The universal goal of the New England Friends of March of the Living, a regional chapter of the International March of the Living, is to help inspire our participants to fight indifference, racism and injustice by witnessing the atrocities of the Holocaust. Our hope is that the program will help strengthen Jewish identity, connections to Israel and build a community of future Jewish leaders.
The March of the Living is joined every year by thousands of Jewish teens, adults and survivors from around the world, along with many other people from diverse faiths and backgrounds.
A key element of the program is the unique participation of Holocaust survivors. By being able to hear survivor stories in the very places where they unfolded is an experience of a lifetime to remember the past and ensure the future. The years approaching are some of the last that survivors will be able to join us, making participation in this trip more timely and relevant than ever before. As Elie Wiesel once said: “When you listen to a witness, you become a witness.” Our participants will become the living testimony for future generations.
According to objective third-party studies, the long-term effect of the March of the Living program has been significant in terms of its impact on both Jewish and universal values. The participants return with a greater commitment to Israel, to remembering the Holocaust, to strengthening Jewish identity and practice and to becoming involved in their local Jewish communities.
March of the Living alumni have also made important social contributions to the community at large, such as assisting the homeless, combating the ongoing genocide in Darfur, volunteering at home or abroad in various worthy humanitarian efforts and working diligently to combat prejudice and hatred of every kind.