AJSS volunteers must be entering 11th or 12th grade of high school. Our participants come from across the spectrum of Jewish background and practice.Our application process involves 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 early since the 2007 program was full in mid-March.

In 2008 we expect to offer three six-week summer projects within the United States. Each fall and winter, we work with community agencies across the country to identify suitable host agencies. The host agency must be able to provide our group with sufficient work and suitable housing for approximately 16 participants for the entire length of the program.

We won’t know until early spring exactly which 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. We also will make every effort to accommodate those volunteers who wish to keep strictly kosher and refrain from driving or spending money on Shabbat. Click here for the 2008 Summer Program Application. If you wish to receive a copy in the mail, please call 301.767.3930.

If you are interested in serving as a staff member with an AJSS project this summer, please send an email to info@ajss.org for more information and to receive an application.

Financial Assistance is available for teens wishing to participate on an AJSS project.