AZA & BBG
As we reach the midpoint of this term and bring new ideas, passion, and energy into 2026, we are thrilled to report our progress within the Movement, reflect on this year’s successes, and share our vision for the upcoming term! Over these past months, we have focused on strengthening membership across the Order, engaging members new and old, building regional culture and traditions, and promoting CLTC to teens Movement-wide. Serving as your International Morim has truly been a joy and an honor, and we cannot wait to build an even larger, stronger, and better BBYO with you all throughout the remainder of the term.
We’ve worked closely alongside our regional and council counterparts to ensure growth across our Movement, ensuring BBYO reaches more Jewish teens to create more meaningful Jewish experiences. Membership currently exceeds 90% of our end-of-year goal, reflecting the tireless efforts of Morim across the Movement and the ever-expanding community of teen leaders impacted by our organization.
Ohio Northern Region blew us away by hitting their annual membership goal in November! North Florida region crushed their goal at the end of ‘25, with South Jersey Region close behind. Huge congratulations and shoutout to Hudson Valley Region and Mid-America Region: Omaha Council for hitting their BBG membership goal, with Northern Region East: Northern Virginia Council and South Jersey Region hitting their AZA membership goal already. Efforts to preserve our Rituals and Traditions remain strong in Big Apple Region, having implemented a MIT/AIT chair position, and North Texas Oklahoma, currently planning a region-wide Rising Leaders Overnight.
To celebrate our continued success in recruitment, we have successfully developed a new interface for regions to track their membership progress; the Membership Mile, a comprehensive tool to track your wins and continue to work towards membership goals. Feel free to check it out in our Instagram bio at @bbyomorim and utilize it for upcoming initiatives… (MEMBERSHIP MANIAAA!!)
The expansion of our Movement goes beyond just numbers; as our membership grows, so does our impact. The unique communities across the Order have been working tirelessly to not just grow, but thrive.
Our leadership programs continue to energize and inspire the next generation, and this year’s CLTC is setting a new standard. Early bird registration has already surpassed last year’s record, with us reaching 230 early registrants, highlighting the excitement and momentum building for this summer.
This milestone reflects the vision and hard work of both our coordinators and staff team in driving excitement for CLTC. Shoutout and big thanks to Alex Blumenreich, Mimi Simon, Sam Stavchansky, Nica Shapovalova, Maya Shahar, and Naveh Cohn, whose passion, with ours, for developing future leaders continues to shine and will be seen across the Order this Summer.
While we’re incredibly proud of what we’ve accomplished so far, our focus remains firmly on what’s ahead as we build toward an even stronger spring and summer. Momentum only matters if we keep pushing it forward, and that’s exactly what we plan to do.
CLTC early registration has already exceeded expectations, with CLTC 3 already having an Aleph waitlist. Our next milestone is equally ambitious and exciting: reaching 400 participants this summer. With 290 teens currently registered and 300 within reach by IC, we are on track to surpass our goal. CLTC continues to serve as the cornerstone of leadership development in BBYO, and we are deeply committed to making sure every eligible teen has access to this experience that has been truly transformative for so many of us.
By highlighting the unmatched impact of CLTC, we are working toward a fully sold-out summer. With four incredible sessions, flexible timing should never be a barrier, and with scholarships available, cost shouldn’t be either. This is where we need you. Any chapter with more than 15 members has the potential to send at least one teen to CLTC. One teen can make all the difference by returning home with more knowledge, more confidence, and more motivation to lead and grow the chapter.
If your chapter doesn’t yet have a teen registered, or if you’re hoping to send more, connect with your regional presidents for support, or reach out directly to Daphne at aymhachaverot@bbyo.org or Nathan at moreh@bbyo.org. We can’t wait to see what this summer brings!
Beyond strengthening and growing our membership experiences, we have continued to expand our work in long-term Movement building. This year, we strengthened the Chapter Founders Cohort by introducing new mentor and leadership roles designed to better support teens who are starting, rebuilding, or revitalizing chapters. With the addition of our Society Chairs, Aylah Seigal, Eva Katsev, Gil Juran, Harry Block, Jacob Payne, and Zoe Haller, we have been able to provide more personalized guidance, create stronger peer-to-peer support systems, and celebrate founders through our Chapter Founder of the Week Instagram series, ensuring that our chapter founders feel empowered and supported every step of the way. As we look ahead, we are also actively preparing for the second annual Founders Summit this March in Texas, where we look forward to bringing chapter founders together to learn, collaborate, and strengthen the future of BBYO from the ground up. If you are a chapter founder or know of a teen who would benefit from this unique opportunity, reach out to us directly!
In addition, following the legislation passed at August Execs, we have been hard at work on launching the Legacy Vault as an innovative initiative focused on preserving the rituals, traditions, and institutional knowledge that define BBYO. We have selected an incredible coordinator team composed of Anna Morowitz, Elan Mesa, Griffin Stepakoff, and Nikki Young, who are working alongside us to shape the structure and vision of this committee. The Legacy Vault will serve as a lasting foundation for future leaders, ensuring that the stories, customs, and values of our Order are protected and passed on as we enter BBYO’s second century. We are incredibly excited to bring this initiative to life in the coming months, together with our committee members.
While the #MorimWins in membership and summer have been ABSOLUTELY INSANE, we look forward to strengthening our connection to rituals and traditions as Spring Convention season approaches.
The retention of members is one of our foremost priorities this term. The senior life ceremonies, inductions, separates, and siblinghood bonding events taking place during this time will solidify members’ connection to BBYO for years to come. As we work towards retention until graduation, we are excited to continue supporting the Morim network in this endeavor and cannot wait to see the spirit of BBG and AZA shine across the Order!
We have just launched our most exciting initiative yet: Membership Mania! This campaign intends to reach Morim across all levels of the Movement, lasting until Chapter Roll Call in March. Regions in the U.S. and Canada have been partnered up to compete towards their membership goals, and international communities are being tracked via engagement percentages. As International Convention approaches, outstanding regional Morim and Mekasherim will be rewarded with Meet-and-Greets, and additional prizes and exciting incentives will soon be announced! Building towards the hype of IC 2026 will launch our Movement even closer to meeting our membership goals. Let the Mania begin!!
We’re incredibly proud of everything we’ve accomplished together so far, and none of it would be possible without the energy, care, and leadership each of you brings to this Movement. Seeing chapters grow, traditions come to life, and teens feel a true sense of belonging has been really special to witness.
As we head into the second half of the term, we’re even more excited about what’s still ahead. This is only the halfway mark, and there are so many goals left to chase and ideas to explore. Thank you to our counterparts, the entire Morim network, and all the teens who pour their time and passion into this work every single day! We truly couldn’t do this without you.
Let’s keep building, growing, and dreaming big, TOGETHER. Here’s to many, many more #MORIMWINS as we kick off our second century!
Daphne & Nathan
From the current Grand Aleph Moreh and International Aym Ha’Chaverot.
All views expressed on content written for The Shofar represent the opinions and thoughts of the individual authors. The author biography represents the author at the time in which they were in BBYO.
