B
BYO, the Jewish youth movement
that currently reaches over 70,000
Jewish teens in 750+ chapters
across 50 countries, is partnering with
two local congregations — Temple Israel
and Temple Beth El — to transition their
youth groups to BBYO chapters.
The youth groups will still be managed
by the congregations, but this partner-
ship will allow temple-affiliated youth to
have access to all BBYO opportunities
including regional and international con-
ventions, leadership positions, summer
experiences and more. The partnership
with the clergy will also allow BBYO to
strengthen its Judaic and Shabbat expe-
riences.
Katie Vieder, senior regional director
of BBYO Michigan, says the goal in this
type of partnership is providing more for
more teens.
One of the strengths of congregational
youth programming is the Jewish edu-
cation and Jewish educators themselves,
which BBYO doesn’t have.
But one thing BBYO does well, Vieder
says, is connecting teens to things that
are bigger than themselves on the chap-
ter, regional and international levels.
Historically, these congregational
youth groups have been part of NFTY
(North American Federation for Temple
Youth), which gathered teens from all
over the world for regional, national
and international programs. However,
the past 10 years have seen shifts in the
nature of the movement, and NFTY is
no longer a viable connection point for
them on the regional and international
levels.
Teens participating in YFTI, Temple
Israel’s youth group, or BETY, Temple
Beth El’s youth group, have their chapter
connections, but it kind of ends there.
Whereas in BBYO, there’s so much more
to offer on the regional and international
levels.
What got the ball rolling on this part-
nership was a conversation between
Vieder and Rabbi Jen Lader from Temple
Israel.
As an alumni herself, BBYO was an
incredibly important part of Lader’s life’s
BBYO is partnering with Temple Israel and Temple Beth El to transition
their youth groups to BBYO chapters.
BBYO Partnering With
Two Local Congregations
DANNY SCHWARTZ SENIOR STAFF REPORTER
OUR COMMUNITY
12 | AUGUST 1 • 2024
J
N
David Devaney, Avi Graham and Ruben
Sobol at Spring Convention 2024
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