At BBYO’s International Convention 2009, held in February, members launched a brand-new initiative called Stand Up. I’m excited about the program because it tells teens to reach out to their communities and stand up for what they believe in. The initiative encourages teens to make a change in people’s lives and better the communities in which they live. Each region can pick a topic that all chapters will focus on, and each chapter can then select a group in their community that they want to stand up for.

I’m from the Connecticut Valley Region (CVR), and at IC we selected poverty as our topic. Next year we plan to focus mainly on those who are homeless and hungry. During the remainder of this year, each chapter in our region will be coming up with ideas and goals to set for next year to ensure the success of their Stand Up campaigns. Each chapter will conduct programs that focus on volunteering and how members can help the homeless and hungry in their own communities through volunteer opportunities, like working at the local soup kitchen or helping out in a homeless shelter.

I asked a few teens from my region what they hope to see next year. Nikki Wynschenk, CVR’s community service chairwoman, said she would like to see CVR “moving forward and making a difference in our small community.” She went on to say, “Stand Up is a great way for us to prove that we can hang with the big guys and create great tikkun olam programs that make an impact on our world.” Alice Kamens, CVR’s program planner, said she thinks “we should pick a soup kitchen in each of the areas of CVR—New Haven, Ridgefield, Stamford, Bridgeport and Amherst—and the chapters in that area are responsible for working there one night every month. They can either switch on and off between chapters or work collectively.”

I also asked teens specifically who they want their chapters to stand up for. Sarah Levine, a program planner, said, “Since BBYO is a teen organization, I want [my chapter] to go beyond homeless shelters and food kitchens and reach out to teens in need.” Danielle Schwartz added that she wants “to do something like Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.”

Every chapter will have a different project, but they’ll all be bonded by the common theme—hunger and homelessness. I’ve recently discovered that helping the hungry is an important task. In the United States, 35 million people per year are affected by hunger, and one in five children goes hungry a part of every month. In Connecticut, the latest figures from December 2008 estimate that 102,000 children under the age of 12 are hungry or at risk of hunger every day.

Eric Somin, social events coordinator, said: “It’s one thing to say you’re against something, but it’s another thing to ‘stand up’ and let our voices be heard. CVR has over 250 teenagers in it, and if we stand up together, we can’t and won’t be ignored.” Eric is right; CVR is ready to stand up for what we believe in. Next year, we’ll go out into our communities and lend a hand to help feed the hungry and give a voice to those who are battling unfortunate circumstances.

The Connecticut Valley Region of BBYO wants to make a difference in our communities and help make the world a better place. The new Stand Up initiative will empower our members and help us reach our goal of changing the world.

Gabbie Wynschenk is a sophomore at Amity High School. She’s the social events coordinator of BBYO’s Connecticut Valley Region. She loves singing, drawing, painting and writing.