VACATION OFFICIALLY BEGINS AS MORE THAN 800 TEENS LEAVE FOR NCSY SUMMER PROGRAMS, MANY IN ISRAEL
As June turned into July, summer vacations from school began and NCSY | Jewish Youth Leadership, the OU’s international youth movement, sent more than 800 teens to NCSY Summer Programs in the United States and abroad, most prominently in Israel. JFK Airport served as the base for NCSY staff, volunteers, teens, and their families to share in the excitement as the programs took-off.
Rabbi Steven Burg, International Director of NCSY and OU Managing Director, declared, “What’s perhaps most exciting is that this year, between NCSY Summer Programs and OU Israel Free Spirit Taglit-Birthright, NCSY is sending 2,000 young people to Israel for an impactful summer that will be an eye-opening and often life-changing experience.”
OU Youth Commission Chair Yossi Stechler and NCSY Summer Programs Chair Vivian Luchins stated, “Coordinating that many people was a daunting task, but one that NCSY Summer Programs Director David Cutler and his team have mastered handling skillfully. We would especially like to thank Rabbi Bennett Rackman, the chaplain at JFK, who always does his utmost to facilitate NCSY’s comings and goings. NCSY also thanks El Al; our trip providers Ariel Tours; travel agent Meir Weingarten; and the many others who contributed to making these teens’ dreams a reality.”
Special appreciation and praise was also given to David and Fela Shapell, Jacob and Pnina Graff, and William and Anna Tenenblatt, for sponsoring buses for the NCSY Summer Program “The Jerusalem Journey (TJJ).”
NCSY Summer Program participants in Israel will come together for Yom NCSY (NCSY Day) on Monday, July 30 at Mini-Israel (a park of miniature replications of the country’s most recognized landmarks) for a lively festival celebrating each summer program, and exemplifying Jewish unity.
Photos and blogs from each trip can be followed on the NCSY Summer Program website, www.ncsysummer.com.
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