As Jewish teenagers living in an ever-secular world, it is increasingly important to reinforce our identities.  We have a responsibility to our religion, our communities, our families and our selves.  We came together as 16 teenagers intent on fulfilling our own personal desires to enrich the lives of those less fortunate.  We have raked, painted shoveled and cleaned up the houses and gardens of many different people  Beyond a word of thanks, each one of us was rewarded with the satisfaction of a task completed out of our own generosity. 
Goldsboro, NC, 1980

To participate in an AJSS Summer of Service, volunteers must be entering 10th, 11th or 12th grade of high school, and must be 15 years old by June 15th to participate. Applicants do not need to have any prior volunteer experience to participate in a Summer of Service.

Click here for the rates and dates for the AJSS Summer of-2012 programs

Click here for the 2012 application.

The application process includes submitting the written application and two letters of recommendation and participating in an informal phone conversation.  The purpose of the application process is to get to know you a bit better and give us the chance to fully discuss the summer program with you. Our program accepts volunteers on a rolling admissions basis. We encourage you to submit your application as early as possible.

Applicants must make a commitment to engage fully in the AJSS experience. We look for a demonstrated willingness to take on the physical demands of our daily work and to abide by a high standard of behavior both within the AJSS group and as guests in our host community.

We won’t know until early spring exactly where each of our sites will be located. In order to secure meaningful work for our participants, AJSS must coordinate with numerous service organizations across the country. AJSS encourages focusing on the work to be done rather than the location of the summer. Regardless of where the project is located, the summer experience will be filled with meaningful community service, enriching educational and cultural opportunities and exciting recreational programs designed to take full advantage of being in a different part of the county than your own.

One lesson I learned was that there is so much I take for granted. I have my own room, in my own house. This AJSS trip made me realize another side of myself. I found the side that reaches out to others. I will take this “new side of me” back to my community and reach out to the less fortunate in my hometown.
Wind River, WY, 1998