To: Regional Youth Directors Regional Presidents Regional Chapters of the Year From: Michael Sacks, 2013 International USY President On behalf of the 2013 International Executive Board International Chapter of the Year Award Shalom! Mazel tov on your Regional Chapter of the Year nomination. Our fantastic chapters are what drive our organization and set the example for others to follow. You are now eligible to be USY s International Chapter of the Year! In order to receive this prestigious title, you must apply by filling out the following application. Please see the guidelines below for the International Chapter of the Year award application. Your Regional 2012 2013 Chapter of the Year should fill out this application. Only electronic files will be accepted. Please be advised that ONLY members of the Regional Chapter of the Year should complete the application. Only one chapter (selected by its region) may apply for this award. Once all of the selected chapters have submitted their application, application and supporting documents will be posted via a secret link for USY leaders (one per region) to review and place their votes via an electronic survey program. The International Chapter of the Year award will be announced at International Convention in Boston, this December. I wish you the best of luck and ask that you feel free to contact me with any questions. Once again I applaud your chapter for its continued growth and success within the United Synagogue Youth community. B Shalom, Michael Sacks International USY President president@usy.org 1
USY International Chapter of the Year Award Application The following should be filled out by the 2012-2013 Regional Chapter of the Year and should be submitted to the USY International Office by for consideration. Applications should be sent by e-mail only as a Word Document. All flyers and photos should be sent as PDF or JPEG (photos). Any other file types will not be accepted. Please e-mail questions and the application to Misha Gross: Nativ@uscj.org by TUESDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2013. Keep in mind that Chagim begin immediately in September this year, so you don t have much time to leave it to the last minute. We cannot give compensation days for the loss of school/work days in Tishrei. Once your application has been submitted, it will be uploaded to the survey program for USYers to review and vote. Voting: Only the International Executive Board and Regional Presidents will be part of the voting process. Regional Presidents will not have a vote for their own region. Eligible voters will have a determined time period to review all applications and submit a vote for each one. They will vote according to specific benchmarks and standards in specific categories. Votes will be cast confidentially and will be based on a 1 5 point system. Each chapter will receive a score based on their: Overall Israel Performance Overall Religion/Education Performance Overall Social Action/Tikun Olam Performance Overall Membership/Kadima Performance Overall Communication Performance Overall Chapter Performance *Please view the Standards for a Chapter of Excellence on page 7. Voters will use these questions to help them determine what makes one chapter stand out from another in various program areas. You may want to use this as a guideline when filling in your chapter accomplishments. Voting will take place through an internet survey prior to the 2013 International Convention where the International Chapter of the Year award will be announced. B'hatzlacha, Michael Sacks International USY President 2
International Chapter of the Year Award Application Please fill out the information below using 12 point font Times New Roman. No graphics or borders please. Region: ECRUSY Chapter: LOUSY (London Ontario United Synagogue Youth) Please list the following: Total USY Membership as of June 30 th 2012 8 Total USY Membership as of June 30 th 2013 9 How many 6 th graders are in your synagogue religious school? 2 How many 6 th graders from your synagogue are in Jewish Day schools? 4 Total Tikun Olam monies raised between July 1 st 2011 and June 30 th 2012 Total Tikun Olam monies raised between July 1 st 2012 and June 30 th 2013 Per Capita Tikun Olam Total between July 1 st 2012 and June 30 th 2013 Per Capita Tikun Olam Total between July 1 st 2012 and June 30 th 2013 Did your chapter allocate its Tikun Olam money? We do not raise Tikun Olam money separate from our Synagogue Tikun Olam committee, but help to increase their success. They allocate the money. Chapter Board 1. List and describe in 1 sentence all Executive Board positions. Our Executive is comprised this year of two co Presidents, VP Communication, VP SATO, VP Israel Affairs, VP Rel/Ed, and VP Mem/Kad 2. Does your chapter have a General Board or any yearlong committees? No 3. List an approximate number of board meetings held per year. 10 4. Is your Youth Director/Advisor full time or part time? Part Time 5. Are there any other staff members in addition to your Youth Director/Advisor? Not for USY there is staff for Kadima and the three younger youth groups, PreKadima, Nitzanim and Shorashim. Most of the staff for the younger groups are USY ers. Chapter Activity and Programming 1. List 15 chapter programs held in the past year with a 1-sentence description of each program. 1)Opening Program attracted 26 USYers, was held at the home of the USY advisor, and was a BBQ, swimming and bonfire. 2)Simchat Torah House Hopping (20 USY ers attended) is an annual favourite, with celebrations beginning with Hakafot with the congregation in the Shul, then USY ers taking to the streets and dancing from house to house to entertain with song and be fed yummy treats. 3
