Avodah:

Soc ia l Act ion and Community

Serv i ce

Presenter’s Guide*

Companion to multi-media presentation entitled Small & Mighty: The Inspirational

Story of Avodah

Written by:

Michael Bloomfield and Maery Kaplan-Hallam

*Adapted with kind permission from Harmony Foundation of Canada www.harmonyfdn.ca

https://www.facebook.com/HarmonyFoundationCanad

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Small & Mighty: The Inspirational Story of Avodah

Narration Written by:

Maery Kaplan-Hallam and Michael Bloomfield

Presenter’s Guide Adapted by:

Maery Kaplan-Hallam and Michael Bloomfield

Animation and Presentation Production by:

Maery Kaplan-Hallam, Michael Bloomfield, & Steve Martindale

Executive Producer:

Michael Bloomfield

Narration:

Maery Kaplan-Hallam

Produced by:

Congregation Emanu-El

Special thank you to the following for their assistance with this project:

The Avodah Committee

Rabbi Harry Brechner

Harmony Foundation of Canada

Thank you to the following organizations for their continued support:

Beacon Community Services

Out of the Rain Youth Night Shelter McGregor Socks

The Victoria Cool Aid Society

Our Place Society

Burnside Gorge Community Association

Victoria Real Estate Board

Faith in Action

Mayor and Council, City of Victoria

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION MESSAGE …................................................................................................... 4

PURPOSE OF THE PRESENTER’S GUIDE ...........................,.....................................................5

BACKGROUND ON THE PRESENTATION ...............................................................................6

GETTING READY TO ORGANIZE YOUR EVENT ....................................................................7

ORGANIZING YOUR EVENT ........................................................................................................8

RUNNING YOUR EVENT ..............................................................................................................11

SHOWING THE PRESENTATION ...............................................................................................14

POST-PRESENTATION DISCUSSION AND LEARNING ACTIVITY …..................................14

CARRYING MOMENTUM FORWARD .........................................................................................17

FINAL THOUGHTS .........................................................................................................................18

4 Introductory Message

Congregation Emanu-El, is located in Victoria’s urban core and functions as a hub for

outreach to the downtown community. Canada's oldest synagogue, we celebrated our 150th anniversary in 2013, and a decade of our social action program. Our small social action committee, Avodah has become a vibrant force in Victoria, delivering an ambitious program created to serve those in most need, particularly poor and homeless youth and families

At Congregation Emanu-El, we believe that with reliable information, effective tools and a commitment to positive action people can work together and achieve excellent results toward social action and positive community development. The success of our efforts has garnered much attention and numerous requests for materials on how to replicate our program. It is important to us that we share with others a methodology that is producing unique successes here in Victoria, where the need for social action benefiting the homeless and under-housed is great. We wanted to share our experience with other communities and community groups to help them develop their own social action initiatives. This presentation and the accompanying guide are designed as a practical and easy to use tool which we hope will inspire and inform communities like yours to implement your own social action initiatives. We are proud of what we have accomplished within our small community and offer it to you with gratitude. In Small & Mighty: The Inspirational Story of Avodah, we showcase some of our stories to demonstrate how community groups just like ours and yours - can make a positive and enduring difference. It is our hope that these community success stories will inspire and inform your efforts to create innovative strategies and activities to address social issues within your own communities. We applaud you for your leadership in the effort to make the world a better place.

Sincerely, Rabbi Harry Brechner, Penny Tennenhouse, and Michael Bloomfield

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Purpose of the Presenter’s Guide

This presenter's guide was created to assist dedicated individuals, like you, who are seeking

to inform and motivate members of their communities about social action initiatives. Our

hope is that this guide and presentation will equip you to make a difference in your

community.

We want your experience with Small & Mighty: The Inspirational Story of Avodah to be

productive, educational, and enjoyable. To host a community viewing event, you do not

need to be an expert on social welfare or community development. You simply need to be a

concerned member of your community with a desire to learn, the enthusiasm to act, and the

ability to introduce the presentation and moderate a positive discussion.

We are confident you will find hosting Small & Mighty: The Inspirational Story of Avodah to be a

positive experience that will bring you and your community closer to building a brighter

future. With your help and leadership, members of your community will soon realize the

benefits of working together towards justice and wellbeing for every member of your

community.

