Teen Progarms and what they mean to Teen Advisory Board member, Jaya Mahajan

March, 2022- Hi Readers! Welcome back to the Generation SERVE blog! My name is Jaya Mahajan, and I am 17 years old. I am so glad to be writing this blog post for Generation SERVE.
     As far as my role in Generation SERVE, I am a member of TAB, which stands for the Teen Advisory Board. As a part of TAB, it is my job to assist with a variety of different things that help Generation SERVE to be the amazing nonprofit organization it is. For one, TAB fundraises for Generation SERVE through Bonfire, which has high quality merchandise designed by TAB teens that can be bought by you all. Fundraising is also done by TAB through GoFundMe, which allows anyone to support TAB with a monetary donation. I highly encourage you all to donate or purchase merchandise if you want to support Generation SERVE’s message “To engage children in volunteerism and empower them to make a difference in their communities”.
    TAB also aids Generation SERVE with the development of certain programs, such as Project Mentee and the Teen Leadership Academy. TAB members have created the lesson plans for the leadership training the Teen mentors go through to support Project Mentee. Those TAB members who help create the curriculum, lead such leadership training with the knowledge they have gained through being a part of TAB. Project Mentee is a program that encourages young kids to take initiative and become leaders in their community. I believe through Project Mentee  and the Teen Leadership Academy we are helping to grow Austin’s newest group of service-minded individuals, and I think anyone ages 8-12 & 13-18 would highly benefit from applying. Applications are open until March 9th for both Project Mentee and Teen Leadership Academy. I encourage you to apply today!
     The Teen Advisory Board also focuses on spreading awareness for TAB and Generation SERVE’s initiatives, through social media. The TAB Instagram and Facebook handle is @genservetab and I would love for you all to follow it! We post fun content to engage our followers and give them up to date information on everything going on with TAB. 
     I truly think TAB is an incredibly unique and impactful group of teens. The experiences I have been granted due to TAB have been extremely helpful for me to gain an edge over others my age. I have gained skills in writing, leading groups of various ages and demographics, public speaking, and marketing events. I think being a part of TAB will serve me well in my future, college and beyond. 
   Of course due to Covid-19 many of our previous opportunities and activities were moved to a virtual setting, but we are working hard now to make almost all of our activities in person! Our goal is to get involved as closely as we can with the Austin community we love so much. Thank you for reading this blog post! Hopefully through this you have come to understand who TAB is in correlation with Generation SERVE!
- Jaya Mahajan