Inspiring Teens to be Tomorrow’s Leaders

It's a party like no other. The one no one wants to miss and where everyone is invited: West Coast Party! Over the weekend of January 17-20, over 250 teens from 11 NFTY regions - the largest NFTY event since 2020 - were welcomed to URJ Camp Newman in Santa Rosa, CA for a weekend of connection, joyful Jewish moments, social action, and fun. The weekend was planned and executed by a committee of 20 teens, supported by me and fellow NFTY Regional Mentor, Rachel Chancellor. The end result of this work offered an inspired framework for the future of teen leadership engagement.

From the moment teens stepped off the bus, the energy, sense of purpose, and feeling of true belonging was evident from the most seasoned NFTY teens to first-time participants. One teen articulated how important being with peers was, "especially in these crazy times, having an opportunity like West Coast Party to be in Jewish community felt really important and special."

The weekend kicked off with a teen-led Kabbalat Shabbat service filled with prayer and song, helping many campers forge connections between their experiences and the Shabbat experience at a NFTY retreat. One of the goals of the weekend was to give teens time to relax and connect. The Friday evening activity provided a relaxing experience with soothing music, peaceful visuals, and calming sensory activities, allowing teens to shed the stresses of travel, school, and current events, to connect with each other.

The next morning, teens awoke to find it was the start of a two-day, camp-style Maccabiah competition starting off with JEWmanji right after breakfast. In the spirit of rolling the dice and choosing your own adventure, the Saturday morning spiritual experience was creative and immersive. Options included exploring lyrics from "Wicked" using the PARDES method of Torah study, beat boxing traditional prayers, mezuzah making, and a hiking t'fillah using prompts along the trail. After these "Shabb-options," teens jumped right back into Maccabiah competitions like JEWpardy, Telestrations, football, and choreography.

The planning committee thoughtfully built Maccabiah teams and subsequent activities to encourage connections across regions, prior NFTY experience levels, and friend groups. This structured community building led one participant to reflect, "West Coast Party pushed me out of my comfort zone and I was able to meet a lot of new friends!" Throughout the weekend, teens also had the chance to strengthen relationships with others from their NFTY region during dedicated time where they discussed opportunities for gatherings and shared ideas for projects beyond West Coast Party.

With the plethora of Jewish professionals supporting this event, teens also had the opportunity chose a limmud (study session) or workshop, led by an adult professional around a topic of interest as it related to Jewish life. Session options included Sports and Leadership, Teen Mental Health, Jewish Beading, Connecting Judaism and Nature, Jewish Music, and Developing Your Professional Self.

Social action and tikkun olam has long been a core value of both NFTY and URJ camps. It was important to the teen Social Action Vice Presidents that the focus of the content and call to action for the weekend be both personal and impactful. By examining waste and consumption on a personal level, teens were able to identify small ways to cut down on waste that could make a big impact in the long term. When reflecting on the limmudim and the social action program, one participant shared, "because of [NFTY events like] West Coast Party, I've developed leadership skills that will last me a lifetime."

One of the most anticipated events of West Coast Party is known as "Big Fun." Over the long weekend, teens had twice the Big Fun with a B*Mitzvah-style party complete with a bounce house, tarot card reading, and ice cream sundae bar on Saturday evening followed by a silent disco dance party Sunday evening.

Alongside teen programming, youth professionals from across California benefitted from professional development led by Rachel Margolis, Director of NFTY Experiences & Strategy and Beth Lipschutz from JFNA's BeWell initiative. Guided by the 2024 study on Jewish American teen well-being, youth professionals and Jewish educators explored the findings in the report and discussed practical applications for their work in the Jewish teen space. Jacob Hershman, Youth Director at Congregation Rodef Sholom in San Rafael, CA shared:

[I] appreciated the space that [facilitators] created to discuss the connections between local programming and research on teen engagement. It was interesting to see how each TYG (Temple Youth Group) is approaching similar challenges in different ways.

He also shared that it was helpful to, "be with other people who can understand my perspective [as a youth professional]."

West Coast Party continues to be a shining example of collaboration among teens, regions, NFTY Regional Mentors, URJ congregations, regional URJ camps, and retreat teams. Partnering with URJ Camp Newman and the Koret Conference Center, a leader in both year-round immersive experiences and unreasonable hospitality, elevated the weekend by empowering participants to live as the best versions of themselves; engage deeply in a value-rich environment; and return home with the skills and experience to help grow communities of kindness, dignity, purpose and joy.

When asked about their experience on the West Coast Party planning committee, Ben Smulewitz shared: 

Being part of [West Coast Party] where everyone was able to be together as a community in such a welcoming environment inspired me to be a bigger part of my Jewish community. I want to continue to help other teens experience weekends like this!

West Coast Party is an annual, multi-regional NFTY teen retreat hosted by URJ Camp Newman. Save the date for the next NFTY West Coast Party at Newman: January 16-19, 2026!