• Host families will have two Israeli teens as guests preferably the same gender as your teen.
• The guests will arrive on the bus with your teen(s) Wed. afternoon July 27.
• They will stay until Aug 7 (with a 3 day retreat in the middle of the program).
• The teens will be away most of the day as programming is approximately 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. except Shabbat.
• Teens need a ride to and from the bus. Let us know if this is a problem with your schedule. (See "Transportation" below.)
• The Israeli teens may not be driven by anyone under 25 years old, no exceptions.
• Shabbat is your day to together; we have suggestions if you need ideas.
• We will be away for a 3 day / 2 night retreat Aug. 1 - 3.
  
• Your Israeli guests will return to you Wed. evening Aug 3 - and depart Sunday morning Aug 7 to fly back to Israel.
• Host families should plan to feed them breakfast, most dinners. There will be a few days they need to pack a sack lunch.
• Non-hosting families can offer to bring dinner to our hosts families.
• Hosts, please supply bedding, including for the retreat, pillows and two towels (one for the beach / pool party.)
• Help with their laundry is appreciated.

• Busses will pick up & drop off teens from East Bay destinations.
• Departure and arrival are scheduled approximately for 8:00am and 6:00pm daily except Shabbat.
• We will send daily updates on our private WhatsApp group.

Bus stop locations:

• B'nai Tikvah in Walnut Creek - 25 Hillcroft Way, Walnut Creek
• Park & Ride in San Ramon (off 680)
• Edah - Studio 70-  1009 Camelia St, Berkeley (if we have enough Berkeley/Oakland sign ups)
• Sherith Israel - 2266 California St, San Francisco (if we have enough SF sign ups)

• Shabbat/Saturday daytime will be spent with host families.
• Families can plan outings with other Mifgash teens.

All food offered at the retreat will be vegetarian with vegan and gluten-free options.  Since, the kitchen won’t be kashered, teens who want Glatt kosher options can choose that during sign-up and we will have it brought in. 

• While attending Mifgash, all attendees (and staff) are required to be *up to date with Covid-19 vaccines, no later than July 15th. Please make sure your teen's most recent vaccine cards are up to date by emailing a pdf or jpg to [email protected], along with medical and code of conduct forms.  (Forms, if not already on file, will be e-mailed to each family following registration.)  * Per CDC guidelines, “Up to Date” is defined as having a booster shot if it has been more than 5 months since the original vaccine series.
• Teens will be required to wear masks during all activities, except while eating, drinking, and sleeping.  If the weather permits, we will eat meals outside.  
• Teens who are feeling ill the day of the program are thoughtfully asked not to attend.  Teens will have to fill out a health screen within 8 hours of arrival at the bus.
• Please note: Like the school districts and the airlines, we are asking all participants and staff to show up at the busses each day with a negative Antigen Covid test.  To facilitate this, testing kits will be available at all bus locations, or parents can send a negative test result to [email protected] which has been done 24 hours prior to bus pick up times.
• At the retreat, after passing the negative test, teens will be allowed to take off their masks while in their cabins.  
• If a teen cannot attend the retreat at the last minute due to health reasons, funds will be refunded minus a $25 admin fee.
• Please practice extra precautions prior to joining us so that we can enjoy a robust community of teens enjoying Mifgash together.
  

Thanks to funders and donors for helping to subsidize the cost of this program: the Israeli Consulate of the Pacific Northwest, and Rayna & Richard Ravitz. (More to be added as more sponsorships come through!)