When I started my internship at Hazon at the beginning of the summer, I had no idea what the People’s Climate March was, let alone know that I would be devoting most of my time to it.

For those of you who haven’t heard about the People’s Climate March yet, it’s being held in Manhattan on Sunday, September 21, 2014, two days before the emergency climate summit called by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, in which he is urging world leaders to take serious action against climate change. The March will be a platform for all of us to show our support for a treaty to prevent climate change and to put pressure on leaders who can make a difference.

Over the past ten weeks, I have put together a website for the Jewish Climate Change Campaign filled with content I helped create about the March, listened in on numerous conference calls, and emailed countless people about why they should participate. Through all of this, I have come to care deeply about this cause and this March. I have seen how Jewish people involved in different communities have come together, united for this one cause and the chance to change the course of history.  I have also seen how members of different faiths have worked seamlessly together in order to make an impact.

The collaboration of all of these different groups is a true testament to the ways in which we can put our differences aside in the face of such an important problem. Climate change affects everyone, and will affect everyone’s futures. And we can do so much more together than we would ever be able to do alone. Working alongside those that may have different views from your own shows the importance and prominence of an issue, and why it is so important for us all to support this cause by showing up to the March. I hope you will join us on September 21.

Over 60 Jewish communities around NY and the region are getting ready for the People’s Climate March.  Here are just a few of the ways in which they are inspiring their members to get involved:

Congregation Beth Elohim will dedicate the Slichot service to the theme of repentance and climate change.   Congregation Beit Simchat Torah will host a day of learning on Teshuvah for Ourselves and the Planet on September 7.  Rabbi Arthur Waskow will speak about climate change at Romemu on September 13.

Youth Groups will be coming to the March in force.  Teens from BBYO, Habonim, USY, and Young Judaea, will meet before the March to learn about climate change and march together. 

At URJ Crane Lake Camp, visiting artist Naomi Less guided campers in writing a song about climate change to spread the word about the People’s Climate March. Teens who participated in Berkshire Hills Eisenberg Camp’s Tikkun Olam Program this summer will meet at the March.  Surprise Lake Camp’s board voted to support the March and invite campers, alumni, and families, to march together.

The Riverdale JCRC hosted a community-wide meeting to plan for the March.  Movies about climate change will be screened at the JCC in Manhattan in the weeks leading up to the March.  Members of the Westchester Jewish Council and Jewish Without Walls (Suffolk County) are organizing buses to the March.

Students from the Jewish Theological Seminary (JTS) and Columbia/Barnard Hillel will be marching together. Plans are in the works for a bus caravan starting from Boston, stopping in New Haven at the Yale Hillel and other colleges along the way to pick up students coming to the March.  Moishe House Park Slope is reaching out to young adults to participate.

Check out the Jewish Climate Change Campaign for ideas and resources for getting your community involved.  See you at the March!