BBYO's pre-IC (International Convention)

International Delegation at BBYO's IC

I just finished a whirlwind twelve days in Dallas, TX at BBYO's International Convention.  Over 2,000 teens from over 20 countries met to celebrate the successes and growth of BBYO and think about the future of the organization. For those of you who do not know, BBYO is the B'nai B'rith Youth Organization, a youth movement with the mission of more Jewish teens, more meaningful Jewish experiences.

The first five days were spent with wonderful host families in Dallas, TX. Most of the international teens and staff (about 100 people) gathered to get to know each other, sightsee around Dallas, leadership development programming, and through this formed a tight-knit community. Highlights included:

-Team building at Group Dynamix where we were high above the ground on zip lines and ropes courses 

-Visiting a Jewish Hebrew school and meeting with American high school teens to compare and contrast our Jewish communities 

-Spending a morning at the North Texas Food Bank sorting over 7,200 lbs of food and putting together 6,000 meals for in-need families in Texas

-Learning valuable skills to bring homes with us to our communities around the world 

-Visiting Dallas highlights including Dallas Aquarium, Perot museum, Dallas shopping malls, and more

-Spending time with our wonderful host families and being taken in by their Southern Texan hospitality. A huge shout out to the Gabay family for the warm hospitality and wonderful brown-bag lunches! 

Before we even joined the rest of the convention, our global teens had created friendships among themselves and with their host families. A bunch of my Argentinian teens even messaged me to ask if they had to come to the hotel because they didn't want to leave their host families. 

Thank you SO much to Joey Eisman, BBYO's Associate for Israel and Global Jewish Peoplehood, for bringing this global Jewish community together. Joey worked tirelessly and passionately to bring as many teens as possible to IC and to make sure their experience both during pre-IC and IC was one never to forget! Also thank you so much all the Dallas families for taking us in and logistically making sure our pre-IC experience was wonderful.