This June, my dad and I will participate in the Ride For The Living—a powerful 60-mile journey from the darkness of Auschwitz-Birkenau to the light of JCC Krakow to commemorate the Holocaust.
Because my great-grandparents, Philip and Ruth, were both Holocaust survivors (Philip was imprisoned at Auschwitz-Birkenau), this experience holds deep personal significance. I know this ride will profoundly impact my understanding of the Holocaust and its lasting effect on my family and the Jewish people.
We’ll be riding/visiting alongside hundreds of participants from around the world in a powerful tribute to Jewish resilience and renewal.
It may surprise you that just an hour from Auschwitz, Jewish life has been reborn and thriving for almost two decades. Today, 80 years after the Holocaust, JCC Krakow is home to 1,200 members, including 56 Holocaust survivors, dozens of young families, children attending the first Jewish preschool in Krakow since the war, and an entire movement of young people just now discovering their family's long-suppressed Jewish heritage.
This community’s strength reaches far beyond its gates: JCC Krakow has supported more Ukrainian refugees than any other organization of its kind in the entire world. Having been victims only 80 years ago, this community has a special understanding of the responsibility to save others, and they’ve now supported over 450,000 Ukrainians since Russia’s invasion.
I would be grateful for your support as I embark on this physical and spiritual journey to uplift the JCC’s mission of building a vibrant, welcoming and compassionate community.
Ride For The Living is JCC Krakow’s largest annual fundraiser, and is completely funded by the friends and family of participants like you.