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February 16, 2001/Shevet 23, 5761, Vol. 53, No.20
BBYO seeks alumni support
LEISAH NAMM
Staff Writer
Alumni of B'nai B'rith Youth Organization (BBYO) are being asked to help ensure the group's future, which is at risk due to decreased financial support from its parent organization, B'nai B'rith International (BBI).
The Mountain Region Alumni Network, formed Feb. 4, is a group of BBYO alumni from any region in the United States "who want to see (a continuation of) the values that BBYO stands for," said Jeffrey Frankel, director of the organization's Mountain Region, based in Phoenix. The group's overall goal is to keep BBYO "stable," he said.
BBI has reduced funding to BBYO in recent years, Frankel said, and alumni support will help avoid a lapse in service to the teens.
BBYO is a "youth led, worldwide organization which provides opportunities for Jewish youth to develop their leadership potential, a positive Jewish identity and a commitment to their personal development," according to the group's mission statement.
BBYO is divided into two components: Aleph Zadik Aleph (AZA) for Jewish boys and B'nai B'rith Girls (BBG) for Jewish girls. It is open to teens in grades 9-12, and to eighth-graders in their final spring semester.
Teens meet weekly and participate in social, athletic, community-service, cultural and Judaic programs.
The goals of the alumni network include fund-raising, programming and compiling a continually updated alumni database, Frankel said. Programming will include an annual fund-raising dinner honoring selected alumni and a "Guardians of Mountain Region" foundation.
Frankel said the network hopes to provide general support for BBYO and to plan alumni reunions. The 54-year-old Mountain Region has lists of members since its inception, but some are incomplete, he said.
Two reunions are tentatively planned: for alumni of the late 1950s through early 1960s on Veteran's Day weekend in November; and for alumni of the late 1980s to early 1990s in February 2002.
BBYO has 43 regions throughout North America. The Mountain Region, with chapters in Phoenix, Tucson, Las Vegas and Salt Lake City, has 230 members.
The Metro Phoenix Council has five chapters; three meet at Temple Chai in Phoenix on Monday nights and two at the Tri-City Jewish Community Center in Tempe on Wednesday nights. Combined, the chapters have about 100 active members, Frankel said.
Each chapter is youth led, with at least one volunteer adult advisor. Volunteer adult boards oversee all operations of the council offices and help raise funds.
Rachel Schweitzer of Glendale has been active in BBG for four years and is president of BBG's Metro Phoenix chapter. She said her involvement has strengthened her leadership skills and helped her to prepare for positions she holds in high school clubs.
She said the group's strong emphasis on Judaism has also led to her increased involvement within the Jewish community.
The Valley has two local chapters of BBI. Members of the Grand Canyon chapter BBI have assumed roles on the BBYO adult board and have held fund-raisers for the local BBYO chapters. A representative from The Herman Lewkowitz Lodge No. 960, another BBI group, attended an adult board meeting Feb. 4.
"BBYO has a hard road to travel that other community youth programs do not," Frankel said. "BBYO is not affiliated with any specific sect of Judaism or any synagogue. (It is) the only youth organization that welcomes all Jewish youth regardless of their choice of synagogue (or) affiliation."
The Metro Phoenix Council holds fund-raisers and BBI provides each council with money to cover operations, but Frankel would like to provide more scholarships.
Membership is $54 per year for ninth-12th graders; $65 for 1 1/2 years for eighth-graders. Program costs range from $40-$250.
A regional conclave was held in Phoenix in December; the next regional event is March 30-April 1 at Camp Charles Pearlstein in Prescott.
A sweetheart dance will be 8-11 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 24, at Har Zion Congregation in Scottsdale.
In a letter, the inaugural chairman of the alumni foundation, Michael Novick of Las Vegas, stated, "I now realize that the survival of BBYO may rest on the regional level and its ability to be self-supporting. I also realize that those of us who can look back and say, 'BBYO was the best part of our growing up,' need to give back so our children will be able to say the same some day."
For more information, call the Mountain Region office, 480-443-2741.
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