UK and Ireland BBYO
| Purpose | Educational |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | London |
Region served | Worldwide |
Official language | English |
Staff | 5 |
Volunteers | 40 |
| Website | BBYO UK & Ireland |
BBYO is a peer-led, Zionist and pluralist youth movement. It is open to Jewish youth between the ages of 13–18 who want to take part in different activities. The members are encouraged to play an active role in both the Jewish and general community.
History
- Further information: BBYO History
In 1924, a group of boys formed a fraternity in Omaha, Nebraska. The society was named the Aleph Zadik Aleph (AZA, standing for Ahava Tzadakah Achdu't, meaning brotherhood, charity and unity. The B'nai B'rith Youth Organisation formed from the AZA, incorporating the B'nai B'rith Girls (BBG) in 1924.
The first BBYO chapter established in England and Ireland (District 15) was Leeds, in 1940. Now there are over 10 chapters in District 15. Today, BBYO is not the world's largest Jewish youth group, although having over 35 000 members in more than 1000 chapters. Over half a million teenagers have been part of BBYO, in all parts of the world.[1][2]
Operation
The whole district is then led by the National Exec which is elected by the members at an event called National Veida in August. The National exec is made up of people usually entering year 12 (aged 16–17). The National Exec supports the chapters as well as running national events for the members.
BBYO also has a Youth Direction, Education and Development co-ordinator and an Admin who work in the office to support the National Exec. BBYO bogrim make up the youth commission and they support the chapters and the national exec in an advisory role.
BBYO runs a number of events through the year. They are themed and combine social, educational and leadership activities. BBYO runs winter and summer camps, a 'new members' weekend, national weekends, and Israel and International Programmes too.[3]
Chapters
Bournemouth
A chapter by the seaside for the Jewish community in Bournemouth, hold chapter meetings weekly.
Dublin
The only chapter in Ireland, with 15-20 members each week.
Pinner
The second largest Chapter in BBYO UK and Ireland situated on the outskirts of London.
Borehamwood (Kehilah)
Kehilah is the newly reformed chapter from its predecessor Radlett.
Edgware (Deganya)
Deganya chapter is now the biggest chapter with the most weekly and registered members.
Mercaz
‘Mercaz’ means ‘centre’ and this chapter is based at the heart of the London Jewish population, in the Jewish community centre JW3.
Manchester
Manchester has recently opened up once again.
Kadima (sixth form chapter-now folded)
Kadima was BBYO's chapter designed especially for sixth formers. It met roughly once a month for programmes that were run by different committees each time. It was a chapter for 16- to 18-year-olds who often came from other chapters previously but also admitted any new older members.
Executive Positions
In the UK and Ireland each chapter has up to six or seven executive members. These are the members that are in charge of running the programmes and looking after all the other members in that chapter. As BBYO is peer-led the exec positions are taken up by the older members of the group usually aged between 15–17. There are six positions all with different roles and jobs to do to keep everything going and in order. The order is as follows:
| Position | Job | National Executive |
|---|---|---|
| President | The President's job is to watch over their exec and to have an overall view over everything. Ensuring each chapter runs smoothly on a weekly basis by delegating different responsibilities within the chapter exec. They may also check for consistency with programmes and activities as well as ensuring their exec operate efficiently. | Gaby Segal |
| Vice-President | The Vice President's main focus is on membership. This includes recruitment of new members, reaching out to chapter vice-Presidents, retaining current members and keeping a good relationship up with members. In addition, another responsibility includes co-roshing beginnings and belongs. (Formerly known as New Members Weekend) | Sam Lawrence |
| Administrator | The administrators role is focused around organisation. They strengthen the branding of BBYO through merchandising and advertising, while organising events to attract members. The Admin makes sure security is organised throughout the year, takes subs at chapter meetings, creates budgets and is in charge of overall treasury. | Natasha Cowan |
| Programmer | The programmer is in charge of making sure a programme is prepared for their chapter meeting and to help others with programme writing. | Harley Benson |
| JZA | The Judaism and Zionism Awareness Officer's job is to keep the rest of the chapter informed about current affairs in Israel as well as historical aspects within the Jewish people's history. The JZA will also focus on educating people about global Jewry and the different opinions on Zionism through different methods of thought provoking activities and events. | Sammy Trup |
| SACO | It is the Social Action and Causes Officer's role to keep the movement connected and involved in charity causes and the ideology of activism. They educate about important issues and inspiring projects - so this super cool role gets BBYO motivated to making a real difference to the community! | Leah Godfrey |
Events
| Event Name | Date |
|---|---|
| Chapter Leadership Training Course | October |
| National Fireworks | November |
| Machane Choref (Winter camp) | December |
| Beginnings and Belong (Formerly known as New Members Weekend) | February |
| District Chapters' Ball (DCB) | February |
| Back 2 BBYO (Sixth form Shabbaton) | November |
| 2nd Chapter Leadership Training Course | March/April |
| Israel Tour (for Year 11s post-GCSE) | July–August |
| Me'ir Israel (Second timers visit to Israel) | August |
| Shorashim (Summer camp) | August |
| District Leadership Training Course (DLTC) | August |
| National Veida | August |
Israel Tour videos/images
As Tour happens every year each every person comes back with lots of photos and videos from the trip. One person created a YouTube page dedicated to their tour photos and images. As of 20/07/09 this page has 68 uploaded videos, 13 of them being slideshows.[4]
New website
In Early June 2009, BBYO UKI updated their website and got a complete new look for the site. The site is now finished. See it at http://www.bbyo.org.uk/
References
- ↑ Taken from the about page of the UK & Ireland Website
- ↑ http://www.jfind.co.uk/articles/BBYO.aspx JFind.co.uk
- ↑ The Official BBYO Group for UK and Ireland Facebook Group
- ↑ http://www.youtube.com/user/BBYOTour
External links
- Official Website's
- Official Social Networking Sites
- Other