6 Background on the Presentation

This project was created by Congregation Emanu-El of Victoria BC to tell our story in order

to assist other communities. Small & Mighty: The Inspirational Story of Avodah has a running

time of approximately 16 minutes. We are grateful to Harmony Foundation of Canada for

guidance in the development of this project and permission to adapt their presenter’s guide

for this presentation.

The presentation starts with an introduction and a brief history of Avodah's creation and the

guiding principles which we have developed as we gained experience through our

programming. The second part of the presentation describes a few of our key initiatives to

showcase our approach and methodologies. The presentation closes by providing viewers

with steps to organizing, developing and sustaining a social action program themselves.

These are stories of people, just like you, who saw a need and took action. Offering insights,

information and ideas for practical action, the stories of our programming are presented to

inspire and illuminate your path towards positive and effective social action. It is our hope

that, from these stories, you will develop ideas of your own and move forward, determined

to make a difference in your own community.

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Getting Ready to Organize Your Event

Your viewing event should suit your own particular needs and can be as large or as small as

you see fit. In the following pages, we offer ideas for choosing a venue and advertising your

event. Great synergies are achieved when individuals work together as a team. For this

reason, we encourage you to organize your event with a partner or a group. By bringing

together other individuals who care deeply about developing a social action initiative in your

community, you will create a team that's dedicated to your cause.

8 Organizing Your Event

Over the next few pages, we provide step-by-step instructions for coordinating an event to

show title and facilitating meaningful discussion among audience members. By following the

five steps listed, you will be able to easily organize a successful event and educate others

about community level social action.

Step 1: Review Small & Mighty : The Inspirat ional Story o f Avodah

First, familiarize yourself with the video presentation. When you are advertising your event,

describe, in brief, what the presentation is about and the objective of your upcoming

meeting.

Step 2: Arrange Your Venue

To share the presentation with your audience, you will require a meeting space. You will

also need a laptop computer, projector and screen. Comfortable chairs and space for your

audience to write notes are important. There are many potential venues that should be

available for free or at a minimal cost. Where you decide to hold the event will depend on

the number of people you expect to attract.

• Public Library Meeting Rooms. Many public libraries have meeting rooms that are

available to the public.

• University Facilities. Universities and colleges often offer classrooms to the public for

community meetings.

• Halls of Faith and Service Groups. Churches, synagogues, Rotary clubs, legion

branches etc. usually have space available for community meetings.

• Work Facilities. If you work in an office, ask if you can book an available conference or

meeting room. If your employer supports your initiative, invite him or her to attend the

meeting.

9 • Participant's Home. For small groups, it may be easiest to host the meeting at a

participant's home.

Step 3: Advertise Your Event

To ensure a well- attended session, spreading the word about your upcoming event will be

one of the most critical components of your planning process. There are many ways to

advertise your event with little or no cost. Below are some advertising methods you can

easily deploy to let people know about your event:

• Word of Mouth. This can be an extremely useful method for informing others of your

event session. You can inform your friends, colleagues, and neighbours about the event in

this way.

• Email Distribution. Email distribution allows you to quickly reach a large number of

people and provide program details.

• List Serves. List serves allow you to reach people who share a similar interest with you.

Many office environments, universities and community groups have list serves, allowing

you to send information to people you believe would be interested in attending the meeting

session.

• Telephone Committee. Members of a telephone committee call and inform other

members of the upcoming event. If each person telephones only two or three people, a

fast-acting network is quickly established.

• Bulletin Boards. Many offices, universities, and public libraries provide bulletin boards

for displaying posters advertising upcoming public events.

• Other Internet Mediums. Blogs and social-networking websites, such as Facebook or

MySpace, offer another way for you to advertise your event.

10 Step 4: Create Your Agenda

Creating an agenda enables you to organize your event and inform others about what to

expect. Your agenda will outline what needs to be addressed during the session. We estimate

that a session will take approximately 1 hour and 20 minutes, including discussion

afterwards. The following is a sample agenda that you can follow or adapt to suit your own

timeline.

10:00 Introductions and Icebreaker

10:15 Review Agenda

10:20 Watch Small & Mighty: The Inspirational Story of Avodah

10:50 brainstorm session on community needs and program possibilities

11:15 Wrap-Up and Plan of Action (at this point, you can discuss your plans for the next

meeting and pass out a sheet to gather contact information for those in attendance).

11:45 Meeting Concludes

11 Running Your Event

Step 1: Preparation and Setup

When hosting a meeting, certain preparations should be kept in mind to ensure the meeting

runs smoothly.

