Updates with BBYO Naples and Fort Myers

By Cayla Schreier, BBYO Southwest Coordinator

October was a fun-filled month, but we have more exciting events coming your way. We held our ‘Wow’ Event: Naples BBYO Mockmitzvah on Sunday, Oct. 15 at the Nina Iser Jewish Cultural Center. The 26 teens had a fun time listening to the DJ play their favorite songs, taking great pictures at the photobooth and playing foosball, spike ball and cornhole on the back lawn. Thank you to Jeffrey Feld, Phil Zoltek, Larry and Jenie Sandler, and Ben Yaffe for contributing your time and helping the teens create fond memories.

Our teens have planned a meaningful Israel Havdalah ceremony that will take place on Saturday, Nov. 18. The teens will hold an insightful Havdalah and share their thoughts on the current conflict in Israel with the support of their friends. We are excited to attend the All-Florida Fall Convention, which will take place Nov. 17-19 in Fort Lauderdale. This weekendlong Shabbaton will encompass members from the North Florida Region, Florida’s Gold Coast Region and the Miami-Dade Region. They are excited to reunite with their NFR friends and meet new BBYO friends located in the Gold Coast and Miami-Dade regions.

We are planning our first Naples BBYO fundraiser. This fundraiser will take place on Tuesday, Nov. 28 at California Pizza Kitchen at Waterside Shops in Naples. We are also excited to celebrate BBYO’s Global Shabbat, which will be on Friday, Dec. 8. Please keep an eye out for more details.

What is BBYO?

BBYO is a diverse and inclusive Jewish youth group to encourage Jewish teens to become more immersed and interested in meaningful Jewish activities and programs. This organization accepts Jewish teens attending 8th through 12th grades of all backgrounds, sexual orientations, gender, race, denominational affiliation and socioeconomic status. BBYO currently reaches over 70,000 teens worldwide, with participants in over 60 countries and hundreds of chapters across the United States.

Supporting our teenage Jewish community

It is crucial to engage teens post-B’nai Mitzvah age in Jewish activities. Having teens get involved in BBYO and be eager to create and confidently continue their own Jewish community within their greater Jewish communities is critical to our future.

The BBYO chapter of Naples has entered its 11th year of partnership with Jewish Federation of Greater Naples, Temple Shalom, Chabad of Naples and Beth Tikvah. Each organization provides financial support, volunteers and community involvement opportunities for the BBYO teens. We thank each and every one of our BBYO alum, friends and other supporters for making this a safe and positive environment for the teens of BBYO Naples and Fort Myers.

If you know of someone who has a teen who might like to join BBYO Naples or Fort Myers or know of someone who may want to be an advisor to our chapters, please email me at cschreier@bbyo.org. You can also follow us on Instagram at Mishpacha_BBG and Negevaza.

Scholarships to attend BBYO conventions and summer programs are available through both Jewish Federation of Greater Naples and the Temple Shalom Men’s Club. Please contact me for more information on scholarships. If you are a BBYO alum and would like to be included in our Friends and Alumni of BBYO mailing list, please email us at mjs0821@aol.com.