in 1799, it is located in Carl Schurz Park, at East End Avenue and Eighty-eighth Street in Manhattan...

, the official residence of New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg

Michael Bloomberg

Michael Rubens Bloomberg is the current Mayor of New York City. With a net worth of $19.5 billion in 2011, he is also the 12th-richest person in the United States...

, for a barbecue to honor volunteers.

Until, April 12, 2010, JCorps was entirely volunteer-run. On April 12, 2010, JCorps hired its first staff person, a COO, to support the volunteer Division Leaders and Team Leaders around the world.