The trip is FREE...The experience is PRICELESS
One of the first things you can do in August is set up interest meetings for students who have questions or concerns about Birthright and get them onto the September calendar!! The deadline rolls around SOOO fast so you need to start the Birthright push as soon as students arrive on campus. At these interest meetings, ask a few Birthright alumni to come form a �truth panel� so that the students can ask other students about their experience. Also, have them bring pictures to make the trip and the experience come to life! I had one meeting in the student center and one at Hillel.
TABLE, TABLE, TABLE! I tabled a few times a week in all the student centers handing out Israeli bazooka gum and the Birthright postcards that were sent from National. I stood in front of the table and handed them to everyone passing by. I also had some Israel pins and flags out. El Al had sent me some plastic blow up airplanes and pins and balloons but because people were so sensitive to flying after September 11, I did not use them. These are great materials to help promote travel to Israel in future years. Most students hadn�t heard about the trip and some had but were too scared to even apply. Having the opportunity to speak with them about the safety precautions and about how awesome the trip is persuaded a few of the students to apply. This is definitely a HIGH ENERGY tabling project. Very few students will approach you so you have to approach as many as possible. The Birthright Fellow should be present at the tabling, and encourage her to invoke the aid of as many birthright alumni as possible.
Word of mouth is your best bet! Ask all the Birthright alumni to promote the trip and let as many students know about this extraordinary opportunity. At all Hillel events and Shabbats make sure to include Birthright in the announcements. Get it into the weekly e-mails and the Hillel Happenings as well as onto the Hillel calendar. We took an ad out in the travel classifieds section and had the trip running in the What�s Happening section of the Targum (FOR FREE!!) I put up flyers all over campus all the time. Be sure to put them up at the bus stops and in the academic buildings. Also, spread the word throughout the Greek community.
We also sent a group of 4 students on birthright in the spring. We used the same publicity tactics as we used in the Fall. Additionally, National birthright sent us a climbing wall that was set up in the front of the Rutgers Student Center for two days. While most students did not register for the spring trip, many are interested in participating in birthright in the future.
Birthright Orientations
Hillel's Birthright Website
