Our temple youth group (TYG) is called GROOVY (GrassValley Region Of Organized Valuable Youth) and was established by our high school teens in 2000.   The youth group’s purpose is to create a place for Jewish high school teens to come for informal Jewish education, socializing, community outreach, camaraderie, and fun.  In the past, we have visited patients in hospital care, made Judaica artwork, had a falafel banquet, met for a pool party, and assisted with Sunday School activities such as seders for Tu B’Shevat and Pesach.

Our TYG participates in regional and national events of NFTY (North American Federation of Temple Youth), the youth branch of URJ(Union for Reform Judaism).  We are proud to have had one of our members serve as President of our Central West Region, which comprises Northern California, Nevada, and Hawaii, in 2003-04. In 2005, another member participated in the Eisendrath International Exchange High School in Israel program, sponsored by NFTY.  This program allows students to take a high school semester in Israel; the students live and learn on a kibbutz and have lots of educational travel days to experience life in Israel.  These are a few of the many opportunities open to our youth group teens.

Locally this fall, our youth group had a “kitchen event” where we cooked rice pudding Iraqi-style, and talked about spices, geography, and diversity in the Jewish population.

If you are in high school (your family does not have to be temple members), we welcome your membership in GROOVY!