Y2I 2010 Welcome Home Event and Alumni Reunion

The Robert I. Lappin Charitable Foundation is celebrating the return of the 2010 trip and the 40th anniversary of the Youth to Israel Program, formally know as LGI or Let’s Go Israel, on Sunday, August 29th at 7 pm at Temple Ner Tamid, 368 Lowell Street in Peabody.  For more information or to RSVP for this event, contact Susan Feinstein at 978-740-4431 or e-mail sfeinstein@rilcf.org.

THE ROBERT I. LAPPIN YOUTH TO ISRAEL ADVENTURE 2011(Y2I)

Click here to download the Y2I 2011 Pre-Registration Form >>

Teens and parents are invited to attend an informational meeting to learn about the program.  During the hour-long meeting you will:

• Learn about the free program, which costs the Foundation $5,400 per teen
• Hear from teens who went to Israel this past summer
• Get all the information that you need to enroll

Please contact Susan Feinstein, Y2I Administrative Assistant, at 978-740-4431 or sfeinstein@rilcf.org to reserve a spot at one of the following meetings:

• Sunday, September 26, 7 p.m. , Woodbridge Assisted Living, 240 Lynnfield St., Peabody
• Monday, October 4, 7 p.m., Jewish Community Center, 4 Community Rd., Marblehead
• Tuesday, October 19, 7 p.m., Temple B’nai Abraham, 200 E. Lothrop St., Beverly
• Sunday, October 24, 7 p.m., Jewish Community Center, 4 Community Rd., Marblehead

Visit www.jewishadventures.com/Y2I to see pictures and read about the amazing Y2I 2010 adventure.

PROGRAM CRITERIA

Teen must be Jewish and consider him/herself Jewish and be raised exclusively in the Jewish faith. Out of respect for traditional Jewish beliefs, Messianic Jews do not qualify for the Y2I program. If you need further clarification, contact Deborah Coltin, Executive Director of the Robert I. Lappin Charitable Foundation, at 978-740-4428 or dcoltin@rilcf.org.

Applicant must be a permanent resident in the Foundation’s service area, which consists of the following 23 cities and towns:

Beverly, Boxford, Danvers, Essex, Georgetown, Gloucester, Hamilton,
Ipswich, Lynn, Lynnfield, Manchester, Marblehead, Middleton, Nahant,
Newburyport, Peabody, Rockport, Rowley, Salem, Saugus, Swampscott,
Topsfield and Wenham.

A teen who is accepted into the Y2I program and at least one parent or guardian are required to complete the program requirements of the Y2I program.

OUT-OF-AREA APPLICANT
A teen, who does not live in the Foundation service area, is not eligible for the Y2I subsidy, even if the teen is affiliated with a Jewish institution in the Foundation service area. An out-of-area teen may pay $5,400, the per teen cost of the program, to participate in Y2I, if space is available. Please contact Deborah Coltin, Executive Director, for more information (978-740-4428; dcoltin@rilcf.org).

PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS
The program requirements prepare teens and parents for the Israel experience by engaging them in meaningful experiences that enrich the Y2I adventure. In order to participate in this free program, which costs the Foundation $5,400 per teen, and to receive the free community trip to Israel, teens and parents are required to fulfill the following program requirements:

Requirements* for Y2I Teens: Subject to change
1. Submit a completed application form and fees by November 19, 2010

2. Attend three pre-trip meetings. Topics include history, culture, politics, people and current events of Israel. Dates of meetings:
Sunday, February 13, 2011 at 4 p.m. (location to be announced)
Sunday, March 6, 2011 at 4 p.m. (location to be announced)
Sunday, March 27, 2011 at 4 p.m. (location to be announced)

2. Attend the Retreat on Sunday, April 10, 2011 (location to be announced)

3. Attend the Community Send-Off and Trip Orientation on May 15, 2011 at 4 p.m. (location to be announced)

4. Interview with Y2I Staff or Committee member

5. Attend the Y2I 2011 Reunion on Sunday, September 18, 2011 at 4 p.m.

6. Complete 10 hours of community service, with a minimum of 5 hours in the Jewish community

7. Complete an evaluation of the Y2I program

8. After the trip, write an essay (one page minimum) about what the Y2I experience means to you.

Requirements for Y2I parents:
1.Attend two pre-trip meetings: February 13 and March 27    4 p.m.
2.Attend the Community Send-Off and Trip Orientation on May 15, 2011 at 4 p.m.
3.Attend Y2I Reunion on Sunday, September 18, 2011 at 4 p.m.

*Exceptions to the requirements are considered. Exceptions must be made in writing to Deborah Coltin, Executive Director. In order to receive the $500 refundable deposit, teens and parents are expected to fulfill the requirements of the Y2I program.

What Teens Are Saying about Y2I 2010

“Y2I 2010 had the largest impact on my decisions to stay Jewish and to marry Jewish.  More than just the Israelis, the other Jewish friends from Massachusetts who I met on this trip feel like family to me, too. And I am going to stay Jewish and marry Jewish, so I will always be a part of this family. “   Danielle Tacheny, Rowley

“Monday, July 5, 2010 will be a day that I remember for the rest of my life. I didn’t know it at the time, but that day would change my life forever. That morning, myself and 100 other teens went from being teens who were Jewish, to Jewish teens. For this reason alone, becoming in touch with our Jewish identity, every Jewish teen should go on Y2I.“  Ben Nathan, Peabody

“This trip has made me so proud to be Jewish and has given me such pride for my new home away from home. “  Ariela Solomon, Swampscott

“Going to Israel had such a large impact of my Jewish pride that it is almost impossible to put the experience into words.  Throughout my 2 weeks in Israel, it seemed that my sense of Judaism was renewed. Being around 100 other Jewish teens just like me was a huge part of it. In Beverly, there aren’t many Jews so being with so many other teens that I have my religion in common with was just amazing. “  Becca Greenberg, Beverly

“The trip makes me want to become more Jewish and celebrate Shabbat every week.”    Sam Gold, Swampscott

“Visiting Israel has made me proud to be a Jew.  Israel has also taught me that all Jews are one. We all feel the same pains, and savor the same joys. We all know anti-Semitism and none of us like it. Israel has taught me there are always a people and always a country that will support me.”    Casey Ballin, Gloucester

“A key point on the trip was the idea that everybody is family.”  Zach Kovner, Marblehead

“We had an innate connection due to the fact that we were all part of the Jewish family. This family brings together Jews from across the world in an instant, over nothing more than shared traditions and beliefs.”   Matt Lieberson, Marblehead

“The experiences I had in Israel were some of the best of my life, and even though I had heard about the trip from countless teens that had gone before me, it was nothing like I had expected.  My favorite thing was the experience of discovering a Jewish homeland with Jews from my homeland.  After my trip to Israel I feel more connected to the global Jewish population. “    Nora Duncan, Wenham

Teen Trips to Israel Work

How do we know teen trips to Israel work to reverse the trend of intermarriage and assimilation? The 2000 National Jewish Population Survey gave us the answer. The study found that of people who traveled as a teen to Israel:

96 percent are raising their children Jewish, including intermarried
83 percent who married, married Jewish
To see if the trip was working in our community, we conducted a local survey much like the NJPS. We polled 174 past participants and found that:

95 percent are raising their children Jewish, including intermarried
85 percent of the respondents who are married, married Jewish