Posted by Gabbi B

Program Host	Regional
Host Region	Southern - Dixie Council
Program Type	Convention Political Activism Social Action
Time Required	Less then 2 hours
Target Population(s)	Girls (BBG) Boys (AZA) Convention Participants
Folds Targeted	Community Service/Social Activism Social Action
Related Website	www.my2centsforchange.org

Program Summary:

Based off of a program at IC 2008, Dixie Council incorporated election "hot topics" into a Saturday morning service.

Full Description:

This program was designed to be an interactive service that includes discussion of current political events and issues.

Signs are posted all over the walls with different political issues on them (see attached). Participants have about 10 minutes before the service starts to react to the issues by writing on the signs with marker. Some people drew pictures, some people wrote opinions, some people crossed out words, etc. (If there are people who prefer not to write on Shabbat, let them know that there are more interactive parts of the service that will allow them to voice their opinions.)

After about 10 minutes, have everyone sit down. By this point, everyone is pretty fired up about the issues. Begin with the first prayer and discuss the following points in between the different prayers:

Why did we (the leaders of the program) have the participants write out their thoughts? Too often, we think that our opinions don't matter or how we feel is overlooked. This gives us an opportunity to show that we care about all of the issues-- from health care to stem cell research.

Is there an issue that anyone feels strongly about? Have you fought for it? What did you do?

Can you vote? If so, will you? Do you feel educated about the issues and the candidates? If not, what are doing to participate in the election?

Pass out copies of a quote by John F. Kennedy: "Perhaps I may be allowed the observation that the Jewish people - ever since David slew Goliath - have never considered youth as a barrier to leadership, or measured experience and maturity by mere length of days."

As participants what they think of the quote-- what does it mean? How does it relate to BBYO?

Submitter's Suggestions:

Don't forget to provide members with a D'var Torah, and try to relate the parsha to the discussion at hand.

We did a My 2 Cents for Change program following the service, and they went together perfectly-- try to bring the two together!

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