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Meredith-Wynn Bikes for JCC Kraków— Again!

Meredith-Wynn Barber / Ride For The Living 2024

I’m biking again because it’s a tangible step toward preventing current and future victimhood of genocide.

  • $983

    Raised

  • $1,000

    Goal

  • 10

    Supporters

  • 39

    Days Remaining

Recent Transactions

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    Amanda Leifer

    $15.00 / 18 days ago

    BIKESSSSS

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    David & Susan Barber

    $40.00 / 20 days ago

    Looking forward to hearing all about this years ride and all the good you are doing

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    Jess Jarvis

    $18.00 / 25 days ago

    Keep up the great work!

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    Debra Lang

    $180.00 / 25 days ago

    So happy that you are doing this again Meredith, and giving those of us who aren't there riding with you all a way to help from the comfort of our homes!! Thank YOU!!

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    Susanna Stern

    $180.00 / 26 days ago

    Such an important cause, thanks for doing this.

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    Leah Abrahams

    $100.00 / 37 days ago

    So glad to have learned about what you are doing, Meredith. I'm looking forward to meeting you one day at TBZ. Leah Abrahams

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    Michael Krieger

    $50.00 / 41 days ago

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    Claudia Kreiman

    $100.00 / 41 days ago

    Meredith! this is amazing and I can't wait to hear about your experience, Thank you for doing this and for the opportunity to support this effort. Rav Claudia

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    Lisa Barber

    $100.00 / 48 days ago

    We are excited to hear about your second bike ride! Enjoy! Love, Mom & Dad

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    Judy Sauertieg

    $200.00 / 48 days ago

    Love, Grandma Judy

About Meredith-Wynn Bikes for JCC Kraków— Again!

On my first Holocaust forensics trip to Eastern Europe, I experienced one of the most impactful Shabbat dinners of my life at the JCC in Kraków. I had just walked through the historical Jewish quarter, Kazimierz, dazzled by its beautifully rich prewar history but discouraged by the non-Jewish hipsters now pushing past dull rectangles where colorful mezuzahs once decorated the doorposts. As soon as I entered the JCC, I was enveloped by the familiar sense of Jewish community. In a city so entrenched in Catholicism (and centuries of Jewish history relatively undiscussed by the general public), it was a welcome and solaceful feeling. I met many friendly people, some of whom I could communicate with and others with whom I could not, but it didn't matter because there was a deeply emotional understanding in the air. Throughout our Shabbat dinner and song, the crowded room was brimming with a sense of memory paralleled by an infectious joy I cannot translate into words. 

JCC Kraków does crucial work, especially considering it's one of only two JCCs in Poland (to my knowledge). The community is comprised of Poles, Israelis and other ex-pat Jews, and now, Ukrainian refugees. Holocaust survivors and their descendants find a home here; the very active Senior Club in particular provides a great space for survivors. 

The JCC's biggest annual fundraiser is the Ride For The Living, a 60-mile bike ride from the gates of Auschwitz to the JCC (and Holocaust educational programming). Over 95% of JCC Kraków’s operating budget is raised overseas, so donations are vital to their work. I hope that my participation spreads awareness of the Holocaust, the JCC, and the vibrant resurgence of Jewish life in Kraków.

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I rode (all 97 km!) in the 2023 Ride for the Living, and it was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. It is a privilege to ride again this year, and I will be making every effort to come back in future years. I’m also excited to announce that my friend Sarah Mishkin is riding with me this summer. If you are interested in joining the team next year, please let me know! I’m biking in honor of all victims of the Holocaust, so many of whom were robbed of dignified deaths and proper burials, of bodily autonomy, of the liberty to use Yiddish, of the comforts of family, of the right to live and celebrate how their ancestors envisioned, and of so much more. I’m biking because it’s a tangible step toward preventing current and future victimhood of genocide. I am also looking forward to seeing and reporting back to you all the JCC’s progress since last year in helping Ukrainians who have found refuge at the JCC. If you are able to contribute anything toward these causes, I would be so grateful— no amount is too small in a fundraiser.