The UPLift with Tzedek: Real Talk for Real Change
Welcome to The UPlift - Real Talk for Real Change! We're here to build authentic community relationships and help fuel social transformation in Asheville, NC, believing collective liberation is not only possible but probable as we share, listen, and learn together.
The Tzedek Social Justice Fund is a social justice philanthropy fund that redistributes money, resources, and power to support systems change and community healing in Asheville, North Carolina. Through adaptive, trust-based philanthropy, we resist oppressive systems and work to transform our collective home into a place where everyone flourishes. We fund mission-aligned work centering LGBTQ Justice, Racial Justice, and/or Dismantling Antisemitism; this means we give money to organizations and individuals invested in creating a more fair, equitable, and flourishing society.
We dream of a thriving Asheville where everyone's needs are abundantly met - where everyone is safe, respected, and celebrated. We believe that a community rooted in joy and love is possible - that is, if we can connect and build our shared vision on the value that liberation is for all.
Sound good to you? We hope so!
Let's be real. Let's go deep. Let's get liberated.
Episodes
36 episodes
Built Different: What Community Made Possible
What happens when community leads—and resources follow? In this episode, we spotlight what became possible through Tzedek’s 2025 Communit...
Guests of Honor: Safe Shelter’s Home Work
What if shelter wasn’t the end goal, but the beginning of coming home? Join us as Christian Chambers of
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Kinship Over Coffee: Brewing Hope at Deep Time AVL
What if your morning coffee could change lives? In this episode of The UPLift, we sit down with the Deep Time AVL team to explore how unfiltered engagement, meaningful emplo...
Snatch Back: YMI on Building Black Futures
What does it mean to protect Black space in a moment set on erasure? In this episode, we sit down with
Just Paula: Building Power Without Permission
What happens when everyday people stop waiting for permission and start organizing for liberation? This month, Paula Swepson Avery, Tzedek's 2025
Minding Our Business: Belonging Beyond The Resume
Coupons, queerness, and calling in? Yes, it’s all connected! We’re back with another episode of The UPLift, and this one’s special because we’re welcoming
"Built for This": Al Murray on Belonging and Becoming
The South holds stories that refuse to fade—stories of resilience, reckoning, and renewal. For queer and trans Southerners, those stories are often equal parts love letter and liberation map. In this episode, we sit down with
The Power of Us: Inside the Community-Led Grantmaking Experiment
What happens when grantmaking power is placed directly in the hands of the community? SPOILER ALERT: Amazing things.In this episode, we pull back the curtain on how the Tzedek Social Justice Fund flips the script on ph...
From Division to Dialogue: Insights from the Jewish Leadership Collaborative of WNC
The silence that descends after community trauma can be deafening. In the aftermath of October 7th, Jewish leaders across Western North Carolina were met with exactly that: grief, fear, and deep uncertainty about how—or even whether—to speak to...
The Future Speaks: Youth Voices Unfiltered
What if the future stopped waiting for its turn? This month on The UPLift, we’re handing the mic to six Youth Transformed for Life (YTL) members—and they’re not here to play nic...
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UNBOXED: Power, Pleasure & Pride —Liberated AF
Tired of chasing freedom? In this episode, we get real about the intersections of Blackness, queerness, and what it means to honor both Pride and Juneteenth with intention, authenticity, and laughter. We're going all in on radical self-a...
Tikkun Down South: Sweet Tea & Sacred Resistance
As antisemitism rises in our streets, schools, and politics, how do we build solidarity that protects both Jewish communities and democracy itself?In honor of Jewish American Heritage Month, we're lifting up the layered, powerful stories...
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Live from the Overflow: A Liberation Journey
What if the real power of community impact lies in the little, everyday connections—those ripple effects we can’t always see? This month, two brilliant minds get candid in reimagining community transformation, starting with a...
Living Legacy: A Sophie Dixon Story
Can one person really make a difference? This month, we put that question to the test—and the answer is a resounding YES!In this episode of The UPLift, Ms. Sophie Dixon shares her hard-won wi...
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Humanizing Headlines: Immigration Insights from JMPro
Are anti-immigration policies really about national security, or is something deeper at play? This episode of The UPLift explores immigration as a human rights issue as we sit down with Julio Tordoya, an award-winning journalist d...
Rise UP! Part 2. From Response Reflections to Reimagined Revolutions
When disaster strikes, how do we rise—not just as individuals, but as a collective? In this episode, we reflect on the aftermath of Hurricane Helene and ask: Can 2025 be the year of revolutions, not just resolutions? Let’s find out!<...
Rise UP! Part 1. From Crisis to Collaboration—Lessons from the Frontlines
How do communities hit by disaster emerge even stronger and more connected than before? In this month's episode of “The UPLift,” we explore how Asheville, North Carolina, came together after Hurricane Helene, transforming adv...
Oy to Joy! Insights from the Asheville JCC
How do we harness the power of joy to build a more inclusive world? The Asheville Jewish Community Center's (JCC) Executive Director, Ashley Lasher, has some ideas on how "Jewish Joy" can unlock community and connection both in and beyond share...
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Healing with Heart: Reclaiming Wellness Through Radical Connection
Is empathy an antidote to oppression? This month, "cultural edge walker" April Easter shares her unique journey and the wisdom she's acquired over 20 years in the field, including her pivot from criminology to radical compassion. This ca...
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Tzedek Transitions: From Staff to Society
Happy Pride Month and Happy Juneteenth! Both celebrations commemorate the relentless pursuit of liberation, honoring the places we've been and progress we've made while pushing for continued change. In this episode, we're serving Funder-Frontli...
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A Culture of Care: Insights from the Last 8 Years
What does it mean to build a culture of care? This month, we answer this question as we say goodbye to our outgoing Director of Mindful Operations & Finance, Lindsay Majer, who shares her experiences and reflects on her growth during her ei...
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The Personal is Professional: Looking Back to Move Forward
Good vibes incoming! This month, we brought the mics to the Tzedek Connect table, digging into how our pasts impact who we are and how we show up in our social justice work today. Featuring voices from various backgrounds, these beautifu...
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The BeLoved Community: Love in Action
Think a bunch of ordinary folks can't change the world? Well, BeLoved Asheville flips that script in five minutes flat. In this month's episode, we're spotlighting what happens when communities...
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Transcending the Check: Cultivating Trust in Community Partnerships
In this episode of TheUPLift, Delia Noemi Jovel Dubón of Tierra Fértil Coop and Stephanie Swepson-Twitty of Eagle Marke...
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Coffey Talk: What's Brewing at Tzedek?
In this 2024 kick-off episode, we jump into the beautiful, sometimes messy world of community engagement and social justice work alongside Tzedek's newest team member, Tera Coffey. In sharing her experience of working in the government grind to...
