Posted by Wesley P

Program Host	Chapter
Host Region and Chapter	Lonestar Isadore Shapiro AZA
Program Type	Athletic Brotherhood Community Service Education Judaic Prayer/Services Separates Sisterhood Social Travel/Adventure
Time Required	Weekend
Target Population(s)	Girls (BBG) Boys (AZA)
People Participating	30-60

Program Summary:

Shapiro AZA and Malev BBG went "around the world" in a brotherhood/sisterhood weekend.

Full Description:

The planning began about 4 months before the retreat. Shapiro S'gan, Wesley Patt, and Malev S'ganit, Shelly Gordon, decided they wanted to continue their chapters tradition of having a brotherhood/sisterhood retreat. Since both Wesley and Shelly love exploring new places, they came up with the theme "Around the World". After many meetings and months of planning programs in every AZA and BBG fold, Wesley and Shelly were ready to share an amazing experience with their chapters. The retreat was going to take place at Northwest Forest Conference Center. The entire Bro/Sis was going to be educational because throughout the entire retreat, the chapters would learn about countries around the world. First, the chapters loaded on the bus and drove to the retreat center. They stopped for dinner on the way and finally arrived at the site about 2 hours later. When they arrived, the chapters had "Around the World Services". The services used were derived from different countries all around the world. After the services, the chapters participated in a Speed Dating icebreaker. In this icebreaker, each AZA and BBG member had 1 and a half minutes with one another. They were given a set of questions that they had to ask each other. Everyone enjoyed meeting each other. After the speed dating icebreaker, everyone broke into teams and played a human board game. The pieces of the board game were actual people and each space had a task/question about different countries in the world for the teams to complete together. After the board game, the chapters had separates, which included individual chapter activities and good and well fare. The chapters truly came together as a whole. The next day began with services from Sephardic societies. After services, everyone participated in BBYO Olympics. 3 games from different countries were played: Ultimate Frisbee (USA), GaGa (Israel), and Kickball (Mexico). Everyone had an incredible time competing against one another and learning about sports in other countries. After Olympics, the chapters participated in a community service project. The chapters made greeting cards and blankets for people in the hospital. Everyone learned to be thankful for their health and be thankful for what they have. After community service the chapters had more separates time. After separates, the chapters packed up and got ready for a fun-filled Saturday night. The chapters went to dinner at Becks Prime Sportatorium where they watched sports and had one last meal together. After the meal, everyone went to 300 Bowling Lanes and bowled their hearts out. It was a fantastic end to the retreat.

Cost: The Bus, Retreat site, sports equipment, restaurants, Bowling. It all ended up costing each chapter about $2000. We charged each member $125.

Staffing: Each chapter had 2 chaperones.

Food: The food was provided by Northwest Conference center. We went to dinner at restaurants, which ended up saving the chapter a lot of money.

Publicity: We sent out the flyer and sign-up about a month before the retreat. We also created a facebook event.

Transportation: We took a bus to and from all of our destinations.

Submitter's Suggestions:

Try to find a retreat that has a lot of space that will make kosher food. Also, try to find the best deal on a bus company, Shapiro and Malev payed a lot for their buses.