At the December 2019 USY International Convention, then candidate Austin Kaufman shared what he called the 3 C’s - Connection, Collaboration, and Community with the group of 400 teens from around the continent. Following are excerpts from his remarks.
USY is a very different organization than when we were founded in 1951. With fewer Conservative Jews in North America, it is no surprise that USY doesn’t have the same number of members it once had, yet our community feels more connected than ever. In fact, I believe that in 2020, we will actually deepen our connection to Judaism and to each other, foster collaboration, and thrive as a community.
Let me paint you a picture. The place: The Rosen Centre Hotel in Orlando, Florida. The date: December, 25th 2018. Over a hundred and seventy voices filled the air as USYers sang songs that they all knew, but had never sung together before. Everyone called it something different from Sloach to Slow Ruach to Zmirot, but we all sang the same tunes as one hundred seventy-eight voices became one. It was the most incredible thing I have ever been a part of and was easily the highlight of IC Orlando for countless people in the class of 2020, including myself.
Connection. In this upcoming year, I hope to work together to take the connection we all felt at IC and bring it to USYers across the country year-round. In my past two years on the International General Board, I have seen how USYers form incredible friendships through initiatives like IConnect, Camp Connectors, and the infamous Find Your Sheep Challenge. In 2020, we will take this to the next level with the first ever Connection Calendar, a month of optional challenges to help USYers interact with one another in fun, creative ways. Challenges will range from “SATO Sunday: Do something to give back to your local community” to “Talk About It Tuesday: Read an article about Israel and post something you learned.”
The second “c” is collaboration. One of my goals is to foster more collaboration among my peers. From helping Rel/Eds work with the Communications team on Buzzfeed-type quizzes like “Which person in the Torah are you, based on your favorite ruach song?” to coordinating a Find Your Sheep Challenge where the Development Chairs work with the Connection Chairs to pair people by position instead of by grade, the possibilities are truly endless.
The final “c” is community. In late April, I received some really tough news: the cancer that I beat in 6th grade randomly came back. Fighting cancer again has been a huge speed bump in my life, but this USY community, whether FaceTiming my best friends from across the continent while getting chemo or having regular conventions to come back to in Far West helped me through this journey. I am grateful to say that the end of my treatment is almost here. The USY community has and continues to provide amazing support and I hope to promote that strong sense of community throughout the year so that every USYer can feel the special connection we have created.
Sitting in this room are nearly 400 Jewish teens that are doing the most holy thing possible: spending Christmas together. In all seriousness, we are some of the most active, most passionate and influential Jews in North America, and it doesn’t stop there. Together, we have the power to make change and cement the future of the conservative movement.
Read more about the newly installed International Board of USY as well as USY programs and initiatives at usy.org.
from USCJ https://uscj.org/blog/the-3-cs-of-usy-by-austin-kaufman-usy-international-president
via USCJ
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