We are pleased to share this Call for Applications for JewishGen’s sixth annual Bennett and Robin Greenspan L’Dor V’Dor Legacy Program for university students and recent graduates, to take place from July 7 to July 16, 2026.
The deadline for applications is March 5.
The program is open to rising second to fourth year undergraduate students in accredited colleges or universities, as well as recent graduates. and entails a 10-day trip to Poland, where participants will participate in the clean-up and preservation of a Jewish cemetery in partnership with Polish volunteers in addition to visiting Jewish heritages sites in the country and spending Shabbat in Krakow.
This part of the program, it states “will focus on the role of Jewish cemeteries today in preserving the memory and legacy of former Jewish communities. Specifically, we will explore symbols and epitaphs on tombstones, the general state of Jewish cemeteries in Poland after the Holocaust, efforts to preserve them from both a communal, political, and Halachic perspective, and consider lessons that can be gleaned to inform our own life choices today.”
Sponsored by JewishGen and Friends of Jewish Heritage in Poland, the program is run in partnership with The Matzevah Foundation, and Friends of Jewish Heritage in Poland, and led by Dr. Paul Radensky, Dr. Dan Oren, and Dr. Steven Reece.
Participants will visit Warsaw, Lublin, Majdanek, Kraków, and the Czestochowa area.
In advance of the trip. students will meet with JewishGen genealogists to gain strategies for exploring their roots. Upon returning home, each participant will be expected to record a video, write a blog post, and write an essay describing his or her experience.
The program is nearly fully subsidized, save for a $550 (to be paid upon acceptance and commitment to the program) non-refundable registration fee. All other expenses will be completely covered by JewishGen (including r/t travel from NY, transportation in Poland, meals, lodging, materials, etc). Dietary laws will be observed.
For more information, please visit our Frequently Asked Questions
Questions may be sent to [email protected].