Atlanta: Arrive 6/15 in Atlanta airport between 10 AM and 1:00 PM ET, anything before 10 AM does not guarantee a staff member to be present. Local drop off at 3:00 PM ET.
NJ: Departing 6/29 from Newark Airport after 12 PM ET.
Arrive into Newark 6/29 before 1:00 PM ET (anything before 10 AM does not guarantee a staff member present).
Local Drop off 6/29 at 3:00 PM ET
LA: Depart from LAX 7/21 after 11 AM PT (staff will not be present in the airport 9:30 AM)
*please note- Disneyland tickets are only provided for teens attending the ROUND TRIP
Arrive into LAX 7/22 before 1 PM PT (anything before 11 am will not guarantee a staff member present).
Local drop off: Los Angeles area (TBD) 2:00 PT
NJ: Depart Newark Airport 8/13 after 12:00 PM ET.
Local pick up: 9:30 AM
USY on Wheels bus typically has about 35-45 participants.
USY on Wheels Classic buses are supervised by 5 staff members. All staff members are qualified university student leaders, advisors, youth directors, teachers, and/or rabbinical students.
Each bus is in daily contact with the Director of Immersive Experiences who is on call 24 hours a day. All USY Summer Experience staff participate in an intensive training seminar prior to the trips, including becoming certified in CPR/First Aid and Youth Mental Health First Aid.
Teens stay in major hotel brands across the country. Some have pools and recreational facilities while others do not. The number of teens per room varies from three to four, depending on the facility.
Social action and community service projects are an important component of USY on Wheels. During the course of the summer, teens participate in at least six hours of volunteer work. Past projects have included:
We believe every teen deserves the opportunity to participate in USY summer travel regardless of financial restrictions. Please visit our Ways to Save page to learn about various venues for scholarship, including through USY.
If your child will be participating in USY on Wheels as their first-ever immersive Jewish overnight summer experience, they may be eligible to receive up to a $1,000 One Happy Camper grant. Refer to the program website for more information regarding eligibility requirements and grant availability.
During trips, conferences, long-term programs, and other events in which USY participants may be roomed with one another, rooming assignments will be based on gender identity and not gender assigned at birth.
For more information or assistance discussing this topic with youth, please contact the Director of Child and Youth Protection.
We would be happy to answer any and all of your questions! Please send us an email at [email protected] and we will get back to you shortly.
Our group flight will leave out of and return to JFK Airport in New York City. Participants are responsible for arranging travel to and from JFK to their home cities.
Departure to DR- 7/26- If flying, teens should arrive into JFK airport no later than 11:30 PM ET.
If local, drop off at JFK airport should be at 12:00 PM ET.
Returning Home: If flying, flights should be booked after 4:00 PM ET on Thursday, 8/6.
Local Pick up at JFK at 2:00 PM ET
The group is accompanied by a team of madrichim (counselors). In the past, staff on IMPACT DR have been year-round USY staff members, and/or Jewish youth professionals. Information on our staff members will be sent to participants a few weeks prior to departure. Our partnered company also provides 2 permanent staff members which includes a director and a first aid.
During the group’s time in the Dominican Republic, they travel by bus with the same bus driver for the entire duration of the program.
The group stays in the same hotel throughout the entirety of the program. The hotels have air-conditioning, Wi-Fi, a pool, and hot water. All of the hotels we have stayed at in the past have been eco-hotels – hotels that have made improvements to their structure in order to minimize their impact on the environment.
USY is partnering with Cambio Trips this summer while in the Dominican Republic. Our groups will work on various projects with local community members, including working at a camp teaching children English, leading art projects, and facilitating sports games in local villages. Past projects have included building a swing set, repainting a school, planting a vegetable garden and trees for shade, and building a volleyball court. Participants have also cleaned and repainted tombstones at the Jewish Cemetery in Sosua. USYers will leave the DR having completed 20-40 service hours.
For over 60 years USY has taken thousands of teens to Israel, connecting them to the Jewish homeland. By experiencing Israel’s beauty and power alongside their peers, taking part in a variety of adventurous outdoor activities, and engaging in interesting educational discussions, teens gain a new appreciation, understanding, and love for the country.
In addition to the classic Israel trip, USY offers other programs including authentic Israeli experiences, social-action, and innovation-focused trips, on which teens can meet Israeli citizens, experiencing the country in a very unique and meaningful way.
We also offer an add on, where teens can visit part of Europe and explore other significant sights of Jewish history before traveling to Israel.
Yuval Yisrael is open to teens in grades 10-11 at the time of registration.
Each group includes 20-45 teens.
Groups are led by 3-5 staff members including a group leader, North American counselors, an Israeli counselor, and an Israeli medic. All staff members are qualified advisors, youth directors, teachers, and Conservative rabbis.
Additional support staff in Israel includes various knowledgeable lecturers, tour guides, and other USY personnel. All USY Summer Experience staff participates in an intensive training seminar prior to the trips.
Teens travel on a fully equipped motor coach, driven by professionals. Whenever possible, we maintain the same drivers throughout the summer.
The safety and well-being of our teens has always been, and continues to be, our highest priority. Matters of security always take precedence over all other concerns.
Throughout the summer, trip itineraries are adapted as the situation dictates, to assure the safety of all participants. Changes to the trip may include travels routes, accommodations, and escalation of USY security protocols. We always scrupulously avoid “unsafe” destinations and venues. Our safety record is impeccable as we have decades of experience operating programs under all circumstances.
While traveling, teens will have the opportunity to taste the flavors of Israel. Three full, kosher meals and numerous snacks are given each day. Food is provided by various caterers, hotels, and restaurants throughout Israel. Additionally, in some cities teens will be able to go out on their own for meals at select kosher restaurants.
Teens stay in hotels and youth hostels, dormitory-style bases, field schools and kibbutz guesthouses. Additionally, two weeks of the trip are spent in Jerusalem at the Agron Guest House in the Fuchsberg Jerusalem Center for Conservative Judaism, which time it’s our hope that the city will feel like a second home for participants.
During the course of the summer, teens participate in at least six hours of volunteer work. Past projects include serving meals at soup kitchens, picking vegetables with Leket Yisrael for the hungry, and working with children with disabilities.
Sign up to receive communications and news from USY
