• (10) Awards

Thinking of applying for AZA and BBG awards? Participate in J-Serve for an opportunity to enhance and build your award applications! Leading a J-Serve project in your community is particularly special – it can make you eligible for the Anita M. Perlman Stand UP Award! Reach out to your community’s leadership to inquire about opportunities to participate, and maybe even build a J-Serve project! 

• (9) Qualifications

Something that is very important with BBYO is elections. We have boards on the chapter, regional, and even on the international scale. And a very important thing for elections is your resume. If you work towards scheduling and planning J-Serve events, you are boosting your resume. By buffing up your resume, you increase your likelihood of getting elected and being able to plan more J-Serve events in the future. 

• (8) College Applications

As college application season for the Class of 2025 approaches, participating in your community’s J-Serve project provides several useful opportunities. Write about your participation in an essay, or on your ‘Activities’ section, incorporate it into a resume, or include it in your total community service hours. Utilize J-Serve to round out, strengthen, and diversify your application!

• (7) Hype & Marketing

Who doesn’t love hype? Hype is definitely a major part of BBYO. And there is no better way to hype everyone up than J-Serve. With J-Serve, you are able to hype everybody up and make sure that everyone is having a blast. Another important thing is marketing. By reaching out and getting the name out, you can help market for BBYO and get our name out.

• (6) Service Hours

Have to meet service learning hour requirements for graduation, or organizations like the National Honors Society? BBYO staff and teen board members can document and verify your participation in your community’s J-Serve initiative to fulfill your community service hours!

• (5) Program Diversity

When was the last time you guys had a program so far from the norm? When you do a community service program for J-Serve on April 14th, you are opening it up for whole new possibilities. You can have whatever program you want, from making sandwiches, to planting trees, to helping in a soup kitchen, the possibilities are endless. You can not only spice up your programming but also help the community. What a great way to get two birds with one stone.

• (4) Collaboration

A movement comprised of over 700 chapters in over sixty countries, BBYO serves a vital purpose in the global Jewish community, particularly regarding our commitment to community service. Part of BBYO’s diversity lies in teens’ ability to connect with a broad group of community service organizations. Whether it’s a national partnership, like BBYO’s with Repair the World, or a local connection, like Connecticut Valley Region’s with PJ Library, collaborating with other community-minded organizations can strengthen BBYO’s J-Serve campaigns across the globe. 

• (3) Centennial Celebration

This year is BBYO’s 100th Birthday!! And because of that, we are trying to get to 100,000 hours of community service. And by participating in J-Serve you can help us get to our 100,000 hour goal.

• (2)  Community-mindedness

An effective J-Serve project is grounded in the communities of which Alephs and BBGs are a part. J-Serve is an amazing opportunity to collaborate with your community’s leaders, to produce a J-Serve project with local needs and organizations in mind. Baltimore Council, a community in an area that is heavily impacted by homelessness and food insecurity, focused its J-Serve campaign on combatting these problems, and other communities can as well. Find the issues that affect your city, council, region, or country, and take this opportunity to make an impact!

• (1) Tikkun Olam

One of BBYO’s primary pillars is Tikkun Olam. Tikkun Olam is Hebrew for the restoration of the world. The whole reason we do J-Serve is to help repair the world. Being in BBYO, we are representatives of Judaism. And one of the best ways to represent our culture and what we stand for is community service. When we go out as part of BBYO and do our community service, we are helping show that we as Jews care about the world around us, whether it be the people, the environment, the infrastructure, etc.