Like the familiar blue passport used by travelers, a Passport to Jewish Life® opens the door for young people in our community to reach exciting new Jewish educational destinations.  Every Passport holder can take a new step, plan a new journey, dream a new dream or explore a new passion in Jewish life, at home or abroad.  Each Passport to Jewish Life® can be used by the recipient family for any extracurricular Jewish educational experience they choose for their children – after-school programs, congregation Hebrew schools, day and overnight Jewish camping experiences, Jewish leadership training, and Israel experience and study programs.  Begin your Jewish journey by reading the eligibility and application guidelines below!

Age Eligibility: 
* Rising 4th graders (for religious school and summer camp) through age 22.

Eligible Programs:
* Congregation-based religious/Hebrew school
* Jewish summer camp (day camp or overnight camp)
* Bureau of Jewish Education teen programs (TALIT Nation, TIES)
* Israel study programs (gap year, summer, etc.) including the TVT Poland-Israel Trip
* Panim el Panim
* Maccabi Games and Maccabi ArtsFest

In addition to the above, a limited number of Cohen Grants are available to college students (maximum grant: $500) for school and dorm supplies/books.  Cohen Grant applicants should use the same online application form and choose "Cohen Grant" in the program selection drop-down.

Financial Parameters:
* Rising 4th graders are limited to a request for $300
* Applicants for Maccabi Games and ArtsFest in the USA are limited to a request for $300. 
* For Maccabi trips abroad, up to $1,000 can be requested.
* There is a lifetime cap of $1,000 per applicant for all programs except religious school and TALIT Nation.  Therefore, if an applicant receives $500 this year and $500 next year for summer camp (for example), they have no further eligibility for camp, Maccabi or Israel programs - but they can still apply for religious school and/or TALIT Nation.

In addition, please note that you MUST apply first to your program provider (camp, congregation, JCC, etc.) for their own scholarship program.  You do not need to have received an answer from them when you apply for Passport, but you must be able to show that you have applied for support from your program provider. 

Please note that both your online application AND the recommendation letter you request from a community professional must be received by deadline.  This year's deadlines are as follows:

Friday, January 20 at 5pm (for meeting of 1/30/12)
Monday, March 5 at 5pm (for meeting of 3/19/12)
Monday, April 9 at 5pm (for meeting of 4/24/12)
Monday, May 21 at 5pm (for meeting of 6/11/12)
Monday, August 6 at 5pm (for meeting of 8/20/12)
Friday, October 5 at 5pm (for meeting of 10/22/12)

The final deadline for all summer program applications is Monday, May 21st at 5pm, per the list above.  No summer program applications will be reviewed after that date. 

In 2011, we instituted important new guidelines for recommendation letter-writers.  These guidelines continue for 2012.  Parents: you must share these guidelines with the community professional (rabbi, cantor, educator, etc.) you ask to a write recommendation letter for your child.  Click here for the new guidelines.