Did you hear that the twins, Ben and Becca, had a B’nei Mitzvah party this past Saturday night?

In an attempt to try something different for our young adult Federation donors, we overhauled what had been our Young Adult Main Event. Instead of a speaker, the Federation worked with a Hollywood writer and produced a 1980’s/1990’s mock Bar Mitzvah party. All the attendees were part of the show. During the cocktail hour, actors playing the roles of party attendees (the B’nei Mitzvah kids, the parents, the grandparents, the friends, etc) all schmoozed with us. We then went into the Ballroom for the candle lighting ceremony and the partying.  Limbo anyone?

It sounds like a lot of fun (and it was), but what’s the tie in with Federation? Throughout the evening we learned about Ben and Becca’s mitzvah project. They were raising money to support the Federation. Our young adults learned about some of the great things the Federation Annual Campaign supports. The evening was entertaining, inspiring and informational. With about 250 in attendance, we believe we had a great success.

We have to keep changing. This event is one example of how our Federation is trying new things. Sometimes they work (like this time). Other times they do not. We know for sure that engaging this young adult cohort takes great creativity. And while we are being creative, we need to ensure that our programming contains real content.

Mazel tov Ben and Becca! Thanks for letting us all join you in your celebration – a celebration of our community.

Shabbat Shalom.