Israel travel scholarships available for teens in 2017-18

The Jewish Federation of Greater Orlando has announced that applications for the 2017 Ronald Colman Israel Scholarship Fund will be available online starting Monday, Jan. 16.

The Ronald Colman Israel Scholarship Fund was made possible by a generous endowment established by the Colman family to encourage Jewish teens in the Greater Orlando area to participate in educational experiences in Israel. The scholarship is open to all Jewish teens in 9th—12th grades who are permanent residents of Central Florida. Gap-year programs are not eligible.

Additional application criteria:

Teens who apply must be traveling on an organized educational youth/peer Israel program, including adventure travel, community service, volunteer work or academic programming.

Family trips are not eligible. Scholarship funds are for programs in the summer of 2017 and programs during the 2017-18 school year (such as the Alexander Muss High School in Israel). Funds will be distributed directly to the sponsoring organization of the selected trip.

Students who apply must submit a 500- to 800-word essay about their goals for a trip to Israel. Detailed essay guidelines are provided in the application.

Upon completion of their trips, teens selected for scholarships must submit a 500- to 800-word essay, along with a photograph, describing their experiences and insights gained during the trip.

Online applications are available starting Jan. 16 on the Federation’s Jewish Teen Education Network web page, http://www.jfgo.org/jten. The application deadline is March 31. A review committee will select the scholarship recipients, who will be notified no later than April 30, 2017.

For additional information, please contact Jennifer Cohen, the Federation’s JTEN coordinator, at jcohen@jfgo.org or 407-645-5933, ext. 239.