As you look for a mitzvah project idea for your teen or young adult, thank you for considering the JFTL Mitzvah Project – a great way to do a good deed by raising money and building awareness for Holocaust education.
Through this community service project, participants sign up for their own unique fitness challenge and commit to walk, run, or ride at least 15 miles in one month. This represents the journey that Mark Schonwetter, a Holocaust survivor, walked as a young boy in one night, along with his sister and mother, to escape the Nazis.
Your child’s participation in the JFTL Mitzvah Project will help ensure this essential Holocaust education funding continues, inspiring our youth to create a better, brighter future.
It’s simple. Your child receives a customizable fundraising web page so family, friends, and your community can support them in their Bar or Bat Mitzvah project.
It’s meaningful. Our #TakeTheJourney toolkit provides mile-by-mile reflections, highlighting the significance of their effort as they figuratively “walk in the shoes” of a Holocaust survivor.
It’s your child’s to personalize. This project can be completed at any time and place!
The Mark Schonwetter Holocaust Education Foundation is the only organization that funds Holocaust education grants nationwide to curb today’s rising tide of hate and anti-semitism.
We connect teachers with resources and programming trips to Holocaust museums and bringing Holocaust survivor speakers into schools and classrooms – inspiring students to create a world where all people are treated equally with kindness and respect.
114K
Students Reached
31
States Reached
70%
Increase in Student Knowledge
“My son chose to form and lead a Journey For The Living team and raise money for the MSHE Foundation for his mitzvah project. This was a very personal and meaningful choice as my grandparents were Holocaust survivors and my mother was born in a DP (Displaced Persons) camp in Munich. Through his mitzvah project, he learned that not all schools in our country include Holocaust education in their curriculum and that we have the power to change that. He also learned that Mark Schonwetter’s story and mission resonated with so many who jumped at the chance to participate. He has since done a second JFTL walk and helped recruit for the in-person kick-off event in Livingston. Our family is proud to be a small part of the MSHE Foundation and we hope to grow our participation broadly in the future.”
– Rachel S., Parent of JFTL Mitzvah Project Student
