Local Representatives (LRs) are youth between the ages of 14-29 who volunteer to assist Regional Coordinators (RCs) and members of the Executive Board with activities in their local temples or around their region. Serving as an LR is an excellent way to build valuable leadership skills and stay involved with YJA, and also a great stepping stone towards holding an Executive Board position.
Between planning and attending local events and collaborating on region-wide efforts, you can anticipate spending anywhere between 5-10 hours a month on LR duties. We rely on LRs to encourage local Jain youth to attend YJA events and to be liaisons to sangh leadership. LRs are vital to truly reaching youth in all communities big and small across the YJA regions!
LRs can also choose to work with other members of the Executive Board by joining their Committees - they might write educational content, help plan webinars, develop graphics and media for Public Relations use, or help to keep the website updated.
If you’re interested in being an LR, let us know by emailing events@yja.org.
YJA has been a huge part of my growth. I’ve been an LR for 2 years now and from being able to work on projects with my peers to coming up with themes and activities for retreat, being on the team has been very rewarding. Additionally, being an LR has taught me more about Jainism and has connected me with others who know more than me such that I have been able to learn many things from them! Overall, I have loved being an LR and I will continue to be one!
I love being an LR because I have made so many great friends through this experience. I love helping out and creating fun activities with other LRs to make retreat the best possible. Most of all, I love doing kudos and hyping each other up when we have good ideas and especially post call game nights!
Being an LR helped me learn about YJA, outside of the convention year. I loved helping plan events and making new friends! It’s really awesome being able to help out such a great organization while having so much fun.