How long have you been implementing the program? 

We first began working with the Youth Promise, then known as the Youth Pledge, in 2022. The idea was brought to us by Mike Leven, who explained how meaningful it could be, both for our students and for our organization. What stood out right away was how it provided not only a database of names, emails, and phone numbers, but also a way to stay connected with students long after they graduate.

That ongoing connection is invaluable. In SSI, our students are incredibly active during their college years, working tirelessly to represent Israel and support the Jewish community. But after graduation, many of them move on to jobs in fields like marketing, law, or healthcare, where they don’t necessarily encounter those same opportunities to engage with the pro-Israel or Jewish world. The Youth Promise helps bridge that gap. Every five years, participants get a reminder of the commitment they made back in college; A powerful way to reconnect them to their values and to the community.

Why did you start to implement the Promise in your school/organization? In other words, what led to the decision to incorporate JYP into your programming? 

At SSI, signing the Youth Promise is really the foundation. If you want to attend our
National Conference, it’s a requirement.  When students officially join SSI, one of the action items is signing the promise.

We reinforce it throughout the year, especially leading up to each conference, because we set clear signature goals. For example, in 2022 our goal was 1,000 signatures, the next year it was 2,000, and now we’re aiming for 3,000. It keeps growing, and we treat it seriously.

To keep students engaged, we also added incentives. We know students need multiple reminders, so we created a system where if someone brings in 25 or 50 signatures from their campus or chapter, they receive a small reward, like a Starbucks gift card. We verify the signatures through the website to make sure everything is accurate, and then send them their reward. It’s a fun way to motivate participation while reinforcing the importance of the promise.

What part of the JYP experience is most impactful for your students?

In the short term, the biggest impact of the Youth Promise is that it forces students to pause and reflect on why they’re doing what they do. When someone signs, they’re often asked to leave a note for their future self, and that’s a powerful moment. It’s not just a quick form—it makes you stop and think, “What would I want to remind myself five years from now?” Many students write beautiful, thoughtful reflections that capture their passion and commitment. Even for those who don’t leave a message, just signing is still a reminder of their “why.”

In the long run, the impact is even deeper. Imagine a student who signed the promise at 20, when they were a sophomore in college, and then revisits it at 35 or 40. By then, life looks different—maybe they have a family, maybe a demanding career, or maybe a very different path altogether. But when they receive that reminder of what they stood for in their college years, it reconnects them to their values and to the Jewish story.

It’s a bit like finding an old notebook from high school and flipping through what you wrote—you’re instantly transported back to who you were and what mattered to you. The Youth Promise creates that same effect: a lasting reminder of the role they played in supporting Israel and the Jewish people, and a chance to reconnect with that purpose later in life.

Thinking long term, how do you see JYP as furthering the mission of SSI? Do you believe that it will ensure students continue to support Israel? 

At SSI, the foundation of everything we do is standing for something—standing for Israel and for the Jewish people, especially in difficult times. The Youth Promise reinforces that mission by reminding people what they stood for during their college years, when they were most active and engaged.

For many, college is remembered as a joyful, carefree time—classes, friendships, and experiences without the heavy responsibilities of adult life. But alongside those good memories, the promise brings back something more serious: the commitment they made to stand for Israel. It’s a reminder that our struggle didn’t end with previous generations, and unfortunately, it won’t end with ours. It’s ongoing, and the promise keeps that reality front and center.

That reflection makes people stop and think, and it creates a meaningful connection to their past activism. For SSI as an organization, it also opens the door to future reconnection. Imagine someone at 45 receiving their reminder and suddenly thinking back to SSI—checking in on how the organization is doing, or even encouraging their own children to get involved. That continuity ensures our mission doesn’t just impact one generation of students, but continues to ripple forward into the next.

In your experience, what has been the best reaction or feedback you’ve received from your students and/or parents about the Promise?

We’ve seen this play out in many ways. Some students even use tabling as an opportunity to encourage others to sign the promise, which not only grows the number of signatures but also builds a stronger sense of community around their chapter. A great example is Ava from Ohio State University. She got more than 100 students from her campus to sign the promise, and her chapter is now a top contender for SSI Chapter of the Year.

Another story that stands out comes from Arkansas State University—a school I didn’t even realize had a Jewish presence until SSI helped launch a chapter there last year. One student, who is likely the only Israeli in the entire state, not only started the chapter but also got her friends and teammates to sign the promise. She’s an NCAA athlete and even recruited other Israeli athletes from across the country to participate.

These kinds of stories show us that the students who champion the promise aren’t just signing a form—they’re stepping up as leaders and helping to strengthen the movement in meaningful ways.

If you were to recommend the Promise to another school or organization, what would you say?

I would say it’s absolutely worth doing. Yes, it takes time and effort, especially when you’re working with students and need to remind them multiple times, but the payoff is significant. The concept itself is powerful, and the process creates real value for both the students and the organization.

One of the biggest benefits is that you can stay connected with students, not just now, but when they get their first reminder or even ten years down the road. That kind of long-term engagement is invaluable.

For us, it’s also about trust. Mike and the Promise have put their faith in our organization, and we take that responsibility seriously. Each year, we see it as our job to prove ourselves again and again—to show that we care enough to do the work, even if it means going the extra mile. And we will, because the benefits so clearly outweigh the effort.