1. A Guide for the Perplexed
(IACT coordinator)
Victory!
Gordon Dale
Gordon.Dale@tufts.edu

2. What are your goals?
To maximize participation in Taglit-
Birthright Israel, and meaningfully and
sustainably engage every participant in
Jewish life, while strengthening their
connection to Israel.

3. Meaningful Engagement
Statistics are important!
They help CJP to explain the importance of the IACT
program
They help the coordinator to measure success
They help the coordinator to keep track of every
student

4. Meaningful Engagement
Reaching 100% Engagement is not as hard as you
think!
Coffee dates
Birthright Shabbat
Reunion/food/brainstorming session
Lunch and learn
Holiday services (Rosh Hashanah/Yom Kippur in fall,
Passover in spring)

5. Coffee Dates
Make them meaningful!
Keep it conversational
(It’s not an interview!)
Use this time to further
build the relationship
with your students

6. Coffee Dates- List of questions
List of Q’s for Coffee Dates:
Tell me about Birthright…
Now that it has been a few weeks since your trip, what stands out as a
highlight?
Did anything surprise you about Israel?
Did you feel a strong connection to Israel? Why/why not?
We had such a strong group connection on the bus- how do you think
we can keep that alive now that we are back here on campus? (Ask for
their advice on this)
After I got back from my Birthright trip, I had a lot of questions and
things I wanted to learn more about. Do you have/do your friends
have anything like that? I want to make sure that we have
opportunities for people to keep up with these topics, since it is so
easy to get caught up in the daily grind back here on campus.
This was fun, let’s do this again some time!

7. Birthright Shabbat
It’s not just another
Shabbat!
Make it special- the
students can’t feel like
you tricked them into
coming to Hillel.

8. Reunion/Food/Brainstorming
session
Food: The Great Uniter!
Cooking is fun but messy
Brainstorm

9. Lunch and Learn
Easy to plan!
People will come if students suggested the topic
Make sure your speaker is good! Ask around!
Keep it open to everyone, not just Birthrighters
alumni
Any of the Kosher caterers in Boston will deliver right
to your door with the food
 israelcampusroundtable.org

10. Holiday Services/Meals
Make sure you always know what your Hillel has going on
for the holidays in case anyone asks you while you are on
campus. Then email it to them right after.
This is easy since it is already happening. If you can be
there, all the better. This gives the students someone to sit
with, which makes a huge difference in their decision of
whether or not to go.
J.F.K. is Okay!

11. General Tips
Post-Trip Programming begins during the
trip
Programming should be student
generated whenever possible
Your job is to facilitate, not execute
Find a superstar student
Send personal invitations
Make a reading list of your personal
favorites
Always keep up on return trip info
Israelcampusroundtable.org

12. My Top Five Programs
“The Birthright Experience” curriculum
Group reunions
House-Hop Shabbat
Birthright Shabbat
Y-Love concert

13. The Birthright Experience: Jewish
Identity and the Israel Encounter
10 week course
Student generated topics
Free dinner with every class
Students do project at end of course
Students receive $500 toward the organized Israel trip
of their choice
 israelcampusroundtable.org

14. Group Reunions
Birthrighters want to see their friends!
Have meaningful content
Falafel is good (shawarma is better!)

15. House-Hop Shabbat
aka. Progressive Shabbat
Food can be ordered or cooked at the person’s house
Organize the meal according to geography

16. Birthright Shabbat
Make sure it is different
than every other Shabbat
and especially friendly for
Birthrighters

17. Y-Love Concert
Jewish Hip-Hop Concert
Displays an alternative
Jewish Identity and
inspires Jewish pride

18. Externally Introduced Programs
Often there is an external requirement to make a
program succeed
A few tips:
Know the expectations
Any special equipment/requests?
Book a room ASAP
Get the other Hillel staff involved
Get students to help- be honest about the requirement
for success
Publicize! Digital and Physical

19. Externally Introduced Programs
School newspaper
Facebook event
Personalized emails
Have an invite only dinner with the
speaker/presenter
Invite personal contacts
Partner with other student groups
Post fliers everywhere

20. A Word About Professionalism

21. Measuring Success: The Human
Side
Statistics are important, but remember to stay
focused on the experience of each Birthright student.

22. Now Go Fix the World!