Anshe+Sholom+B’nai+Israel+Congregation

//**ASBI's Project Mishpacha ** Project Mishpacha is an opportunity for ASBI members to join a "mishpacha" (family) unit. Each Mishpacha is comprised of approximately 8-10 household units, which represent a cross-section of the shul demographics (empty nesters, younger singles, older singles, families with kids of various ages, married couples without kids). The Mishpacha gathers for the following events: // **Shabbat Oneg (every other month):** This is an event that takes place at the shul, usually based around an upcoming holiday. All the Mishpachot are together at the shul, but each Mishpacha works on its own with holiday-related activities or games. **Shabbat Meal (every other month):** This is either a lunch or dinner, depending on the time of year. Each Mishpacha gathers at the home of one of the Mishpacha participants. To avoid any Kashrut or financial constraints, the main course of the meal is catered, while other parts of the meal (ex. Salad, chumus, drinks, etc.) are potlucked. The meal includes a Mishpacha activity or discussion, specially designed to engage all the members of the group in a meaningful and fun Shabbat experience. A Mishpacha might choose to sing some songs from the Project Mishpacha Shiron.
 * Shabbat events happen once a month, and alternate between… **
 * And… **
 * Chesed Outing (twice per year):** In December and May, the Mishpachot participate in a Chesed (social justice) outing of their choice. Options will be provided, and each Mishpacha will decide as a group which they would like to do, or will come up with an idea of their own!
 * Mishpacha of the Month:** Each month, one Mishpacha is featured on the bulletin board in the shul lobby, as well as on the website. This is the Mishpacha's opportunity to introduce themselves to the larger shul community, including photos and brief bios about the members of the Mishpacha.

Please visit our Project Mishpacha website: [|www.asbiprojectmishpacha.org]

Our consultant helped us devise thes objectives and desired outcomes:

[|Objectives and Desired Outcomes for Project Mishpacha.doc]

Our Steering Committee (made up of a cross-section of our shul demographics) continuously revisits this document to make sure we are on track. Our survey questions were deisgned based on these objectives, as well.

Our Education & Ritual Director, Rachel Kohl Finegold, devoted one of her sermons to unveiling Project Mishpacha to the community:

[|Dvar Torah Mishpacha launch.doc]

We advertised in fliers, mailings, weekly bulletins, emails and personal outreach. Here is a sampling:

[|Recruitment flier2.pdf]

[|Recruitment_flier_basic.jpg]

[|Recruitment_flier_draft.jpg] Weekly bulletins with advertisements for Project Mishpacha: [|Mattot-Masei 2009.doc] [|Re'eh 2009.doc]

Here was our intake form, for participants to fill out: [|Intake form.doc]

Our first few events included the following resources:

Project Mishpacha Kickoff event activity: [|Oneg #1 handout.doc]

Mishpacha Shabbat meal at Mishpacha homes [|Breishit Taboo.doc]

Chanukah Gathering at Mishpacha homes [|Dreidel Olympics.doc] [|Shiron L'Chanukah.doc]

In December, we conducted a mid-year survey. Here were the questions we asked: [|mid-year survey questions.doc]

In the second half of the year, we learned a lot about what was succeeding. We developed a guideline for the liaisons to use in planning their Shabbat meals. [|Shabbat meal Guidelines.doc]

We created the following Jewish enrichment activities: [|Who Am I.doc]
 * __January__**: At the Shabbat meal, participants acted as characters from the Book of Shemot, and the others had to guess who they were.

[|Human bingo.doc] [|Human Bingo Card.doc]
 * __February:__** We held an oneg at shul, with some giant, life-sized Bingo boards!

[|Pesach discussion and Chesed choices.doc]
 * __March:__** We provided illustrations from the Haggaddah "A Night to Remember", accompanied by a guide for discussion.


 * __April:__** We received feedback that several Mishpachot had stopped doing the Jewish enrichment activity that we provided. They so much enjoyed schmoozing with each other and sharing the Shabbat meal. As an experiment, we did not prepare any activity for the April meal, and it seemed that no one missed it! Hmmm... some interesting lessons learned. [See our final grant report for details.]

Throughout these months, we featured the Mishpacha of the Month bulletin board, and each group got a chance to shine, right in the lobby of the shul building. [Photos to come...]

After our May Chesed outing, we ended the year with a bang. Here is a copy of our Shabbaton schedule:

[|Shabbaton schedule for email.doc]

We also publicized our synagogue consultant as a visiting scholar for Shabbat:

[|Shabbaton flier.doc]

Other publicity included this article in the shul newsletter: [|What Are They Saying About Project Mishpacha.doc]