• Arrive 15 Minutes Early. As the facilitator, you should arrive at least 15 minutes earlier

than the meeting start time.

• Room Setup. Adjust tables and chairs so that all participants will be able to view the

presentation and interact with each other. Check if the room has adjustable lighting to

cater to the presentation and discussion portions of the session. If you are using a

projector and screen for showing the presentation, check that all equipment is in

working order. You should also write the agenda (including the title of the meeting,

items on the agenda, and the time schedule) on the blackboard or whiteboard. This will

allow participants to quickly understand the context of the session and be better

prepared for the meeting.

• Start On Time. It is important that you start your event on time. This shows respect to

your audience members who made an effort to attend. Starting on time also allows you

to follow your agenda items more effectively. If your meeting begins late important

elements of the evening may be shortchanged.

• Be Positive. Throughout the meeting, remember to be positive. Your positive words

and behaviour will transfer to your audience and encourage participants to interact and

exchange ideas in a productive and cooperative manner. If someone is being negative,

remind the group that they have gathered to brainstorm and to support and encourage

each other in offering ideas and suggestions. It is important to respect everyone's ideas.

• Act as a Guide. Your role is to support others in generating ideas and to facilitate

positive interactions between participants. Make a point of not dominating the

discussion. Instead, encourage each participant to share his or her thoughts with the

group and allow everybody the opportunity to share their ideas.

12 Step 2: Sample Meeting Introduction and Icebreaker

Sample Introduction

Hello everyone. Welcome to our meeting on social action in our community. My name is

_____________________ and I am the facilitator of our event. Thank you for joining us

to work towards building a healthier, more compassionate community. I'm looking forward

to sharing ideas about how we can make our community a better place to live for everyone

and helping our neighbours in need. After viewing the presentation, I invite all of you to

share your thoughts, comments, and ideas. I want everyone who wishes to speak to feel free

and comfortable to do so. By encouraging and respecting each other, we will create a

positive and productive atmosphere for working together.

[At this point, we recommend that you incorporate an icebreaker into the introduction of your meeting.

Icebreakers help to enhance participant interaction and discussion, and make people feel more relaxed and

comfortable. See the example icebreaker on the next page.]

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I'd like to begin today's meeting by asking you to form into teams of two (for convenience,

you can simply select the person sitting next to you). Each of you is responsible for learning

something interesting about your partner. I have written a number of icebreaker questions

on the board to get your discussion started. After 10 minutes, I will ask everyone to briefly

introduce their partners to the rest of the group, sharing one interesting fact about their

colleague.

[Participant Introductions]

Thank you everyone for your introductions. Now, before we begin, I want to quickly review

the main goal and expected outcomes of this meeting.

Main Goal A successful community project to help address a social need such as shelter, food or clothing for the homeless, support for youth at risk. Expected Outcomes Today: 1. Group agreement for 3 project ideas. 2. Vision for Projects Completed for Posting in Community Office. 3. Action Plan for projects as detailed as possible, including individual roles for members of

the project team.

The presentation you are about to view is about 15 minutes length and it was created by

Congregation Emanu-El, in Victoria BC with assistance from Harmony Foundation of

Canada. As you watch the video, please write down any ideas that come to mind for

problems and potential projects in your community, as well as who might be potential

partners.

Sample Icebreaker

One simple and effective icebreaker involves dividing participants into groups of two and having them interview each other. You can provide a few questions to ease participants into their discussions. Examples include: "What is the most interesting

place you have visited?"; What is your volunteer experience or "Why are you attending this meeting?"

After the scheduled time is over, have each participant introduce their partner to the rest of the group. This process is short and will create an atmosphere that is more

open and friendly.

14 Showing the Presentation

To increase the value of your post-presentation discussion, consider the following points

when you show Small & Mighty: The Inspirational Story of Avodah.

Prior to Showing the Presentation

• Remind your audience of the objectives of the presentation and the expectations of the

discussion to follow.

• Ask participants to look for similarities between the community success stories and

situations within your own community.

• Finally, encourage your audience to take notes during the presentation. This will help with

sharing ideas during the discussion portion of the session.

Post-Presentation Discussion and Learning Activity

After watching Small & Mighty: The Inspirational Story of Avodah, be sure to allow adequate

time for a productive discussion. The purpose of the post-presentation discussion is to

allow participants to share their ideas and opinions and begin to develop plans for local

urban forest initiatives. To help facilitate the discussion portion of your session, we

recommend the following 35 minute learning activity.

