CREATIVE COMMUNICATIONS
Rosh Chodesh Adar I

Issue: Three                    February 2008
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Thanks for your interest in receiving easily implemented public relations and fundraising tips specifically for your school. Read on to learn more about reaping the PR benefits of reaching out to your extended families.
 
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Greetings!


Yes, it's Rosh Chodesh ... and a leap year. Yet, that doesn't mean that Purim and Pesach are not around the corner. If you haven't been making a special effort to reach your extended family - students' aunts, uncles and grandparents - Im Lo Achshav, Eimatai? If not now, when?
Mi Dor L'dor - Embrace Your Students' Extended Families!

@ Mailbox PNGPurim and Pesach are family events. In many ways the fruits of your labor will be guests at every Purim Seudah and Pesach Seder that your students attend. A preschool child's handmade mask, handcrafted frogs (that jump everywhere during the Seder), a high school student's insightful Divrei Torah; all are concrete examples that epitomize your school during the Chagim.
 
Now is the time to think about inviting your student's extended families to be your guests as well. If you don't have one, start your own Intergenerational League. Whether you call it a Grandparent/Special Person Association, Mi Dor L'dor Club, or KesherConnection, your goal is to involve grandparents. Let me show you how.

Dedicated Events
Conduct these annually, at least at
the K-8 level. Depending on the nature of your school, staff, and volunteers decide which is most practical: a weekend or after hours event? A weekday event? Options include:

 
Sunday Breakfast
Malave Malke
Evening program
Daytime assembly followed by in-class programs or projects
 
Collaborate with your staff; let their strengths shine. The dramatic teacher might have student "radio show hosts" interview grandparents, while the artistic teacher's students create a project with their grandparents, the history buff's class works on an oral history project or genealogy tree, the literary teacher's guests write collaborative poetry, and the "curator's" guests explain the significance of the family "artifact" they brought to share with the class. Not enough time? Teachers can also involve their guests in the regular curriculum. They key is not making your teachers work harder: it is creating opportunities for sharing and caring.
 
Follow-up
Take a picture of each child with his or her guest and then mail it to the guest in an inexpensive frame embossed with your school's name and the event's date. The picture taking is not only a Kodak moment: it is an opportunity to collect contact information.
 
Invite/Involve Grandparents Throughout the Year
Don't underestimate your grandparents; they are interesting and interested. Of course, you should encourage their attendance at plays, chagigot, and special events. But, get to know them. Poll them. In addition to discovering a wealth of talented people who will be happy to speak at your junior and high school career days you may discover a cadre of dedicated volunteers ready to share their expertise.
 
Give or. . . Give to Get
The adage "it's always better to give than receive" may seem counter-intuitive from a fundraising point of view.  However, first you give.
 
Promotional Items
Give inexpensive tokens. Key rings, mugs, and letter openers emblazoned with "I love my NAME OF YOUR SCHOOL student" will get daily use.
 
Student Creations
Hand crafted ritual objects will be treasured. Although I set my Seder table with crystal and china, my Seder plate, Matza cover, washing cup, Afikoman bag, and pillows were created by my children. Their grandmothers are similarly proud to use their hand made Challah boards and Chanukiot (full disclosure: the children are now 26 and 23).
 
High School Administrators
If you are thinking, "well this is fine for lower schools, but our schedule is too demanding," please think again. Sure, Thanksgiving pageants, Chanukah Chagigot, and model Sedarim have been replaced by the growing demands of your pre-college dual curriculum. How can you turn grandparents into integral partners? Perhaps some are honored speakers at Yom Ha Shoa programs. Invite them to speak at Career Night, Family Life Day, and other programs as well. See if they might be interested in serving as mentors or sharing their skills in your office, art room, or lab.
 
You've Got Mail
Stay in touch with your extended families on a regular basis ... enough to be informative but not too much to be annoying.  Relatives will be more receptive to your solicitations if you are not asking for money each time you contact them.  A quarterly newsletter or monthly email update will suffice. (Please do not bombard extended families with emails or you'll end up in a "time-out" a/k/a junk mail box!)
 
As Jewish educators, you embrace the mandate of passing our precious legacy from generation to generation. Invite the previous generations to help the torch burn brighter as, together, you pass it along to tomorrow's leaders.
Should you have any questions about implementing this inter generational  plan or about any of my day school services, please call me at (516) 569-8070 or send me an email.

Until the next issue, Kol Tuv!


Sincerely,


Signature Revised Green
Candace Plotsker-Herman
Creative Communications