Letter from the 2022–23 YJA Co-Chairs
Jai Jinendra,
As the ’22 — ’23 Executive Board kicked off this year, enthusiastic and idealistic, little did we know the challenges that lay ahead, and little did we know how many people would be there to support us every step of the way and how we would each grow to become more than capable of overcoming each of these challenges.
A moment that captured the essence of this year was when we took the Mid-Atlantic Retreat group photo at the mountain. By this time we had encountered some unexpected situations, and were slightly out of breath, trying to gather the group of 90+ youth in the cold. As we stood there and soaked it in for a moment, we realized that despite all that had happened that day, somehow we had all made it out there together. The collective support of the attendees, alumni, board members, and numerous other people had made this moment possible.
The ’22 — ’23 YJA Board stands on a foundation built through YJA leadership and community members, including the most recent ’21 — ’22 YJA Board, who trusted in us to elect us into these positions and provided us the knowledge and guidance to enable us to continue to give back.
We kicked off the year with over 200 applicants for Local Representatives, Committees, and Project Teams. With the help of local YJA members, we started the year with National Dinners in which over 250 attendees attended in-person National Dinners across North America. Shortly following that, we launched the grassroots Giving Tuesday Campaign where we raised over $16.5K through 39 individual YJA members’ fundraising campaigns and approximately 250 donors from our community. In December, we launched the Earth to YJA Campaign, an initiative that provided information on environmental and sustainable decisions we can make in our day- to-day lives. This campaign was shortly followed by Winter Local Events to keep up the high energy prior to the beginning of our Winter Retreats. On the educational front, we released the Legacy of Rushabhdev Bhagwan article, Friday Facts, conducted a Jainism presentation at William Penn University, and held a National Virtual Thanksgiving Jaap.
The 2024 YJA Convention is not too far away and to begin planning it, we launched the Bid Packet Competition. Through this competition, youth formed teams and are working together to complete bid packets to bring the 2024 YJA Convention to their city. Around this time, we also began working with the JAINA Youth Activities Leads to plan the Youth Activities Programming for the 2023 JAINA Convention. Last but not least, we kicked off Winter Retreats to forge deep connections amongst the youth, learn more about Jainism and ways to implement it in our day- to-day lives, create unforgettable memories, and rev up the energy and excitement within the regions!
To work on all the above, ideate, and build the bonds needed to work closely together — we held two YJA board meetings this year in October and February. During these meetings we had the opportunity to interact with the youth and Sangh members of the Jain Sangh of Metropolitan Washington and Jain Society of Central Florida (Orlando).
Nothing this year would have been possible without the combined effort and support of individuals across the community. From you, our members, to the Local Representatives, Project Team, Committee, and Youth Activities members, donors, parents, alumni, Board of Trustees, and JAINA — your help, trust, guidance, and hard work has allowed us to be where we are today. We are incredibly grateful for the time and energy all of you have put into building our community and enabling us to live a Jain way of life.
We hope you enjoy reading this issue of Young Minds and leave it inspired even more than before and excited for what more is to come!
Stay tuned and we will see you very soon. Until then please stay safe, healthy, and happy!
With #yjalove,
