20 | DECEMBER 16 • 2021 

F

or more than 97 
years, BBYO (former-
ly B’nai B’rith Youth 
Organization) has given 
teenagers a place to build 
friendships, leadership skills 
and their Jewish identity. Now, 
the Michigan Region, which 
serves 13 local chapters and 
more than 1,000 Metro Detroit 
teens annually, has a brand-
new space to call home. They 
recently opened a new office 
and teen hangout at 7115 

Orchard Lake Road, Suite 220, 
in West Bloomfield. Since the 
1980s, BBYO Michigan has 
been headquartered inside the 
West Bloomfield JCC.
“We’ve been there since 
the JCC opened. They were 
a great partner for many 
decades,” said Rachel Grey 
Ellis, senior regional director 
of BBYO Michigan. “Times 
changed, and we knew it was 
time for us to move. We found 
a perfect spot that’s centrally 

located for all of the surround-
ing communities we serve.”
Ellis says the team is still 
unpacking and getting settled 
into their new digs, which 
include a conference room, 
kitchenette and a teen space 
that members will decorate 
themselves. There are also 
places to do homework, sup-
ply cabinets filled with art and 
school supplies, and plenty 
of snacks. A full-time social 
worker is on staff to talk to 
students about whatever’s on 
their minds. 
The space is funded by 
the Jewish Federation of 
Metropolitan Detroit, which 
also funded the previous loca-
tion at the JCC.
“This is a space of our 
own,” said Skylar Elbinger, 
regional teen president along 
with Benji Stern, a senior at 
Bloomfield Hills High School. 
“With this new space, we’re 
able to make BBYO something 
new and something we want 
it to be.”
Elbinger, a senior at Frankel 
Jewish Academy, joined BBYO 
in eighth grade. She says 
participating has given her a 
social outlet, a place to meet 
new people and made her a 
stronger leader. For the last 
year and a half, COVID-19 
has put a damper on in-per-
son activities and events. 
That’s one more reason the 
organization is so excited to 
open up the new space where 
teens can feel free to stop by 
anytime during normal busi-
ness hours.
“We were all stuck at home 
and isolated and didn’t have 
the personal, human inter-

OUR COMMUNITY

BBYO Michigan 
opens new 
office in West 
Bloomfield with 
space for 
Jewish teens.

New Teen 
Hangout

ROBIN SCHWARTZ 
CONTRIBUTING WRITER

COURTESY OF BBYO

Rachel Grey Ellis 
shows off BBYO’s 
new sign on Orchard 
Lake Road.

