We started the year off with an amazing retreat in Washington, DC, bonding as a board and preparing for the year ahead. During those five days, we discussed what comes next for BBYO after the centennial celebration and began drafting big projects for the year: building IC brick by brick, prioritizing the enhancement of the program bank through the addition of chapter legacy programs, and emphasizing the importance of chapter programming for the overall growth of our organizations and homes.

As IC is one of our top priorities, we have been working on choosing the best theme and reviewing the schedule to ensure everyone has the best experience possible. Additionally, every day the ILN apps steadily grow, showing immense excitement for our trip to Denver and the opportunities it presents. Go check out azabbg.bbyo.org/take-action/lead to see and take the opportunity to help create our greatest IC yet.

This year, in the ILN, we have created new coordinator positions. Newly added, we now have the AZAA/BBGG Coordinator to help communities build engaging athletic programs across the globe; the Israel Exploration Coordinator to aid in the education of Israel, Zionism, Remembrance, and Israeli Independence Celebration; the Global Democracy Coordinator to help implement democratic systems of BBYO worldwide, with governance; and the Voice Your Vote Campaign Coordinator to promote the global elections happening in 2024-2025 and to create a safe space for members to discuss political views. New opportunities are always available, so make sure you don’t miss them!

To finish up, Mercedes had the amazing opportunity to coordinate Kallah 2024 this past summer. She spent three weeks with an incredible community and made countless connections with her counterparts while enjoying and building the programs during her time at Perlman. It was truly a life-changing experience.

As an ending to the summer, we reunited with the executive body for August Execs, a week of training and planning for the amazing year to come. We had a meaningful installation ceremony, the chance to kick off our year and dream big, and began working to support community leaders who lead our organization. Now it’s our turn to take action.

Stay tuned for everything coming up next for the S’ganim Network!!!