Alpert JCC partners with JCC Krakow's Ride for the Living for 8th Year

Alpert JCC partners with JCC Krakow’s Ride for the Living for 8th year

Amy Lakin | Chief Program Officer

Ride for the Living combines Holocaust education with an inspiring one-day bike ride from the gates of Auschwitz-Birkenau to JCC Krakow, giving participants the opportunity to immerse themselves in Krakow’s Jewish past, present, and future. The complete in-person four-day experience boasts a full schedule of activities, including a private guided tour of Auschwitz-Birkenau, tours of Krakow, participation in Poland’s largest annual Shabbat dinner, and the 14- or 60-mile bike ride. There are also activities for non-riders. Participants raise funds to support the resurgence of Jewish life in Poland. The Ride for the Living Global Challenge allows for remote participation from anywhere in the world.

Alpert JCC has been the longest continuous global partner of RFTL (this is our 8th year) since our Fitness and Wellness Director Elsie Bennett led the first satellite ride in 2015. Elsie was a personal trainer and fitness instructor at the AJCC at that time, and she still remembers leading the first ride. She recalls, “I remember hearing about the ride from my manager and I was so moved as it was truly inspiring, and I thought that we should be a part of this. It was a very emotional 90-minute ride, as the participants educated me on what had happened, and I was able to learn the true meaning of the ride.” RFTL commemorates and memorializes the murdered Jews of Europe and celebrates the fact that we are still here – free to ride away from this place in a group of proud Jews and allies.

Elsie says, “Since the first ride in 2015, I’ve made the ride a priority and we have participated in the RFTL Global Challenge, and it has truly brought our community together time and time again. It was something we held on to during the pandemic, and it really carried us through. It has been an honor to lead the rides.”

You can participate in the global RFTL challenge as we will be having a 90-min spin ride at the AJCC on the Weinberg Jewish Long Beach Campus on Friday June 30 at 9:30am. Visit alpertjcc.org/fitness or contact Elsie at ebennett@ alpertjcc.org to get involved!