NCSY - Inspiring the Jewish Future

NCSY Articles

JUMP For Judaism

November 07, 2011 NCSY, the international youth movement of the Orthodox Union, held its second annual National JUMP Leadership Seminar on October 30-31, 2011 at the Stamford Plaza Hotel in Stamford, Connecticut. The comprehensive two-day seminar brought together nearly 100 yeshiva day school students from high schools in the greater New York area, Maryland, Kansas and Pennsylvania. It also marked the beginning of the third annual JUMP Challenge in which yeshiva day school students compete to create and implement four community-wide projects including a chesed event, a Torah education event, a fundraiser event and an Israel advocacy initiative. Rabbi Aryeh Lightstone, founder of NCSY’s JUMP, stated, “Through these educational and collaborative projects, JUMP strives to empower the future leaders of tomorrow, today. The Seminar provides teens with the appropriate tools, while the JUMP Challenge teaches them creativity, implementation, and most importantly, follow through."

Both the Seminar and the Challenge are part of the Jewish Unity Mentoring Program (JUMP). JUMP offers yeshiva day school students the opportunity to become leaders who will make positive changes in their schools and communities while broadening their understanding of global issues facing the Jewish people. Through leadership-training workshops, team building exercises and lectures concerning the importance of chesed, kiruv, fundraising and Israel advocacy within the Jewish community, the Seminar outlined a variety of ways in which the students can become effective activists for the Jewish people.

At the Seminar, students heard from influential members of the Jewish community who play significant roles in various prominent organizations and institutions. Speakers included President of Yeshiva University, Richard Joel, founder of Milvado, Charlie Harary, and NCSY New York Regional Director, Rabbi Aryeh Lightstone.

The Seminar, coordinated by Carol Rhine, was jam packed with workshops and activities from the moment the participants arrived on Sunday morning until the time they departed on Monday afternoon. Students were given the opportunity to understand what it takes to be a leader and given practical, hands on experiences including “The Elevator Pitch,” “Am I a Leader?,” “The Science of a Program” and “The Art of Public Speaking” in preparation to becoming a successful leader.

Participating schools included Hyman Brand Hebrew Academy (HBHA) of Overland Park, KS, Melvin J. Berman Hebrew Academy (MJBHA) of Rockville, MD, Davis Renov Stahler Yeshiva High School for Boys (DRS) of Woodmere, NY, Hebrew Academy of the Five Towns (HAFTR) of Cedarhurst, NY, Hebrew Academy of Nassau County (HANC) of Uniondale, NY, Rambam Mesivta of Lawrence, NY, Midreshet Shalhevet of North Woodmere, NY, Stella K. Abraham High School for Girls (SKA) of Hewlett Bay Park, NY, Salanter Akiba Riverdale Academy (SAR) of Riverdale, NY, Yeshiva University High School for Girls (Central) of Queens, NY, Kohelet Yeshiva High School of Philadelphia PA, and Weinbaum Yeshiva High School (WYHS) of Boca Raton, FL, who was unable to attend the seminar due to the snowstorm, but was able to view the Seminar via skype.

Cameron Burns from Hyman Brand Hebrew Academy of Overland Park, Kansas said, "It was awesome meeting students from all over the country. We all got to brainstorm different ideas together."

Rebecca Grossman from HANC of Uniondale, NY said, "I learned a lot at the JUMP Seminar and I really enjoyed the workshops. They were fun and interesting and will definitely help prepare us for the JUMP challenges."

The participating JUMP schools have until the spring of 2012 to complete their challenges, after which they will be judged on their creativity, teamwork and the success and quality of their programs. According to Rabbi Lightstone, founder of JUMP, “The competition will exercise students’ public speaking and presentation skills, their ability to plan and organize a large scale event utilizing the skills and talents of the entire group and motivate the group to meticulously plan every detail of each event including marketing and budgeting.”

This year’s JUMP Challenge is the product of three years of evolution. JUMP began in 2007 as an opportunity for yeshiva day school students to volunteer in communities that lacked strong Jewish resources. For example, after Hurricane Katrina destroyed many communities throughout New Orleans, JUMP students volunteered to rebuild homes and bring supplies to those in need. In addition, select JUMP students traveled to Berlin, Germany, to help launch an outreach and leadership initiative in a local girls seminary. After succeeding as a volunteer program, JUMP continued to evolve into a weekly club that began to service yeshiva day schools in the greater New York area. Today, JUMP enables yeshiva day school students from around the country to become strong Jewish leaders that truly make a lasting impact on their communities.

For information regarding JUMP please email Carol Rhine at rhinec@ncsy.org or call 516-569-6279.