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Active Teenagers of JOY
at Jain Society of Greater Detroit
Jain
The Jain Organization of Youth (JOY) was founded in 1993 as the youth wing of the Jain Society of Greater Detroit. JOY's objective is to empower the youth of our community by providing a platform to spread awareness of the Jain religion and to promote social and community service.
Major objectives are to:
• Help build the essence of Jainism socially and spiritually within the Jain Youth Community • Produce principled leaders for the Jain Society of Greater Detroit • Assist the Jain Society of Greater Detroit with major events • Advocate service and give back to the community • Foster a sense of community among Jain Youth • Make a difference even outside the vicinity of the Jain Youth Community
JOY members are between the ages of 13 and 18 and currently there are about 36 members. Here are the activities that JOY organized since fall 2015:
In October, during Diwali, JOY arranged for members and kids to make Rangoli. Many JOY members participated and colored awesome Rangolis which were kept in temple for viewing for a week. All kids wrote messages on leaves and stuck them to a tree creating the “JOY Kalp Vruksh”. It was also kept in temple for viewing. Another new activity was making
Thanksgiving cards for old and sick seniors in rehab. JOY members decorated and wrote personal messages in the cards which they delivered in person to the senior citizens.
In November, JOY has it's signature activity. On Thanksgiving day, JOY has a Navkaar Jaap for the Turkeys who are killed. On the morning of Thanksgiving, JOY members prepare breakfast for all the adults (of course their mom's help them a little bit) and after breakfast they have Navkaar Jaap for about an hour.
In December 2015, JOY had an event called “Lock In' at a member's house. About 20 members gathered at 8 pm and were there until 8 am the following morning. During the night, different activities were planned such as discussions and debates on current affairs and Jainism, and they played different board games, etc. The bonding experience amongst members nurtures long-lasting friendships. All this was supervised by 2 moms who volunteered to stay awake with them.
In January 2016, they began the year with a community service/volunteering event. JOY members went to the organization called "World Medical Relief." They learned about the history and establishment of the organization and sorted medical supplies based on their expiration dates. The supplies that were packaged were shipped to London to help the underprivileged. It was a great experience for all the kids and they enjoyed working there.
This year they had a shoe drive called "Soles4Souls Shoe Drive" for underprivileged kids of Detroit. They collected around 250 pairs of old shoes, sandals, and flip-flops donated by society members.
JOY kids raised a contribution to help the Nepalese Refugees affected by the earthquake. The donations and the toys collected by JOY kids were sent to refugees and children in Lansing, Michigan.
February brings the most awaited event of JOY; the Winter camp! Every winter all the members go camping. They rent a huge house and around 20-25 kids and chaperons go there for the weekend. The whole trip is planned and executed by the kids. They do a lot of activities including discussions, cooking, cleaning, playing outdoors etc. and students learn some real
life skills.
