Press Releases

Oct 19, 2011

BBYO Panim Institute Named One of North America’s Most Innovative Jewish Nonprofits by Slingshot Guide

According to Slingshot, Panim was selected for this list because “after last year’s merger (2009) with the powerful BBYO, the BBYO Panim Institute is in a unique position to engage a generation of Jewish teens with community service opportunities focused on social change and rooted in Jewish values.”

Sep 20, 2011

BBYO Unveils New Brand As Launch of Five-Year Strategic Plan

After a year of extensive research with teens, parents, alumni, and supporters, BBYO will debut a new brand identity on September 20 as part of a recently launched five-year strategic plan. The new brand captures the diverse, pluralistic spirit of the BBYO movement while capturing the wide range of compelling experiences that the organization offers the Jewish teen audience. It also provides definition around core communities and offerings including BBYO FAN (BBYO’s friends and alumni network), the BBYO Panim Institute (service and advocacy) and BBYO Passport (travel). A new offering, BBYO Connect offers Bar/Bat Mitzvah age teens a fun, experiential gateway into a teen-focused Jewish community. At BBYO’s core remains AZA and BBG, the 88 year-old chapter leadership experiences that exist in more than 100 communities throughout the world, touching the lives of 250,000 alumni.

Sep 6, 2011

Action Alert: Help Free Alan Gross

The BBYO International Executives Body passed a motion to encourage the U.S. government to intensify diplomatic efforts to secure the release of Alan Gross from Cuba.

Jul 15, 2011

Teens Travel to Washington, DC, to Take on Human Rights and Genocide

On Sunday, June 26, 61 teens from across the United States, Canada and Bulgaria will come together in Washington, DC, for a unique summit called "Human Rights and Genocide Summit " (HRGS) focused on exploring the Jewish values related to standing up for groups in need. The HRGS, sponsored by the PANIM Institute of BBYO, asks participants to answer the following questions: What is Genocide? Where are Human Rights being challenged? What's the Jewish response to genocide?

Jun 3, 2011

BBYO Alumna Speaks to 10,000 Israel Activists at AIPAC Policy Conference

Jun 1, 2011

BBYO Impact Study Highlights Lasting Effects of BBYO Experience

BBYO's recently released Impact Study takes a look at the impact of participation in the short, medium and long term. Overall, BBYO is having a remarkably positive impact. The BBYO experience results in young adults who are more inclined to have Jewish friends, believe that being Jewish plays an important role in their lives, hold leadership roles in their community and are committed to having Jewish families.

May 17, 2011

PANIM Institute of BBYO Introduces New Leadership Program from Middle School Teens

Apr 18, 2011

Thousands of Jewish Teens Participate in J-Serve 2011

Mar 2, 2011

HUNDREDS OF TEEN LEADERS GATHERED IN LOS ANGELES TO BUILD MOVEMENT COMMITTED TO THE JEWISH FUTURE AND MAKING THE WORLD A BETTER PLACE

Dec 3, 2010

Stand UP for Each Other: Campaign for Respect and Inclusion

Sep 27, 2010

March of the Living 2011 Registration Now Open

Sep 20, 2010

Earn Up to 50% Off Summer of Impact Experiences through Double Impact Scholarship

The PANIM Institute of BBYO is excited to announce a new scholarship initiative that will enable more teens to participate in a Summer of Impact experience while supporting ongoing service in local communities throughout the year. This is your chance to make "double the impact."

Jun 10, 2010

Estee Portnoy Elected Chair of BBYO International Board of Directors

BBYO, Inc. is proud to announce that Estee Portnoy of Bethesda, MD has been elected Chair of BBYO’s International Board of Directors. A sports executive and Jewish philanthropist, Portnoy succeeds Howard Wohl of Mill Neck, NY.

Jun 2, 2010

BBYO Teens Attend White House Jewish Heritage Month Event

When we were elected as International Presidents of BBYO, Inc., never in our wildest dreams did we think we would be invited to the White House. But there we were today, attending the first-ever White House reception marking Jewish Heritage Month. We began to realize how much our role does not exist in a vacuum, and that although we are teens, we, too, are important Jewish leaders.

Apr 28, 2010

PANIM Institute Seminars Bring 600 Teens to Washington, DC

This academic year, more than 600 teens from around the country came to Washington, DC to explore public policy and social activism through a Jewish lens as a part of Panim el Panim (PeP), a program with a 20+ year history that is now a part of the PANIM Institute of BBYO. During a total of eight seminars, high school delegations had the opportunity to meet with over fifty Congressional Offices, including special meetings with civil rights leader and Congressman John Lewis (D-IL) and Early Act champion and Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman-Schultz (D-FL) on the steps of the U.S. Capitol.

Apr 26, 2010

BBYO Represents Largest Teen Delegation on March of the Living

Feb 19, 2010

International Convention 2010: Dream Big, Act Bigger

More than a foot of snow couldn’t stop over 750 of the world’s leading Jewish communal thinkers – all 18 years of age or younger –from gathering in Dallas, TX Feb. 11-15 for BBYO’s largest International Convention (IC) in its 85-year history. BBYO has been hosting International Conventions since 1924, setting the course for the upcoming year, determining strategies for strengthening BBYO as a youth-led movement and connecting teens to the Jewish community at large. This was BBYO’s most “international” convention in years, bringing together Jewish teens from North America, Bulgaria, Serbia, France, the United Kingdom, Israel and more.

Feb 17, 2010

New Website Allows Jewish Teens to Customize Shabbat Services Online

For anyone who has spent hours photo copying prayers out of the siddur (Jewish prayer book) and pasting them onto sheets to make custom services for a youth group or camp setting, a new tool has arrived. BBYO, Inc., the world’s leading pluralistic Jewish youth movement, has recently launched Build a Prayer, an online space where Jews of all backgrounds can connect on a deeply personal level with prayer and Shabbat.

Feb 3, 2010

BBYO's 2009 Annual Report

In 2009, BBYO took pride in offering tens of thousands of Jewish families a place where their teens could find joyful Jewish experiences and a reprieve from the stresses so many families faced as a result of the economy. As we celebrate our 85th year, know that BBYO is a greater force than ever in enriching the lives of young people and making the Jewish community more vibrant. Please click to read our 2009 Annual Report.

Jan 26, 2010

BBYO Global Action Alert: Haiti Earthquake Response

BBYO members, alumni, parents, family and friends – We write you with an urgent message regarding the devastation across Haiti following the Caribbean’s worst earthquake in more than 200 years. The basic infrastructure of the country has been shattered. The community is left without schools, hospitals and thousands of homes leaving an estimated 3,000,000 Haitians in need of life essentials like food, shelter and healthcare. The death toll is presumably in the hundreds of thousands, and the need is increasing each day.