Ride For The Living

Ride For The Living (RFTL) – is an annual four-day educational, social, and spiritual fitness experience and fundraising opportunity that the Jewish Community Centre of Kraków, (JCC Krakow) has organized since 2014.

As public authorities lifted pandemic measures, RFTL returned to hosting its marquee in-person program while still keeping the accessible options that had allowed for increased participation.

Immediately following the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, JCC Krakow established a full-scale humanitarian-aid operation, providing food, housing, and integration assistance each week to thousands of people forced to flee, directly supporting 360,000 displaced individuals by 2024 with a fundraising campaign that ultimately raised 12 million dollars.

The money finances initiatives for various age demographics and interest groups within the community, such as the FRAJDA Early School Education Center, the Hillel Gimel Jewish Student Club, and others.

While the precise path changes year-to-year due to road conditions, in the past, it has mostly followed the Vistula Bicycle Route, moving through Oświęcim, Przeciszów, Podolsze, Morysina, Smolice, Miejsce, Spytkowice, Lipowa, Łączany, Chrząstowice, Pozowice, Facimiech, Ochodzi, Kopanka, and Skawina before ending in Kraków.

Organizers plan a group athletic activity, whether a bicycle ride or yoga class or other option, in their own local cities and integrate educational content about the revitalization of Jewish life in Poland.

In 2023, Marc Bennett and Tim Roper co-directed a feature film, For The Living, that documents RFTL, situating the program within broader global movements pushing away from genocide and brutality toward peace and empathy.