RIDE FOR THE LIVING 2025
Join us in Krakow from June 25 - 29, 2025,
for an unforgettable 4-day experience as we cycle away from the darkness of Auschwitz-Birkenau and into the bright Jewish future being built at JCC Krakow, just 60 miles away.
When Russia attacked our neighbor Ukraine on February 24th, 2022, the world changed. Overnight we turned our JCC into a full-scale humanitarian relief agency running dozens of projects and directly helping over 400,000 Ukrainian refugees and counting. In addition, when Hamas attacked Israel on October 7th, we have also helped hundreds of Israeli families in Krakow who needed housing and a welcoming community.
We remain committed to providing a safe Ride For The Living experience. The safety of our participants is our top priority. We continue to monitor the conflict in Ukraine, and we want to emphasize that there is no safety threat to Krakow in relation to the war in Ukraine.
Watch the 2025 RFTL Promo Video!
About Ride For The Living
Ride For The Living (RFTL), first held in 2014, is a comprehensive educational, social, and spiritual fitness experience. RFTL provides participants a chance to immerse themselves in Krakow’s Jewish past and present while generating support to help build Krakow’s Jewish future. From the 60 Holocaust survivors in Krakow to the kids learning in the preschool, from the aid received by 400,000 Ukrainian refugees to the displaced Israelis receiving support, the full range of services offered at JCC Krakow are made possible by money raised by our riders.
This in-person, annual commemorative event takes place over four days and boasts a full schedule of activities, including privately guided tours of Auschwitz-Birkenau and Krakow, participation in Poland’s largest annual Shabbat dinner, and an inspiring one-day, 60-mile (97 km) bike ride from Auschwitz-Birkenau to JCC Krakow.
RFTL takes place in conjunction with the Jewish Culture Festival in Krakow and will be held from June 25 to 29, 2025.
“The RFTL is a unique experience and one of the best things I have ever done. Had I gone to Poland and visited the Jewish sites and the horrendous death camps, I would have felt proud to commemorate and bear witness but bereft at all that was lost for my family personally and for the Jewish people as a whole. By riding from that awful place to the light and hope of the JCC I felt that I was participating in and act of defiance. Being part of the large group was very powerful and emotional for me.”