3)Our annual Youth Dinner, attended in 2012 by 110 people, is lead by our USYers from the beautiful Kabbalat Shabbat service through to an amazing Ruach session 4)Falafel Dinner was popular (12 USYers attended) and the kids had fun playing manhunt with an Israeli theme. 5)Channukah Kinnection (15 USYers attended) was a riot of creativity and energy, from making channukiot out of blocks and gemstones, to a spirited Xbox Kinnect elimination round. 6)The favourite All Nighter (18 USY ers) was an amazing mixture of all areas of programming and tons of fun. 7)Purim Ball was attended by 14 vividly costumed USYers who danced the night away and sang Karaoke. 8)LOUSY Yoga was a USY initiative that invited the community to join us for a free 8 week Yoga course taught by our President. 8)Leket Israel Fundraiser where we introduced Leket Israel to the congregation and helped raise over $2000 9)Tikkun Leil Shavuot was another all nighter, but unplugged and uninhibited. 11)Sex Ed- Jewish Style was a program designed by two devoted community members who were sex therapists for decades. 12) Come In Out of the Cold is an annual meal for the homeless hosted by the JCC, and the USYèrs set the tables and helped prepare food for the 300 guests that we served the next day. 13) Set Up for Hadassah Bazaar and midnight ice cream party. 14) Pep Rally for Spring Convention where USYèrs helped bake treats for the convention. 15)Camping and Elections was a fun filled night including bonfires, snacks, raucous elections, and a teary seniors farewell. 2. List the average number of attendance at each chapter program. 12-20 3. List approximate number of programs or events per month.1-2 4. List the number of Regional Conventions held per year and attendance from your chapter. 3 Regional Conventions with 6-8 USYèrs attending from LOUSY In 200 words or less per topic, please describe your best: Israel Program Our best Israel Program was our Falafel Dinner. Our President, Talya, spoke about her semester at TRY and encouraged all of the USYèrs to see Israel with USY. The kids enjoyed the yummy falafel and they played a great game of Manhunt with different areas of the Youth Centre designated as different parts of Israel. Rel/Ed Program Although Simchat Torah house hopping is probably the favourite event, and the Youth Dinner is the highest profile event, the Tikun Lèil Shavuot was the best run program. We began in the sanctuary with the rest of the congregation for services, and then we went to our Youth Centre for our own study sessions. The first topic was Being Unplugged, and we had very serious discussions on when it is not appropriate to use technology, both socially and halachically. Our second session was about Blessings, and we learned a lot about why we bless and what a 4
huge array of blessings we have in our tradition. Our final discussion was about suicide and mental illness heavy topics that were handled with great skill by the executive member leading the discussion. In between study sessions we played Apples to Apples and Mad Gab. When the study sessions were over we got physical with fun games in the gym and then everyone crashed and slept a few hours before waking and going to the sanctuary for Shacharit. Social Action Program For sure our best Tikkun Olam Program was part of our All Nighter. We began with a Pamper Auction auctioning off manicures, pedicures, facials and massages which were provided by the executive. The money raised was then used for a midnight shopping spree to a 24 hour grocery store 4 blocks away from the Shul. Two teams were given a budget and a part of the meal to purchase one did soup and dessert, and the other did the main course. They had to find hechshered, pareve food that was inexpensive and nutritious, and they had to figure out the quantity needed to feed 60 people. After much negotiation and plenty of hilarity, the purchase was made. They had spent nearly to the penny what they had been budgeted. We walked back to the shul in the pouring rain. After a brief period to dry off and eat some snacks, they cheerfully prepared the meal all through the night. In the morning, the food was packed up and three USYèrs drove with the Youth Director to the homeless shelter that the food was donated to. The USYèrs were extremely respectful, and the experience was very powerful for them. Tikun Olam Program Our best Tikkun Olam program was our Leket Israel fundraiser. We were asked by the Synagogue`s Tikkun Olam committee to introduce