A note from Gail:
For me, the timeless element of USY is friendship. It’s heartening to know that the friends I made as a teenager are still with me so many years later (including my husband who I met staffing International Convention). I am grateful that technology has enabled us to stay up-to-date on each other’s lives, and connect as if no time has passed. Certainly, the content of our conversations has changed, but inevitably they all involve the idea that we are too young to be old and too old to be young.
After my experience in Tzafon, Nativ, and Wheels, moving into a career focusing on tikkun olam made perfect sense. I’ve held positions in grant-making, consulting, and now running the Friends of Jordan River Village. As Israel’s only free year-round camp for children living with serious illnesses, the organization promotes the magic and healing power of fun and friendship—a lesson I learned for myself from USY.
No matter what the future holds professionally or personally, I know that the friendships I made through USY will always be there
USY empowers thousands of Jewish teenagers to create exceptional Jewish experiences, yet it can do so much more than that. Please consider making a contribution to USY’s annual campaign to ensure that USY has the resources to operate, staff, and expand its programs throughout the Jewish world.
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