HELP ME PLAN A SEDER FOR UNDERPRIVILEGED KIDS?

Yocheved84

Wed, Mar 18 2015, 6:56 am

Hi Everyone,

I know I haven't been active in a couple months, but I'm back! And I'm hoping you might be able to help me. Smile

I am organizing a "fake"/"model" Seder a few days before Pesach for underprivileged teenagers, many of whom are also not religious. Some of their parents will also be there.

Do you have advice on how to decorate the school gymnasium for this event? Any ideas on which hagaddah to use? How would you make this fun and exciting? How long do you think it should last?

We don't have much of a budget to speak of, but nonetheless see the importance of this event.

Any ideas or help much appreciated!!!!!

PS--Already have a rabbi for the event. Now comes everything else!!

imasinger

Wed, Mar 18 2015, 8:54 am

Brainstorming here. Try taking a look at Aish resources, like the Survival Kit Family Haggada. Set up a screen, and play some of their wonderful and funny short videos that they put out each year before Pesach.

Consider minimal decoration, including butcher paper on the walls, and having all participants take responsibility for illustrating each section of the seder/story.

Think fun, creative, quick moving.

For food, how elaborate are you thinking? A real meal, or just half an egg, a macaroon, and seder food? Most model seders I remember are for younger kids.

greenfire

Wed, Mar 18 2015, 9:18 am

what a loverly idea ...

how about having something they can take home to their families - like the haggadah ... I like the cute kiddie artscroll ... with pictures - FUN for all ages

how many people are you expecting - can you find a donor for them

Yocheved84

Wed, Mar 18 2015, 9:23 am

Thank you for your replies! For food, I was going to spend today pricing out caterers. It doesn't need to be KLP, since it's before Pesach. But I thought we'd do chicken, a starch, charoset, etc. and macaroons for dessert. That should be good, right?

But shouldn't I decorate the gym and make it look fancy? These are older teenagers (16-18), who will probably never be happy with anything!

I'll definitely explore what you both said. Maybe I just need the Rabbi with a microphone and a "team leader" at each table to guide and explain? (Maybe the local Chabad or even Jewish Day School can send their students to help?)

Thanks again for your advice.
Smile

imasinger

Wed, Mar 18 2015, 2:44 pm

IDK, but it may be worth asking someone in the know about the decorations.

A lot of teens don't care. Ask someone who is used to working with this crowd, and find out which touches will work.

I love Greenie's idea of sending each participant home with a hagada to keep, though you may want to make your own so that nobody ends up discarding sheimos.

Tablecloths, yes, pretty table settings, yes. Expensive floral arrangements, probably not. A welcome sign or banner, yes. What did you have in mind?

Lizzie4

Wed, Mar 18 2015, 3:50 pm

I'd set the seder up to look like a show with different booths
For instance
Business booths- Give different local businesses a chance to showcase their Passover products. Make it look exciting!
Activity booths-
-Get photographed (in a costume?) holding a piece of matza and glass of grape juice and get the photo on the spot.
-have a few different Pesach videos playing in a dark decorated "movie theater"
-a sophisticated but simple arts and craft booth
-A reading material booth- for some more interesting reading material and stories
- A taste booth- Have some mothers create some delicious pesach food for the crowd to sample.

On the other side of the room have a beautiful seder table set up with simple traditional Pesach foods- matza, charoset, lettuce leaves- no real food though, white tablecloths, beautiful flowers, place setting, and comfortable chairs with white pillows- This is where the Rabbis can speak and explain the Pesach customs.

Yocheved84

Sun, Mar 22 2015, 8:01 am

Sorry for disappearing for a few days! These ideas sound great. So, here's what I've done thus far:
1) Decided to call and shop around for a caterer. I can't do the whole "take-out food"-style we've been doing for other events. It just won't be possible.
2) I'll try to get black fabric table cloths.
3) How about this as a "centerpiece" of sorts? I can put jewels on the table around it...
http://www.epicurious.com/imag.....s.jpg

Mrs Bissli

Sun, Mar 22 2015, 6:26 pm

Can you hire lots of cushions/pillows (note; avoid descent to pillow fight). I believe Artscroll has Teen haggada as opposed to Kiddie haggada. Do '10 plagues team charade'? (2-3 teenagers per plague, leave the name of a specific plague in an envelope, give them 3 min to work out charade). 'Geometric matza cutting contest'? (Give a box of matzot per team, start with easy ones like rectangular, triangle, see if they can make circle, hexagon, pentagon from that crumbly square piece. Bonus point for a team who could cut out/model magen david.) Chabad's cartoon (Itzy Kadoozi and Jono series) has a rap-style exodus song in its weekly parsha (so check Bo/Beshallach thereabout). Also G-dcast material. Pick some themes like Freedom, Slavery, contemporary slavery, creation of Israel, find inspirational poems or songs.