If you're not afraid to see real poverty--and then actively do something significant to help--we found a summer program for you.

Interested in doing inspiring community service that will change people's lives? Ready to see parts of this country you've never seen? Or maybe you just like swinging a sledgehammer?

You may be a good candidate for "Shvuayim" (which means "two weeks" in Hebrew), a new summer program running the last two weeks of the summer (August 15th to August 29th). The idea is for Jewish teens to learn firsthand about urban and rural poverty while making a positive difference through fun community service.

The idea came from Rabbi Jeff Miller and tour operator Stuart Katz, who've been working on getting this program together for almost two years now. Looking at their own high school experiences, they realized that too often, day school graduates finish high school with limited interaction with the rest of the world. As Modern Orthodox Jews, they felt they needed to play a more active role in the world, and high school is the time to start getting out there. As for the program, it is open to all Jewish teens but will have Orthodox standards, including dress style and food restrictions (you can find out more about this on the website listed at the end of the article.)

Daily life on the trip

The first week, participants will stay in the Pearlstone Center, a kosher retreat center on a big campground just outside of Baltimore. One day teens will volunteer at a soup kitchen, the next day at a women's homeless shelter, another day at a community garden, and the last day doing home repair and cleanup for elderly individuals trying to stay independent. Teens will also spend one day volunteering around our nation's capital.

But the program isn't just about work. At night, teens will go to a Baltimore Orioles game, have access to basketball courts and other playing fields where they're staying, and indulge in a bonfire pit for a nighttime kumsitz. Each night, teens will have the chance to reflect and discuss how they think the program is going.

The second week, teens will drive out to rural West Virginia, where the average annual income is under $6,000. Living in a giant barn (in beds, don't worry), they'll work on Habitat for Humanity, helping to build houses along with people who can't afford to buy one. Participants may be working on all aspects of building, from mixing the concrete and laying the foundation, to running electrical wires, to "rocking" the walls and painting. You can choose to specialize in a certain skill or you can do different types of work every day. At night, for those not too exhausted, it's off to the drive-in movie. On the drive from Baltimore to West Virginia, teens will also get to go white-water rafting, and on the way back home, they'll stop for spelunking (which is basically bombin' around in caves, for you city dwellers).

The reason Shvuayim is only two weeks long, according to head counselor Mike Schultz (who during college ran an emergency homeless shelter and summer camp for urban Native American kids in Boston), is that any more than that would be too tiring and too much to take in at once. Plus, they wanted to make it the last two weeks of the summer so teens can still have a summer job or do another program before heading off. If you're returning from another trip on the 15th , Schlutz says, they'll still be able to work something out.

So if you're interested in seeing a different America, meeting other people, not afraid of physical activity, and looking to have a life-changing experience, this may be the program for you. Shvuayim is open to incoming Jewish high-school juniors and seniors. For more information, contact schultz@bantha.org or (516) 825-0966 x103. You can download an application at www.taltours.com/shvuayim.