As a child, Baltimore resident Jaclyn Sova loved school – so much so that she pursued a teaching career as an avid supporter of formal education. Yet it was the informal instruction she received outside the four walls of the classroom that most resonated with her and had the greatest influence on her commitment to Yiddishkeit.
Today, the Chumash and Machshava teacher at Bnos
Yisroel and Bais Yaakov of Baltimore is imparting the same passion and skills
she developed in her youth to students at both high schools through BGCUBED
(Building Girls to Gain and Grow), a unique program of Atlantic Seaboard NCSY
and the Orthodox Union (OU).
“I loved learning and I loved my teachers, but
camp changed my life,” says Sova. “There was something about being inspired
outside of the classroom – those informal experiences somehow touched the
deeper parts of me.”
In the early days of Sova’s work as a high school
teacher, students frequently approached her in search of religious inspiration,
ideas on how they might be productive during their free time, and ways that
they might foster new friendships. The demand for opportunities to cultivate
social, religious, and leadership skills gave Sova an idea: What if she could
provide a space for girls to thrive religiously and socially?
“The building blocks of the frum community are in the hands of our nashim tzidkaniyos,” she maintains. “We have to build up our teens
with inspiration, real engagement, and passion. These teens are the crème-de-la-crème
of our community, and if they represent the future of the Jewish people, we
need to offer them opportunities that foster a deeper relationship with Hashem
and klal Yisrael.”
The result was BGCUBED, a weekly extra-curricular
program for Bais Yaakov and Bnos Yisroel teens which offers dynamic chabura-learning, fulfilling chesed and kiruv activities, fun outings to places like SkyZone and bowling
alleys, and exciting events like shalosh
seudos and Chanukah and Purim chagigos.
“Our varied activities offer an entry point for
every girl,” says Sova, BGCUBED’s director. “A chabura may really speak to one person, whereas another might
appreciate eating pizza with friends.”
Since its inception in 2019, Sova and BGCUBED have
earned the blessings of leading community rabbanim and lay leaders, and the
support of both schools.
“Mrs. Sova's passion to grow and her care for
every girl are remarkable,” says Rabbi Pinchas Gross, Rav of Kehillas Derech
Chaim. “She uses her considerable talents to help each girl in an intuitive and
sincere way.”
Bais Yaakov Principal Rabbi Yechezkel Zweig
agrees. “Mrs. Sova is a uniquely gifted individual, who is driven by a love for
klal Yisrael and a deep-felt desire
to inspire bnos Yisrael to strive for
higher ideals and goals in their Yiddishkeit. Her BGCUBED programs reflect the
pure, positive energy and inspiration of their architect.”
Says Rabbi Seidemann, Rav of Kehilas B’nai Torah, “There
are many facets that contribute to the raising of wonderful bnos Yisroel. It truly takes a village.
It requires a home which is filled with simchas
hachaim, integrity, and Torah-true values. It requires a school with
dedicated mechanchim and mechanchos who are passionate about
transmitting the mesorah to the next
generation. It also requires wholesome and fulfilling extracurricular
activities. We are very fortunate to live in a community which is providing a
successful triumvirate so that we can cover all of our bases. BGCUBED is an
important and vital piece of this sacred endeavor of raising happy and healthy
girls.”
In 2019, Sova hosted BGCUBED’s first event, a shalosh seudos, at her home. While she
expected about 45 girls to attend the pilot activity, over 200 showed up.
Their enthusiasm confirmed to Sova that they “were clearly starving” for
inspiring programming and opportunities to form meaningful connections. BGCUBED
quickly gained momentum as hundreds of students began to participate in weekly
activities promoted by their grade-level peers who serve as program
ambassadors.
Ambassadors fill a critical role, says Sova, as
they plan, execute, and market BGCUBED activities to their friends. A number of
ambassadors promote other leadership programs under the BGCUBED umbrella; the
BGCUBED-18 division sends student volunteers to Chai Lifeline’s parent respite
breakfast program, for example, while high school students affiliated with
BGCUBED-Plus run BGCUBED programs for middle school students.
Following an application process, students chosen
as ambassadors attended a local conference where they learned critical
leadership skills, received sensitivity training and heard from renowned
speakers like Rabbi Yechiel Spero.
All BGCUBED participants — both students and
ambassadors alike — are overseen by post-seminary madrichot who serve as the teens’ mentors.
“Our goal is to build the girls up through various
leadership opportunities and relationships with girls in other grades, other
schools, and with the madrichot,”
says madricha and BGCUBED’s marketing
manager Yocheved Soskil. “We create an atmosphere where the girls are
comfortable to reach out to others and build lasting relationships.”
When Covid hit in early 2020, Sova feared BGCUBED
might be unable to sustain remote participation. Remarkably, the pandemic only
contributed to the program’s popularity.
“We went on Zoom and were extremely
successful,” says Sova. “The scope of participants confirmed how much BGCUBED
is needed and appreciated by both students and their parents. It really felt
like we had created the refua before
the maka.”
In the last three months alone, over 430
adolescents have participated in BGCUBED, reinforcing the program’s growing
value as a community resource.
“Young people thrive when given the opportunity to
engage in positive and uplifting out-of-school experiences that reinforce their
Torah values, expose them to inspiring role models, and give them the
opportunity to build their own capacity for leadership,” said OU Executive Vice-President
Rabbi Moshe Hauer. “It is a privilege for the Orthodox Union and NCSY to work
with one of Baltimore’s outstanding mechanchos,
Mrs. Jaclyn Sova of BGCUBED, to bring this opportunity to the young women of
our community.”
Above all, BGCUBED offers young bnos Torah in the community an inclusive
environment where they can come into their own by developing relationships and
critical skills in the most formative years of their lives.
“What BGCUBED represents is not only a social and
non-formal educational program, it also allows our participants the ability to
have a safe environment where they can express themselves and grow in their own
Yiddishkeit,” says Rabbi Jonah Lerner, Regional Director of Atlantic Seaboard
NCSY. “I am so proud that the OU and NCSY value this program and this
demographic and have invested time and resources into it. The success of our
program has brought on many other cities who have contacted us looking for ways
they can bring a similar program to their communities. If that’s not nachas, I don’t know what is.”
For more information, contact Mrs. Jaclyn Sova, Director of
BGCUBED, at 516-317-1219 or sovaj@bgcubed.com.
