Seth Krosin, 18, of Pikesville made a written pledge to help future generations of Jewish teens experience the same opportunities that he had in BBYO and other Jewish charities.
Every two years, Krosin, who recently graduated from St. Paul’s School for Boys, will receive a text to remind him of his promise. Every five years, a letter will arrive to nudge him about the commitment his teenage self made to his adult self.
This pledge and others like it from young people — ages 13 to 24 — are part of an organized movement called Jewish Youth Pledge to ensure a vibrant Jewish life for future generations. The signed pledges — stored in a digital time capsule — now number 13,200 across North America and Israel.
JYP is an Atlanta-based initiative designed to strengthen ties between 45 Jewish youth programs and their alumni. The project debuted at the BBYO international convention in February 2022.
“JYP’s mission is to redefine how Jewish youth and alums connect, engaging them in meaningful conversations and inspiring a renewed dedication to their shared heritage,” said Mike Leven, a retired hotel industry executive and philanthropist who founded Jewish Youth Pledge. JYP is a sister initiative of Leven’s Jewish Future Pledge, which seeks a nonbinding commitment from Jews to earmark 50% of the charitable dollars in their estate to Jewish causes or the state of Israel. To date, more than 20,400 individuals have made this pledge.
Leven, 85, got the idea of JYP because, once he entered adulthood, he did not hear from the Jewish organizations of his youth — camp, AZA and the Young Men’s Hebrew Association. While that is not the case these days, he said, “the time capsule idea puts Jewish adults in constant memory of the experience they had in their younger days.”
The Jewish youth organizations — ranging from camp to BBYO to Jewish Greek life — have access to the pledges from their alumni, but the reminders are sent by JYP.
“The Jewish Youth Pledge and digital time capsule are powerful tools to remind people that the profound Jewish moments of their youth can be guideposts for their adult lives,” BBYO CEO Matt Grossman said. “Organizations like BBYO stay relevant in their memories as we encourage them to build meaningful Jewish lives.”
Krosin learned about the Jewish Youth Pledge at a regional BBYO convention last December. Josh Schalk, the executive director of Jewish Future Pledge and Jewish Youth Pledge, gave a 30-minute workshop about the pledge and planning for one’s future.
Krosin is an incoming freshman at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he plans to major in personal finance. Schalk’s presentation, Krosin said, “got us thinking about different experiences that we’ve had and different, meaningful milestones in a Jewish person’s life, how our experiences have been a product of others’ generosity.”
Krosin is on the council board at Gideon AZA in Baltimore County and has volunteered for Jewish organizations such as the Edward A. Myerberg Center. He taught computer technology to seniors over Zoom during the pandemic. He and his family attend services at Chizuk Amuno Congregation.
His written pledge began with the following online prompt: “I hereby pledge to act today and throughout my lifetime to strengthen the Jewish people here and in Israel. I make this commitment because I have a responsibility to ensure that my generation writes the next chapter of the Jewish story and remains a strong link in the chain of generations.”
“Jewish Youth Pledge got the teens really talking about what their legacy could be and why it’s important to leave a Jewish legacy,” said Jenna Bernstein, senior regional director of BBYO in Maryland, D.C. and Northern Virginia. “It’s a way for them to continue finding their identity in their own ways and identifying their different values that they find important.”
