AJSS volunteers must be entering 11th or 12th grade of high school to participate. We will consider applicants from students who have completed high school on a case-by-case basis. Our participants come from across the spectrum of Jewish background and practice. the application process includes completing and mailing in the application, submitting two letters of recommendation and participating in a face-to-face interview with an AJSS representative in your area.

The purpose of the interview is to get to know you a bit better and also give us the chance to fully discuss the summer program with you. 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. No prior experience with construction is necessary. Our program accepts volunteers on a rolling admissions basis, and we encourage you to submit your application as early as possible.

We won’t know until early spring exactly where each of our sites will be chosen. Our program emphasis is on the work and the community building and not the location. While it may seem odd to apply for a summer program without knowing the location, please understand that the communities we often serve are not always in a position to be able to commit to us any earlier in the year. 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.

Once participants are accepted and the sites are identified, you will be assigned a project location. This process is designed to balance our groups in terms of gender, geographic balance, diversity of Jewish background and other factors. If you wish to keep strictly kosher and refrain from driving or spending money on Shabbat, please note that on the application.
If you are interested in serving as a staff member, please fill out the counselor application above and send it to info@ajss.org

Financial Assistance is available for all teens wishing to participate on an AJSS project. Please click here for the application.