1. BECOME A LEADER
AJSS cultivates leadership and responsibility.
We encourage participants to...
• Take an active role in their summer experience.
• Plan educational, entertainment and
cultural activities for evening programs
and weekend getaways.
• Embrace experiences outside of their
comfort zones.
WORK AS A TEAM & BUILD COMMUNITY
AJSS provides a platform for participants
to grow as individuals and as part of a team.
Participants work together to...
• Integrate diverse Jewish traditions into the
summer program.
• Work together in committees to plan meals,
evening programming and Shabbat.
• Create new traditions, making each AJSS
program a unique experience.
ENGAGE IN IMMERSIVE SERVICE
There’s community service, and then there’s
AJSS. Our immersive program means that...
• A family whose house we help construct during
the day could be our dinner companions at night.
• We frequently invite other faith groups to our
community, and happily accept their invitations.
• By the end of the summer, participants
have a new place to call home, and new
friends to call family.
THE AJSS DIFFERENCE
WHO WE ARE
American Jewish Society for Service (AJSS) is the premiere U.S.-based
service-learning organization for Jewish high school students. Our
programs empower participants to put their Jewish values into action.
We began our journey in 1951, constructing homes alongside war veterans
in Indianapolis. In the 60+ years since our founding, AJSS projects have
served over 150 communities in 48 states.
A DAY IN
THE LIFE
AJSS is not a typical, rigidly structured
summer program. Any day can bring
something remarkable. Here’s a glimpse
at what a day with AJSS might look like...
7:30am Wake up
8:00am Prepare and eat breakfast,
pack lunches
9:00am Depart homebase for worksite
9:30am Lay bricks for outdoor
classroom construction
12:00pm Lunch
1:00pm Tend to community garden
4:00pm Unwind and shower at the JCC
5:00pm Head home to prepare dinner
6:00pm Eat dinner as a group
7:30pm Minor league baseball game
11:00pm Curfew
CONTACT US
American Jewish Society For Service
10319 Westlake Drive, Suite 193
Bethesda, MD 20817
301.664.6400
apply@ajss.org
www.ajss.org
CHANGE LIVES
Build homes • Tutor at-risk youth
• Plant a community garden • Clear
out storm debris • Paint murals
No matter what the project, every day
on AJSS is a day our participants help
change lives.
START WITH YOURS
Challenge your worldview • Assume
leadership roles • Forge bonds with
friends you’d never otherwise meet
• Effect change
On AJSS, you not only make memories that
last a lifetime, you spend your summer
changing lives. Why not start with yours?
An AJSS Summer of Service is a pluralistic program. We give our participants the
chance to get out of their everyday environment and experience a different way of life.

2. PARENTS:
“ The structure of the program…was so empowering
and maturing for my daughter. Everything you did
brought out the best in my daughter and gave her
a connection to herself, others and community.
She returned fulfilled, satisfied and so sad it was
over. [She now has] a deeper understanding of
her Jewish values in action, friendship and her
place in the universe.
”“ Hannah says it was her very best summer—she has
done some really cool programs. That’s quite an
endorsement.
” PARTICIPANTS:
“
AJSS provided me with a once-in-a-lifetime
opportunity to change and improve people’s
lives and at the same time enrich my own.
”“
I look at the houses that we’ve finished up and the
families who we’ve helped, and I can’t help thinking
how much we’ve accomplished together.
”
Change lives. Start with yours,
AMERICAN JEWISH
SOCIETY FOR SERVICE
AMERICAN JEWISH
SOCIETY FOR SERVICE
AJSS
Changelives.Startwithyours.
AmericanJewishSocietyforService
10319WestlakeDrive,Suite193
Bethesda,MD20817
SUMMER
PROGRAMS
for
High School Students