Volunteer Summer
"What, Who, Where, When and Why"
WHAT
Serve. Learn. Build. Connect.
As part of a year-long program of service, study and personal growth, spend a summer with American Jewish World Service (AJWS) in a rural area in Africa, Southeast Asia or Central America, working side-by-side with community members on projects that help build infrastructure and sustainability. Working with your hands, engaging with Jewish values and meeting grassroots activists, you will gain an understanding of the passion that drives AJWS'grantees and the work that it takes to overcome poverty and injustice. Past volunteers have laid irrigation systems, built schools and community centers and worked on sustainable agriculture projects.
The experience doesn't end with the summer. AJWS provides a year of retreats and opportunities for public speaking, writing, advocacy and volunteer service to keep activism alive at home and on campus. The program inspires community building and cultural exchange from overseas and back again, sparking life-long dedication to service and global justice.
WHO
Jewish young adults between the ages of 16 and 24.
There are two groups exclusively for college-age adults and recent college graduates, ages 18 to 24 years old. If you are currently a high school graduate and are between 18 and 24 (you need not be enrolled in a college) you are eligible for the college-age group.
There are two groups exclusively for high school participants aged 16-18 years old. You must be completing your junior or senior year of high school to participate in the program.
AJWS aims to compose well-balanced and diverse groups of volunteers. All four groups consist of about 15 participants. Two AJWS group leaders will guide each of the college-age groups. Three AJWS group leaders will guide the high school groups.
The group leaders offer experience and expertise in international development, experiential education, Jewish studies and knowledge of local culture and traditions. They are also trained in first aid and wilderness safety, as well as in leadership development and group dynamics.
AJWS Volunteer Summer is a pluralistic program that welcomes and accommodates young adults from every stream of Judaism and those who are unaffiliated. We consider applications from within and outside of the U.S., and we value diverse backgrounds and experiences.
Click here if you are interested in Group Leading for Volunteer Summer 2009.
WHERE
Volunteer Summer 2009 international locations and partnering organizations:
High school groups:
College-age groups:
Please note that applicants apply for general admission to AJWS Volunteer Summer. If you are invited for an interview, you will be asked to specify country preference.
Retreat locations for the domestic component of the program are:
Fall Retreat
October 23-25, 2009
Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center, Falls Village, CT
Participants fly into New York City and travel together to the retreat site.
Spring Retreat
Date TBD
Washington, DC
WHEN
For Volunteer Summer, the pre-trip orientation will take place from June 21-23, 2009 in New York City and participants will depart for their international destinations either June 23 or 24, 2009 depending on flight times.
All groups will return to the U.S. by August 12, 2009.
The first retreat of the domestic component of the program will take place October 23-25, 2009.
Learn more about the Domestic Yearlong Program.
WHY
Join a network of Jews who engage in tikkun olam (repairing the world) by devoting yourself to physical labor and active engagement with ethical questions. Pursue justice in solidarity with those in need and promote social change in the developing world as well as your home community. Build friendships with other volunteers and local community members. Immerse yourself in another culture. Devote yourself to projects of great worth.
