$3,000 vouchers available for teens traveling to Israel

To encourage teens to travel to Israel during the summer, RootOne is providing $3,000 vouchers for particular programs, on top of the stipends and needs-based scholarships available from the Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode island.

RootOne, an ambitious initiative that aims to help bring tens of thousands of Jewish teens from the U.S. and Canada to Israel on immersive summer trips, is actively recruiting for the summer of 2022. In addition to subsidies, RootOne offers a unique educational framework for the trips.

RootOne first made its $3,000 vouchers available last summer, sending almost 4,000 teens to Israel, including 11 participants from the Rhode Island area. They plan to double the number of participants this summer. Participants choose from and apply through one of dozens of providers.

RootOne conducted surveys with last year’s participants. Here are some of the results:

100% feel capable of standing up to antisemitism, versus 0% before the trip

83% feel a strong sense of connection to Israel, versus 56% pre-trip

RootOne’s pre-trip programming received 3.95 out of 5 stars from all alumni, and 3.5 stars from Rhode Island’s alumni.

Overall, the trips received 4.7/5 stars from 2021 alumni, and 4.5/5 stars from Rhode Island’s alumni.

In addition, 83% agree that the trip included meaningful opportunities to think more deeply about Israel and 83% agree that the atmosphere was welcoming and supportive for sharing opinions and ideas.

For more information about the vouchers, go to rootone.org/tripproviders.  To learn about local stipends and scholarships, contact the Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island at IsraelDesk@jewishallianceri.org.

Submitted by Larry Katz