Jewish Asheville area teens are invited to apply for a scholarship to travel to Poland and Israel with March of the Living to study the history of the Holocaust and examine the roots of prejudice, intolerance and hatred.
The March of the Living scholarship opportunity is presented by the Harry and Lily Lerner Memorial Holocaust Education Program of the Asheville Jewish Community Center. During the program’s two-week trip, teens will march the same 3-kilometer path leading from Auschwitz to Birkenau on Holocaust Remembrance Day, Yom Hashoah. They will then travel to Israel to celebrate the 75th Israeli Independence Day, Yom HaAtzmaut, in the streets of Jerusalem.
March of the Living will be attended by teens from around the world, as well as Holocaust survivors themselves, who share their own personal testimony. This is an increasingly rare opportunity for young people to engage with Holocaust survivors.
The March of the Living trip will be April 16-May 1, 2023. The full cost of 2023 trip is $6,500 plus transportation to JFK airport in NY. The Harry and Lily Lerner Holocaust Education scholarship award is available for two teens and will cover up to $5,000 of the trip cost.
Award recipients will be responsible for regular blog entries on their experiences while they are traveling and will help develop and implement educational programming for the Asheville community upon their return. Recipients will also be involved with recruitment of the following year’s participants and in donor cultivation for future scholarships.
Successful applicants should:
- Be a local 9th, 10th, or 11th grade student
- Self-identify as Jewish (it is not required that applicants be members of a synagogue or Jewish organization)
- Show leadership qualities
- Have an interest in Tikkun Olam (repair of the world)
- Communicate clearly
To apply:
Interested applicants can view the application online at www.jcc-asheville.org. Applicants must self-identify as Jewish but are not required to be members of a synagogue or Jewish organization. Deadline to apply is noon on October 10, 2022. Applicants will be notified of scholarship award by October 14, 2022.
Find the online application HERE.
Click here for more information about March of the Living.
Click here to watch a video about the experience.
Click here to listen to a podcast episode by Asheville’s Abe Goldstein (2021 recipient of the scholarship) about his trip experience.
