I was alive. 50 years later, I was running through Cracow feeling vigorous and free. It was this experience that inspired me to create the Jewish Volunteer Corps. The Jewish Volunteer Corps provides Jewish men and women of all ages an opportunity to respond to this call for action. They welcome this kind of direct involvement and participation - a way to express their spark of Jewishness by giving of themselves, their skills and talents in the service of others who are less fortunate.
Volunteers use their experience and expertise to show others how to become more self-sufficient.
There is another benefit. Every volunteer builds a bridge between Jews and Non-Jews. Since its founding in 1995, The Jewish Volunteer Corps has sent over 100 volunteers to work in disadvantaged areas all over the world. Eric Stern, a medical student at Stamford University, recently returned from volunteering at a medical clinic in Nairobi, Kenya. By the time he left the clinic in Nairobi, professional counselors had started to give AIDS prevention talks and the clinic was offering on site AIDS testing.