Current Community Needs

The goal of the BBYO Connect program is to provide opportunities to connect teens after the Bar and Bat Mitzvah year when affiliation tends to drop off. Around 150 students per year typically participate. BBYO Connect has successfully served as a feeder for the local high school BBYO program which serves more than 220 students per year. In normal years, it offers 14 events annually.

BBYO has 4 chapters in the Greater Kansas city area, representing over 180 local Jewish teens. Chapters hold events a few times per month at locations around the city. Events are planned by teens for teens and programming ranges from fun activities like crafting, cooking and game nights to more serious programming around self-identity, community activism or leadership development. Here are ways to support BBYO programming:
$150 provides a chapter shabbat dinner for multiple attendees
$249 underwrites BBYO membership cost for a high school student
$300 allows multiple attendees to participate in chapter programs at an event space
$300 pays for a teen to attend a regional weekend-long convention

Hyman Brand Hebrew Academy requests a gift of $1,000 to provide extra-large bulletin boards to display student work in its hallways.

HBHA is requesting funds to replace the aging siddurim (prayer books) used by students in the Beit Midrash. It would also like to replace technology equipment that has aged out and purchase new learning software/licensing to keep current with student needs.

Hyman Brand Hebrew Academy seeks ten $5,000 gifts to upgrade the student playground and equipment.

Hyman Brand Hebrew Academy requests funding to help purchase 8 standing desks (costing $450 each) for special needs students. Research shows that special needs students that are able to use standing desks during a portion of the day typically display improved concentration, work quality and overall behavior. Standing desks are often listed as accommodations on evaluation reports for students with an ADHD diagnosis and those on the autism spectrum.

Kansas City NCSY and JSU inspires Jewish children and teens throughout the Kansas City area through a variety of programming. Its programs and activities are open to Jewish teens of all backgrounds and levels of observance. Here are ways to support NCSY and JSU:
$350 provides a relief mission scholarship for one teen
$250, $500 or $1,000 sponsors a Shabbat Shabang (sponsorship levels vary based on number of teens and number of Shabbat meals offered)
$1,800-$3,600 sponsors one JSU club for a year (sponsorship price varies depending on size of club and how often they meet)