Leket Israel, which is their chosen charity. Our president spoke about volunteering for Leket when she was on TRY and a short film was shown. We decorated a large potted branch to be our `tree`and we got the Kadima kids to make leaves which they decorated beautifully. After the information presentation, e collected the donations and wrote the donor`s name on a leaf, which was then hung from the `tree` and displayed in the foyer of the Synagogue. We helped to raise over $2000 in less than an hour. Social Program Our Opening Program was our best, purely social, program. It was our highest attended program of the entire year. Part of the success was that many different `groups`of kids attended. The venue was very successful because there were lots of areas that people could congregate if they wanted to be together, but there were also lots of private places that smaller groups could go if they wanted to be with just their friends. The food was wonderful everyone loves BBQ burgers and hot dogs. The bonfire was very well received. The pool was quite chilly, but many brave souls still did some swimming. Many of our other programs were successful as well, but most of our programs have some other element of Religion or Social Action to them. 5
In addition to each write-up, feel free to include supplies list, notes, program outlines, and/or any other pre-planning tools used to prepare for your program. Kadima Involvement with the USY Chapter Do you have a Kadima Chapter? Yes Kadima Advisor? Yes If yes, is he or she Full time/part time/also your USY advisor? Part Time at the beginning of the year the Kadima Advisor was the USY advisor, but the positions were then separated Kadima Board? No If yes, what positions? Describe in 200 words or less the relationship between your USY and Kadima Chapters. (If you do not have a Kadima Chapter, please write No Kadima Chapter ) The Kadima chapter is very successful and the grade 8 students can attend both Kadima and USY. Many of the grade 8 students only wanted to attend USY, because they didn t want to be with the younger Kadima members. At conventions the grade 8 s wanted to be considered as a USY er, and that caused a little frustration. All of the kids in Kadima look forward to becoming USY ers, and they especially want to come House Hopping. Our chapter President worked as the Kadima advisor so she was able to get the kids excited about USY. Many times when we volunteer in the community, the Kadima kids will volunteer with us and they see how much we do and how well we work together. Our Youth Director always makes the kids excited about how special USY is. Note: Success in the Kadima Chapter will not have weight in the final evaluation of the USY Chapter of the Year, however, the interaction between the USY Chapter and its Kadima counterpart will play a role in the judging. Communication Describe in 300 words or less your chapter s means of communications. (For example, USY Chapter Yellow Pages, Chapter Newsletters, Chapter Webpage, listserv, phone calls, etc.) We have lots of different ways to communicate with our chapter. The most successful way seems to be Facebook. We have a LOUSY group with 33 members. We post events and sent invitations to all of our members, and then we encourage all of our members to forward the invitation to people on their Facebook. We have flyers go home from the Day School, but that only gets to the grade eight students. Emails with flyers attached go out to a list of 73 parents and USYers every time there is a program. The weekly Synagogue bulletin has a section for Youth Programs and they get emailed to the entire congregation every week. Each executive member has a phone list and they are responsible for phoning, texting, or sending personal facebook messages to the people on their list to tell them about programs. Our Youth Director writes articles for the London Jewish Community News and for our big Synagogue bulletin that goes out three or four times a year. She also makes announcements from the bima about programs every week on Shabbat. 6
Feel free to include up to THREE samples of any Newsletters, phone call trees, Flyers, etc. (If any sample is longer than one page, i.e. chapter newsletter, please include a sample of up to three 8.5 x11 pages) In addition, if you have a chapter website, please include ONE screenshot of the homepage. Optional: Is there anything else we should know? (Please limit to one page, 12 point font, Times New Roman). This portion must be written by either the Chapter President or Chapter Executive Board. Please include a Letter of Recommendation from the following people: Your Synagogue Rabbi Chapter Youth Director/Advisor The 2012 2013 Chapter President. (If these letters are printed on letterhead, please scan them and email with your application, or mail to the USY office and they will be scanned for you) 7
