BBYO teens donated 550 hand-made sandwiches to a local food kitchen

One weekend earlier this month, 250 BBYO teens from the group’s Connecticut Region gathered at the Sheraton Hotel at Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks for their Fall Convention. The weekend’s theme – “Chapter Spirit Competition” – had teens competing for best chapter in the region. But what started out as a competition measuring which group had the most spirit quickly morphed into the spirit of giving, with teens assembling 550 sandwiches that were then delivered to the South Park Inn in Hartford to help feed those in need.

The teens also competed in “penny wars” – a friendly and fun game that resulted in $1,000 in change raised for the Anja Rosenberg Food Pantry to be used for the Pantry’s annual Thanksgiving campaign. Food Pantry coordinator Shari Cantor told the teens that their contribution was enough to buy 21 kosher turkeys for Thanksgiving.

Salty BBYO, winners of the Spirit Trophy

Several groups took home Spirit Competition awards: Gottlieb AZA of Fairfield won the Spirit Gavel, which was given to the winning AZA (boys) chapter; Samuel D. Arons chapter of Woodbridge won the BBG (girls) Spirit Cup; Salty BBYO of Madison won the co-ed BBYO Spirit Trophy; Achla AZA chapter of Ridgefield took home the Spirit Shield for making the most sandwiches and doing the most service projects thus far this year.

The end of Fall Convention marks the beginning of BBYO’s Six Weeks of Service Campaign, which will run through the end of the year. During this period of time, BBYO chapters pledge to perform 1,000 hours of service within their communities.

On the BBYO horizon: “Stomp It Out!” – a night to end the stigma of mental illness, featuring entertainment by mashup artist and YouTube sensation DJ Earworm.

CAP: Gottleib AZA show off their winning Spirit Gavel