Where/when do we leave and return?

We’ll leave from Tal Tours, at 11 Sunrise Plaza in Valley Stream on Long Island, Thursday morning August 18th. If you’re not coming from the New York area and you’re on the way to Baltimore, we might be able to arrange a second pick up spot. We’ll return in the afternoon on Thursday September 1st.

Where are we staying?

When we’re volunteering in Baltimore, we’ll be staying at the Pearlstone Retreat Center link to www.pearlstonecenter.org, a strictly kosher retreat center just outside Baltimore in Reisterstown, MD. We stay in the Youth Lodge, which sleeps 4-6 to a room in pleasantly nice accomodations. Pearlstone has sports fields, hiking trails, and a barbecue pit that we can use.

When we’re volunteering with Habitat for Humanity, we’ll be staying at the Habitat volunteer center in Circleville, WV. It’s definitely a little bit more rustic than Pearlstone, but that’s its charm. The boys and girls each have one big room with a lot of bunk beds. The volunteer center has board games, fields, a horseshoe pit, and a barbecue pit. We’ll be cooking our own dinners when we’re at Habitat.

How much does the program cost?

The full cost for the program is $2500. Limited scholarship funds are available upon request.

What are covenant groups?

Covenant groups are one of the best parts of the program. They’re also an extremely important part of the program, and their success depends on YOU. Covenant groups are our opportunity to reflect on what happened that day and to discuss questions and thoughts that have come up over the course of the program. Without covenant groups, most of us would go through the whole trip without processing all the mind-opening things we’re going to experience.

Covenant groups are a safe space where you can say whatever you’re thinking and no one will yell at you or share what you’ve said with others. We will listen respectfully to each other and then share our own thoughts. It’s harder to do than it sounds, but it’ll be well worth it.

We have covenant groups every night, in the same small groups for the entire trip.

Why do we have somewhat educational activities at night, isn’t the fact that we’re volunteering enough?

The goal of the activities is to prepare us for the next day’s volunteering. For example, we do the balance your budget activity so that we’ll understand the next morning why people need to come to the soup kitchen where we’re volunteering.

“The informal learning was very important because it focused my mind on what we would be doing the next day. Without it, it would have just been do something nice during the day and then go to sleep.”

- Sam Gusik, Shvuayim 2004

What’s new for this year?

There are a number of changes from last year’s program. Most significantly, our time in Baltimore is going to be split in two. The first three days we’ll be in Baltimore, then one week in Habitat, and then the last four days in Baltimore again.

Another exciting change is that we’re going to be spending shabbos in Habitat this year! If you’ve never experienced a relaxing rustic shabbos, this will be a special treat. If you’re interested, you’ll learn how to put up an eruv before shabbos so we can use the outdoor fields. And then motzaei shabbos we’re going to a drive-in movie theater!

We also hope to do a fun nighttime activity in Baltimore one night this year.

How religious is the trip?

It’s religious (to give an unhelpful answer). We’re all going to daven three times a day, and the trip is strictly kosher. We have a dress code as described on the application, and shabbos will be a fun shabbosy experience.

Is there a curfew on the trip?

At Habitat, they enforce a strict 11 pm curfew as a safety precaution – if you’re drowsy at a worksite, somebody could easily get hurt. At Pearlstone, we have to be in our lodge by midnight, and curfew will be at 1:30.

What is expected of participants?

We’re emphasizing three values this year – presence, sensitivity, and self-reliance. We hope everyone can be fully present at all activities, both showing up and giving it a shot even if what we’re doing seems strange. We want to be sensitive both to the people we’re serving and to each other. And we’ll need to learn to be more capable on our own.

For more information call (516) 825-0966 ext 103

To visit the Tal Tours Web Site. please click here