Program Exchange Submission Form

FYSH Chocolate Seder

 

Submitter Information (Section 1 of 6)

I am a: Steinhardt Jewish Campus Service Corps Fellow

First Name: Rachel

Last Name: Habush

E-mail: [email protected]

School or multi-campus center if school does not apply  (Type the first letter of your school to jump through the list.)

SUNY at Stony Brook

 

We would like to display your name and e-mail address with this program so that others may contact you about it. (Your name and e-mail will automatically be hidden once your graduation date has passed.)
That's fine. Show my name and e-mail.

 

 

Program Information (Section 2 of 6)

Program Title: FYSH Chocolate Seder

Program Summary - Please give a 1-2 sentence description of your program. This summary will be shown when people are browsing or searching for programs.

The Chocolate Seder is a program used on many campuses to celebrate Passover in a fun yet educational way.  We used the Seder to allow freshmen students (FYSH) to take on leadership roles and make the transition into empowerment. 

 

Program Description - Please describe your program in detail. You will have an opportunity later to describe the planning process of the program in detail. Please limit yourself to a description of the program itself here.

The Chocolate Seder is a version of the traditional Passover meal (the seder) that has been translated into chocolate.  Every aspect of the “normal” Seder has a chocolate equivalent in the Chocolate Seder: the beitzah becomes a chocolate egg, wine is chocolate milk, and salt water is Hershey’s syrup.  Fortunately, we already had a Chocolate Hagaddah that had been adapted by a previous JCSC here so we used that and elaborated, making every part of the Seder related to both Passover and chocolate.  And of course, there was lots of free chocolate to eat! 

 

When was this program implemented? (Use the first time if it ran more than once or was part of a series.)

March 2001

 

What were the goals of the program (what did you hope to accomplish)?

- To celebrate Passover in a fun and educational way.

- To allow freshmen to take on leadership/empowerment roles for the first time. 

 

Did you meet your goals? Why or why not?

I definitely met and exceeded my goals for this program.  The Seder itself ran smoothly and was very fun for all who attended.  The freshmen who were involved in planning the program learned a lot and felt proud of the outcome of their work. 

 

If this program was for a Jewish Holiday, for which one was it?

Passover

 

What type of program is this? (check all that apply)

Educational

Jewish Holidays

Jewish Learning

Leadership training

Religious & cultural

Social

 

Did this program contain any content or raise awareness for any of the following issues (check all that apply):

 

For whom was this program planned? (check all that apply)

First year students

Upperclassmen

Graduate students

Young Professionals

Commuter students

Students who live on-campus

Greeks / fraternity / sorority

Everyone

 

Why was this program planned? What did you want to do? (Check all that apply)

Campus / Hillel tradition

Education

For fun

Holiday

To engage new people

 

Frequency of Program

Once a Year

 

Has this program received any grants?
Grants from Hillel's International Center:

No grants received from Hillel’s International Center

 

Has this program won any awards?
Hillel's International Center Awards:

No award received from Hillel’s International Center

 

 

Program Planning (Section 3 of 6)

How far ahead did you have to start planning? 

1-3 months

 

How much time did it take to plan?

Over 20 hours

 

Which people or organizations were involved in planning the program (check all that apply)? 

Students

Steinhardt Jewish Campus Service Corps Fellow

Clubs or other Student Organizations on campus

 

How many people did it take to plan and implement this program?

Planning 

4-8

Implementing

4-8

How many students were expected to participate in the program? 

21-25

How many students actually participated in the program?

16-20

 

Please describe the planning process for this program, step by step.

Prior to the Seder, we had several FYSH meetings to sit down and brainstorm about how we wanted it to go.  In one meeting, the students participated in a creativity exercise using chocolate to make a picture of why they were here (here meaning Hillel).  As it came closer to the event, we went through the Chocolate Hagaddah and divided up the different parts of the Seder, planning and publicity.  One student went shopping with me for the seder items, one agreed to lead the actual seder, and a couple sat with me while we did a “FYSHing for Chocolate” table to publicize the event (passers-by reached in to take some free chocolate & a flyer).  The day before and the day of the event, students and I made up some visual aids and prepared all of the foods for the Seder. 

 

Materials/resources needed - As a guide for whomever might replicate this program, please describe all the materials/resources that you needed to create this program. Use the following as a guide: food, copies, paper / office supplies, decorations, telephone / e-mail / web, lighting, stage, audio / visual equipment, people (for posting flyers, sitting at tables, ...) etc.

Food: wine (chocolate milk), salt water (Hershey’s syrup), matzah (chocolate-covered matzah), beitzah/egg = (chocolate egg), z’roah/shank bone (chocolate lollipop), charoset (mix of snickers, chocolate chips, Hershey’s syrup, marshmallow fluff), karpas (strawberries), maror/bitter herbs (bittersweet chocolate), chazeret (green M&M’s) and miscellaneous other chocolate

Copies: flyers made at the campus print shop

Paper supplies: forks, knives, spoons, cups, small cups, plates, bowls, tablecloths

Decorations: posters decorated with chocolate and a chocolate version of the song “Who knows one?”

People: students and staff posted flyers, tabled, and helped with set-up/clean-up

 

 

Budget (Section 4 of 6)

 

The amounts here are in: US Dollars

Please fill in the income and expenses for your program below. If an item does not apply, you may leave it blank. This form will not total amounts for you.

 

Income

Source

Amount

Local Hillel/Hillel Student Organization/Jewish Students Association

25

Campus Clubs or Organizations
Hillel Student Club (student government-funded)

100

Expenses

Item

Amount

Groceries

109.05

More groceries

15.71

 

 

 

Program Implementation (Section 5 of 6)

How did you publicize or advertise your program?

Co-sponsorship

E-mail

Fliers / posters / table tents / etc.

Giveaways (t-shits-etc.)

Mail

Tabling

Voicemail

Web

Word of mouth

 

Where did the program take place? University building or other on campus location

 

How was the Jewish content presented and what media were used?

The event was a seder (Jewish holiday celebration) so the different parts of the Seder were presented and explained at a beginner level.  

 

 

Program Follow-Up (Section 6 of 6)

What are your suggestions for someone who plans a similar program in the future? Why was or wasn't this program a success?

This event was very successful and it was a great opportunity to involve students and do leadership development.  I recommend thoroughly going through your Hagaddah before the Seder to become familiar with the layout and all of the necessary ingredients. 

 

What impact did the program have? How were students Jewishly enriched and what did they specifically learn?

The students learned about the holiday of Passover, and that Jewish holidays can be fun and not just boring. 

 

If you have any comments about how we can improve this form and or process, please enter them here:

Make it a downloadable form that can then be emailed to be submitted.  It was very time-consuming to have to copy and paste each question into a word document, both so the information online would not be lost and so I could keep a copy for my records.

 

Roughly how long did it take for you to fill out this form? 

Over 45 minutes

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