USY International Chapter of the Year Award Signature Page I hereby submit this chapter for consideration for the International Chapter of the Year Award. By signing this document, I agree that all information provided in this application is true to the best of my knowledge and understand that the application is subject to removal at the digression of the International Executive Board if false information is found. I testify that this document and its contents was compiled and completed only by the USYers of this chapter. Chapter President: Talya Filion Chapter Youth Director/Advisor: Darlene Zaifman-Guslits Synagogue Youth Chair: Susan Hall Regional Youth Director: Maxwell Marmur Synagogue Rabbi: Rabbi Catharine Clark 8
Standards of Excellence for a USY Chapter Questions to Consider When Voting for a Chapter of the Year or Chapter of Excellence Programming a. General - Diversity and creativity - Were there any programs you hadn t yet heard of or seen before? Were programs diverse in fromat and structure? b. Israel - There s more to Israel than falafel. - Creativity, meaning and educational value. Did Israel programming foster personal and meaningful connections to Israel? What kind of value did the Israel programming provide in terms of strengthening chapter members personal ties to Israel and knowledge of Israel? c. Religion/Education - Did rel/ed program extend beyond religious services? Was Judaism incorporated into other program areas? Was the ed component integrated into programming in creative ways? Did the chapter use local resources such as rabbis and educators in effective ways? d. Social - Were social programs diverse and creative, to attract differing interests? Could these programs have attracted a diverse group of (new) people throughout the year? - Did social programs contribute to or encourage membership growth? How? e. Social Action/Tikun Olam - Did SA/TO programming extend into the community? Did activities involve other community members or organizations? Were there any hands on community service programs? Did the chapter use creative Tikun Olam fundraising techniques? What causes did the chapter commit to through SA/TO programming? Synagogue/Community Involvement Leadership in the Synagogue Community - How involved was the chapter in the greater Kehilla (synagogue)? - Was the USY chapter involved in the Congregational School at all? For example, did the USYers run an activity for the school? Were USYers madrichim or assistants in the Congregational School? - How was the USY chapter incorporated into general synagogue programming such as holiday observances and celebrations? - Did the USY chapter take a leadership role in any synagogue event or activity? - Did the chapter utilize the clergy or congregational school staff in effective ways? You may get a better idea of this by reading the rabbi recommendation letter. - Did the USYers represent the Kehilla in community-wide events such as a social action day? Membership - Did the chapter reach out to new members using new or creative recruitment techniques? - What types of ideas were implemented to make newcomers feel welcome? - What did the chapter do to try and increase membership numbers, USY affiliation or participation in programs? 9
- Do the 2013 membership numbers reflect the outreach efforts described? Does attendance reflect the membership outreach efforts or communication efforts (example: could better communication or more creative programming have contributed to high attendance?) 10
Program Planning Form Group (please circle): USY, Kadima, Pre Kadima, Shorashim, Nitzanim Program name: LOUSY All Nighter Program chair/planner: Talya, Rebecca, Aaron, Avery, Barr, Shuli, Tim Program Date: Jan 12 13th Program Outline:(please use 10 15 minute blocks of time and put detail so anyone can run the program if you are not there) 8 9 meet and greet snacks & schmooze USY room, pick up BBall Gym, twister Kadima room 9 10 ice breakers BARR s program 10 10:14 Scavenger Hunt REBECCA s program 10:15 10:30 Beaded Charm Bracelets REBECCA s program 10:30 11:30 Charades TIM s program 11:30 11:45 Manicure/Pedicure/Facial/Massage Auction AARON S program 11:45 12:00 Midnight Supper (light) 12:00 1:00 Midnight Shopping Spree/Hechsher Scavenger Hunt AARON S program 1:00 1:30 Snow Play TALYA S program 1:30 3:00 Hot Chocolate, Games AVERY s program 3:00 8:00 Veg time movies, napping, manicures, pedicures, facials, massages, prep for FANN 8:00 9:00 Nick Name TShirts TALYA s program 9:00 10:00 Wrap that Rascal TIM s program 10 10:30 Breakfast 10:30 11 Israel program SHULI s program 11 12 final prep and packing for FANN Aaron s Program
Judaic Content: kashrut, many different Jewish scenarios, Tikkun Olam, Israel Supplies Needed: Decks of cards Board games Movies Beads and beading supplies Fabric paints Manicure/Pedicure/Facial stuff Tons of snacks and food Planning form submitted by: Darlene Dated:Jan 8/13 Approved by: Dated:
Gym and USY Room 9pm midnight Cost $10 nonn members Members FREE
FREE Yoga classes taught by Talya Filion Open to adults and children 10+ Tuesday evenings 6:00 7:00pm Jan 15 th to Feb 19 th USY Room Bring a towel or yoga mat & water FREEE Yoga classes taught by Talya Filion Open to adults and children 10+ Tuesday evenings 6:00 7:00pm Jan 15 th to Feb 19 9 th USY Room Bring a towel or yoga mat & water.