Learning Activity: Identifying Local Opportunities

Purpose:

1. To identify challenges or opportunities for social action in your community.

2. To explore potential solutions to address these challenges.

3. To identify local resources, including partners and explore the actions required to carry

out the proposed solutions.

15 Learning Outcomes:

1. Identify community resources and build helpful connections for developing social

action initiatives.

2. Work toward solutions that incorporate your group values.

Activity Instructions:

1. To ensure everyone has the opportunity to participate, working groups should not

exceed five people. If there are more than five participants, divide the participants into

smaller groups. If you have a small audience you may opt to conduct the discussion as

one single group. Group discussion should take approximately 20 minutes.

2. Identify one participant to be the recorder for each group. He or she will write down all

the ideas from the group's discussion.

3. Ask each group member to consider the following questions. It may be useful to use the

chart provided on the next page to help guide the discussion.

a. What do you see as the major social challenges in your local community?

b. What groups or individuals are negatively affected by these challenges?

c. What groups or individuals are working to overcome challenges?

d. Describe opportunities for improvement in your local community.

e. What resources are available in your community that could aid you in successfully

implementing your project or idea?

f. Describe any social action success stories that have already occurred in your local

community.

16 4. After 20 minutes, have the recorder provide you with a summary of the group's

comments, ideas and suggestions.

Activity Debrief:

The activity debrief should take approximately 15 minutes.

1. Write each group's comments on the blackboard or whiteboard.

2. Ask participants what they learned from this activity and what they think are the most

important ideas generated from the discussion.

3. Ask participants to build on the discussion with further comments, emphasizing positive

actions.

4. Narrow your potential projects down to two or three of the most practical, necessary

ideas. These projects should be feasible but also exciting to the people who will be

involved.

5. To take your first steps toward initiating your community action project, determine

which participants will contact the individuals or groups identified as community

resources.

17 Carrying Momentum Forward

It is important to close the meeting on a note of positive, forward momentum. This will

ensure that the discussion generated during the meeting will lead to action. Following are

two simple and easy ways to assure participants that, with their help, their ideas will carry

forward after the meeting.

• Contact Information Sheet. Circulate a contact information sheet allowing participants

to share their email and telephone number with others who attended the meeting. Before

circulating the sheet, be sure to ask consent to share their personal information.

Individuals who do not wish to provide information should not be included in the contact

list. After the meeting concludes, email the contact information sheet to all those who

provided consent without delay.

• Set a Date for Your Next Meeting. Before the meeting concludes, ask participants about

organizing a follow-up meeting. Select a date, time and location that is convenient for the

majority of participants. Remember, people will remain more motivated if the meeting

happens within a reasonable timeframe.

18 Final Thoughts

Since 2003, Avodah has achieved success because of dedicated members, helpful partners

and initiatives that are practical, meaningful and effective. Our goals and results have grown

too, allowing us to continue to recruit volunteers and strengthen and add to our

partnerships.

We hope you have found Small & Mighty: The Inspirational Story of Avodah beneficial in

conceiving community social action projects in your community. We thank you for

informing others and spreading the message about the importance of working together for

positive change.

From Congregation Emanu-El, we wish you great success in your community efforts and

look forward to hearing from you and learning about your local initiatives.

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"Our survival depends upon each of us meeting our responsibilities to each other, other

species and future generations." -Michael Bloomfield, Founder and Executive Director,

Harmony Foundation of Canada

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Congregation Emanu-El 1461 Blanshard Street

Victoria, British Columbia, Canada V8W 2J3

Phone: (250) 382-0615 Fax: (250) 380-3553

E-mail: info@congregationemanuel.ca Website Address: www.congregationemanuel.ca

Permission to Use This publication was adapted by Congregation Emanu-El with permission from Harmony Foundation of Canada. It may be used for not for profit, educational purposes without cost, providing that you recognize authorship, source and copyright in any copies made on this basis. However, any for profit use, adaptation or extraction requires prior written permission from Harmony Foundation who retains copyright in all forms and languages and reserves the right to refuse any user if in the Foundation’s judgment such use does not honour this agreement. Use of any of said materials constitutes your agreement with the above. Thank you.

Copyright © 2014 Congregation Emanu-El