Letter From The Editors

Hey USY!

The end of school (and the programming year) is quickly approaching, but that means summer is almost here! Yay! Some of you will be going on summer programs this summer, and we hope you have the best summer ever! You can never experience a summer like one with USY. For those of you who for some reason decided not to go on a summer program, we also hope you have a great summer. But, for the non-summer programs people, it can feel hard at times to stay connected to USY during the months with no chapter programming or conventions. We all love USY, but sometimes the summer can create a disconnect between USY and USYer. That is why we are here today! We want to share with you some of our best tips for staying connected and staying involved with USY over the summer.

1. Stay in touch! Just because you and your friends won’t see each other for a few months doesn’t mean that you can’t stay in touch! Some of you will have your phones on you all summer, and to y’all (shoutout SWUSY) we would recommend talking to your USY friends every so often. They will always be happy to hear from you and will never turn down a quick chat! Some of you will not have your phones on you, and snail mail will be your main (or only) method of communication. This should not be a reason to lose contact with your friends! Make sure to give your friends your camp address so they can write to you! Who doesn’t love getting a letter from their friend?
2. Watch Summer Programs Update Videos! Although during the summer you won’t see our regularly scheduled programming, you will have the chance to see what the USY Summer Experience trips are doing. Our fabulous Summer Experience International General Board Co-Chairs, Ben Miller, Lauren Krasilovsky, and Aleeza Hulnick, will be featuring a USY summer trip each week! Get ready to check out Summer Update Sunday!
3. Bring your B’kol Echad with you! We know that sometimes during the summer it is really easy to miss USY. And what better way to cure a little summertime PCD (Post Convention Depression) than with your B’kol Echad and a couple of slowach songs. You can either sing by yourself, sing with some friends, or even search online for some slowach recordings! (Shameless plug, check out the CRUSY Soundcloud for some pretty sweet slowach recordings!) If you ever miss USY, slowach is the perfect way to make you feel at home wherever you are.
4. Sign up for IC! Early bird registration for IC SoCal will be open throughout the summer, and what better way to stay involved with USY over the summer than signing up for the biggest convention of the year! Summer Programs folks, IC will be the PERFECT chance for y’all to reunite once more at your official reunion! If you went to IC last year, then IC SoCal will be an amazing opportunity for you to reconnect with your old friends and make new ones! And if you’ve never been to IC before, then still sign up (you can check out IC’s impact on people who have been here)! IC is an incredible chance to see the USY world beyond your region, and to have an amazing time with hundreds of your closest friends! No better time to sign up than now!
5. Wear USY Regalia! Guys, we know you all have stacks on stacks on stacks of regalia. Jacob didn’t spend over $100 on regalia at IC alone for no reason. Wear it all! Wearing your USY clothing will make you feel more connected to USY, and will remind you of all the fond memories you have made over the years. Plus, if somebody asks you what the logo on your shirt is for, you’ll have plenty to talk about!
6. Get ready for another amazing year! Your regional board is hard at work starting to plan the next year. You have plenty of incredibly exciting events coming up! There are encampments in some regions, there are opening events in others, and a plethora of chapter events coming your way, so don’t forget to sign up. The 2019-2020 year will prove to be the best one yet and there is no shortage of fabulous things in the near future!

So there you have it! Achshav’s super duper 100% mostly official list of tips to stay involved over the summer! We hope you have an incredible summer! This is the last you’ll hear from the blog coordinators directly until the fall, but that doesn’t mean Achshav is slowing down anytime soon… so keep your browsers open to the blog! We can’t wait to bring you more content soon!

Catch ya on the flippity flop,

Reena Bromberg Gaber and Jacob Ellenbogen