To Whom It May Concern, As the LOUSY President during the 2012-2013 term, I was privy to the planning and execution of all chapter programs, supported by a supremely capable and creative executive. Our year was filled with amazing programs and memories made that will forever be ingrained in my mind as the best times with the most incredible people. We are a family at LOUSY chapter and that is the main reason that we are such a great chapter. Some of the highlights of our year included our camp out, Iron Chef, and the legendary All Nighter. Even though we are a small chapter located in a small Jewish community, we make up for our size in ruach. Londonn Ontario can and will always make noise because we love USY. Talyaa Filion
Rabbi Catharine Clark President Terry Marcus Executive Paul Caplan Susan Hall William Klein Carmi Levy Alon Shatil Fern Tepperman Chazzan Emeritus Josef Frieman Honorary Life President Syd Greenberg 534 Huron Street London, Ontario N5Y 4J5 (519) 438-3081 Dear USY International, October 16, 2013 London s USY Chapter deserves to be recognized as International Chapter of the Year. Their contributions to Congregation Or Shalom are immeasurable. They lead services, organize programs and supply ruach for the whole congregation. To give but one example, on Shavuot LOUSY teamed up with our Tikkun Olam Committee to organize a program to benefit Leket Israel. LOUSY publicized the event to the congregation, prepared a delicious dairy meal and brainstormed a way to promote Israel s national food pantry and collect donations before the chag began. They were immensely successful, collecting over $2,500 for this worthy organization. Their success is particularly impressive, considering that last Shavuot was Or Shalom s first fundraiser focusing on Leket Israel. As rabbi of Or Shalom, I m also especially proud of what LOUSY gives to London s entire Jewish community. They help set up and prepare food for programs at the JCC all year round, and they were hard workers at an interfaith tree planting last April. Their impact was especially strong at the Come in Out of the Cold dinner served to needy Londoners in late winter. In a small Jewish community, every member counts, and Or Shalom s small but mighty USY Chapter counts even more. Warm regards, Rabbi Catharine Clark Congregation Or Shalom
Darlene Zaifman Guslits Youth Director Or Shalom Synagogue 534 Huron St. London, ON N5Y 4J5 Dear Sir/Madam, I am writing today to recommend LOUSY (London Ontario United Synagogue Youth) as International Chapter of the Year. This chapter has a well earned reputation as being the strongest chapter in our great region of ECRUSY. For a chapter in a community as small as London Ontario, it is truly remarkable that their programs are consistent, well run, and relatively well attended. Programs routinely have between 12 and 20 participants, well over 40% of our potential target audience. Most of our regular attendees are not members of our Synagogue, as we do not have a very large gene pool in that target age range. Many of the teens are unaffiliated, with USY serving as their only exposure to Judaism at all. The chapter serves a great need, and the executive is welcoming and encouraging to all Jewish teens, regardless of their background and knowledge. Indeed, only three members of the executive in 2012 13 were members of Or Shalom. Our USY ers are a remarkable group of young leaders, and they are well known in the community as active volunteers and motivated participants. They are leaders in the congregation, taking on the role of Shaliach Tzibur regularly. They help to lead Junior Congregation. They help to make minyanim so people can say Kaddish. They are not just the leaders of tomorrow, they are the leaders of today, setting fine examples to the younger groups. I sincerely hope that you will recognize their hard work, determination, and commitment, and award them Chapter of the Year. Thanking you in advance for your time and consideration. Sincerely yours, Darlene Zaifman Guslits Youth Director