CTeens Prepares for Year End Meet

CTeen – the Chabad Teen Network – is gearing up for its regional year-end celebrations in the Northeast, Southeast, West Coast and Montreal.

To date, CTeen reaches 1,000 teens every month at 55 Chabad Houses in the US and Canada with innovative monthly programming and attractive resources for Jewish teens, ages 14-17.

“The CTeen program is amazing because there isn’t such a large Jewish community where I live. It really gives me a sense of community and a strong connection to my Judaism,” said Franceska Flax, a 17-year-old from Rancho Mirage, CA. “I really enjoy the programs, and I like the fact that it’s all about young Jewish kids coming together and learning about Judaism in a connecting kind of way.”

For Mrs. Chaya Posner, director of Flax’s CTeen in Rancho Mirage, the program is different from other youth programming.

“It’s very streamlined and high-end programming, material and advertising,” said Posner, whose CTeen attracts anywhere from 12-20 teenagers monthly. “It would take much more time and expense to do something comparable on our own every month, and it shows the community that we’re putting time and care into the program that we’re offering their teens.”

Posner has received tremendous support from parents and the teens themselves for the program, noting increased synagogue attendance as a result of the monthly meetings. For the seven teens from Rancho Mirage who attended this year’s National CTeen Shabbaton, some of whom had never celebrated Shabbat previously, increased Jewish pride and commitment to communal Judaism is apparent.

“CTeen really gives young Jewish teens the opportunity to gather and meet and form a strong bond,” said Sarah Rogers, an 18-year-old from Rancho Mirage. “The program is very hands-on and really informative without being overbearing. I like that we do volunteer and community service activities within the Jewish community.”

Rabbi Yechiel Baitelman, director of Chabad of Richmond in British Columbia, has been hosting CTeen meetings for the past two years in his community as well. Making it easier to provide creative programs that are suitable for teenagers, CTeen has been attracting about 15 teens in his vicinity every month.

“Not everyone is an expert in developing teen programming,” said Baitelman, who had been running a teen program in his community for years before switching to the CTeen programming. “CTeen is such a useful tool because of its versatility,” so that it can be applied to different communities.

The teens are happy to be involved, say Baitelman and Posner, because it provides them the opportunity to become part of something on a national level.

“CTeen gives them a global feel, that it’s not just our local chapter, but something bigger,” said Posner. “This is an important concept in their growth and development, especially for parents who want their children to meet other Jewish kids from other teen groups.”

This year’s regional excursions over Memorial Day Weekend will connect CTeen groups from different Chabad Houses for paintball activities, barbecuing and more. For more information about your local CTeen group, go to cteen.com.