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

continued on page 14