With a Cincy Journeys grant of up to $6,500 to travel to Israel, high school seniors can explore their Jewish heritage through a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Registrations are now open for the 2018 March of the Living, a trip that sends Jewish high school seniors to Poland on Yom HaShoah (Holocaust Memorial Day), where they march from Auschwitz to Birkenau, the largest concentration camp complex built during World War II. Then, the same group travels to Israel to observe Yom HaZikaron (Israel Memorial Day) and Yom HaAtzmaut (Israel Independence Day). The annual trip is organized by the Mayerson JCC, in partnership with the Holocaust & Humanity Center. Cincy Journey’s Israel travel grants are funded by The Jewish Foundation of Cincinnati and administered by the Jewish Federation of Cincinnati.

March of the Living makes an impact on the teenagers who participate. Here is what a few of the 2017 seniors had to say upon their return:

• We have shared an unbelievable journey and we will be returning as people with a responsibility, a duty. This responsibility is to carry the stories of the six million Jews with us for the rest of our lives, because now that we have seen the places where the atrocities were committed against our people with our own eyes, we must keep their memories alive in our hearts and with our stories, and we must not do anything less.
• Although I recognize the human inability to truly understand this surreal and terrifying event, I can confidently say … that I am well on my way and beginning to grasp the gravity of our history.
• We have the privilege to enter AND exit the horrendous camp that our ancestors were not able to. We walked for our ancestors. In their honor and memory.
• Real. If I had to choose one word describe our experience it would be real.
• Zachor (the Hebrew verb zachor—to remember) symbolizes the importance of remembering the darkness of Poland so that we will never repeat our tragic past; however, it also represents the light of Israel we will never forget…. I will never forget the importance of this country to my people. I will never forget my roots, I will never forget the bonds I’ve made with my new friends, and I will never forget the six million.

This coming trip in 2018 will be the 30th Anniversary of the March of the Living, which will conclude with the celebration of Israel’s 70th Independence Day. The Cincinnati delegation will travel April 8-22, 2018.

Two information sessions will be held for current high school seniors and their parents on October 18 and November 1. Each session will cover important dates, information about the trip, and how to access Cincy Journeys Israel travel grants funded by The Jewish Foundation of Cincinnati. For more information and to learn how you can be a part of the 2018 March of the Living trip, contact Philip Ganson at MOTL@MayersonJCC.org or visit mayersonjcc.org. For more information about how to apply for a Cincy Journeys Israel travel grant, contact Karyn Zimerman at kzimerman@jfedcin.org, or visit cincyjourneys.org.