Ahimsa Youth Organization

AHIMSA YOUTH ORGANIZATION

Ahimsa Youth Organization (AYO) is a non-profit 501(c)(3), charitable and educational organization dedicated to educating and promoting the culture of South Asia to the general public, specifically non-South Asians, and assisting the less fortunate through community service.

Join AYO

Thank you for your interest in the Ahimsa Youth Organization (AYO). Membership to join AYO is free and is open to high school students in the Washington DC Metropolitan Area . All students are encouraged to join and membership is not restricted to gender, ethnic origin, cultural background, religious or political philosophy. All activities will be conducted in the Washington D.C. metropolitan area (USA). High School students who are interested in joining will participate in the AYO Leadership Council.

The AYO Leadership Council brings together High School students to discuss various aspects of South Asian Heritage and plan activities in accordance to the mission of AYO. High School students are designated as Region Representatives for various states and regions of South Asia and are responsible for acting as the Subject Matter Expert for their region. Guidelines for being an AYO Region Representative are as follows:

You must be a high school student with an interest in South Asia.

You will be required to attend one meeting a month in Bethesda, MD, on the first Sunday at 2 PM. The meeting will last approximately 1 hour.

You are required to act as a Region Representative for one year.

You must attend 8 out of 10 planned meetings a year. Meetings will start in September and end in June. If you miss more than 2 meetings, your position as Region Representative may be terminated as decided upon by the Executive Director.

You will participate in a forum-like setting where in each meeting you will provide a short presentation (less than 2 minutes) on a current topic pertinent to your Region (this could be a historical event that occurred in your state, political news, cultural event, a popular festival, etc). Once throughout the year you will give a formal 5-minute presentation at a meeting on a specific topic of your choice related to your state.

You must plan two cultural activities and two community service activities with the council.

There are many advantages for joining the Leadership Council:

Your participation will help educate non-South Asians about South Asian culture and heritage related to your region.

You will gain knowledge about your region by educating your South Asian peers.

You will help plan cultural and community service events.

You will learn important presentation and facilitation skills.

You will gain leadership and organizational skills.

You will attain community service hours through participation in AYO programs.

You will meet different individuals with similar interests as yours.

If you are interested in being a member of AYO and the AYO Leadership Council, please fill out all of the fields and press TAB to go to the next field. Your information will be used solely for AYO internal purposes and will not be divulged to outside organizations. By submitting this form you accept membership into the Ahimsa Youth Organization (AYO) and agree to abide by all rules set forth by the Organization. You also understand that AYO will not be held liable for bodily injury or any accident transpired from participating in activities related to the organization.

AYO Sign-Up Form