Posted by Sage J

Program Host	Chapter
Host Region and Chapter	Eastern Abraham Cohen BBG
Program Type	Arts Community Service Education Holocaust Jewish Holiday Sisterhood Social Action
Time Required	Less then 2 hours
Target Population(s)	Girls (BBG) Freshmen Sophomores Juniors Seniors Summer Program Prospects
Folds Targeted	Community Service Social Action Jewish Heritage Creativity Sisterhood
People Participating	10-30

Program Summary:

The program was to make sure the BBGs do not forget their past history, remember their present story and retell their story. This theme also tied in with Earth Day and Holocaust Remembrance  Day which happened the week before the program occured.

Full Description:

My program focused on each BBG as well as our community and our history (the Holocaust). It occurred on Sunday April 26, 2009 at the JCC in the Kids Place (the kid after-school day care center) which was helpful because we needed tables and chairs to do this program successfully.
Each BBG was told to bring newspaper and two shoeboxes to the program. They were each told to bring two just in case other girls forgot/didn't have shoeboxes (which was very helpful!). I got some of the girls to bring in their own personal markers from home so we wouldn't have to spend money to buy them.
I had to buy in advance glue and stickers to decorate the shoeboxes. I went to Target and went to the scrapbooking section and spent roughly $10.
I made a packet for the girls to fill out that was part of the program. It is attached to use. I made the packets double-sided in honor of celebrating Earth Day.
We first covered our shoeboxes with newspaper and then decorated it with stickers and wrote with markers specific milestones on it.
Then we got into the packet. It started out with a reflection of the girls past memories that they would want to remember when the got older. I introduced this section of our lives with a poem that a BBG (Jenna) wrote. Each sentence (in the first page of the packet)started with Remember when...and then each girl would fill it out. I wanted the events to be somewhat detailed so it would be vivid in our later years. Then we got into specific memorable events such as their Bat Mitzvah, first crush, first BBYO event, etc. and each BBG wrote down a specific memory from that event. During this section, I passed around some Memory Quotes I found online to inspire the girls to write in depth of their past.
Then we went into the present and each girl wrote down everything they loved currently such as their favorite food, color, movie, etc. I even left a few blanks for each girl to put their own favorite thing.
Finally, we went into a "Checklist for the Past, Present and Future". It was a list of things that each BBG should do in her lifetime such as run for chapter board, go to a convention, go to a summer program etc. I also incorporated listening to a Holocaust survivor speak, go to Israel, go to a concentration camp etc. The boxes that were not checked I put a space at the bottom where each BBG would put the way they would accomplish a goal that was not marked.
The overall program took EXACTLY 2 hours for my program. This was because it took alot longer for the girls to cover their shoeboxes with newspaper and decorate them than I expected. But we also had some really good convos about our own personal lives which definitely bonded us together. Each girl got to "lock" their memories in their shoebox and take it home with them.

Submitter's Suggestions:

This program could be 2 hours long or even longer. It really depends how into it everyone gets. I suggest that you make sure that everyone possible can bring shoeboxes because if it weren't for the few who brought extras, then the program wouldn't have worked out as well for the ones who didn't have them. A good tip is to make sure the glue dries on the shoeboxes before you start writing on it, because it will wreck the newspaper (and possibly the marker too). This program can be serious or not, depending on the mood you are going for. There were not too many girls at the program which actually worked out well because there weren't any side conversations or distractions. But, if handled appropriately I'm sure more people could be involved in this program. The program went really well and everyone enjoyed bringing how a boxful of memories :)

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