Young Jains of America (YJA) is a committee of Federation of Jain Associations in North America (JAINA) who puts emphasis on projects relating to Jain youth from ages 14-29. Our mission is: “to be recognized as a national and international umbrella Jain youth organization for establishing a network to share Jain heritage and religion through young people.”
YJA’s objectives are:
- To raise awareness about Jain ideals and principles in North America and the world
- To create a forum for sharing Jain religion
- To instill a sense of pride among Jain youth about their heritage
- To address the problems, difficulties, and concerns facing Jain youth
- To assist and to promote charitable community activities
- To prepare Jain youth to become successful Jain leaders of tomorrow
- To develop friendships among young Jains
- To foster and strengthen local Jain youth groups
Timeline:
July 1991 – YJA is born!
July 1994 – First Convention organized in Chicago, IL
July 1995 – YJA unveils its website – www.yja.org.
July 1996 – Second Convention organized in San Francisco, CA
July 1998 – Third Convention organized in Houston, TX
April 2001 – Mahavir Jayanti 2600 Celebration Play: The Past Lives of Bhagwan Mahavir is played around nations across North America.
July 2000 – Fourth Convention organized in Los Angeles, CA.
June 2002 – Annual Habitat for Humanity projects organized.
July 2002 – Fifth Convention organized in Mahwah, NJ.
December 2002 – YJA partners with Veerayatan to send youth to needy places.
July 2004 – Sixth Convention in the Bay Area, CA
July 2006 - Seventh Convention hosted in Stamford, CT
magazine: YJA Young Minds