Workshop 10: Taking Responsibility

 Alumni Impact Project Mad Libs

Last Sunday we made the long trek to the sweet old town of Oswego, Il. We all thought long and hard about some of the issues that we hold most dearly to us. From STEM to the environment we all had different ideas and other ways to tackle each one.

 

This was the beginning of our Alumni Impact Project. After we had listened to every person talk about the issue they cared most about, we split off into groups of people who cared about similar issues. Then after long sweat and toil for some groups topics were chosen and issue trees were made to help us identify some of the immediate needs and root causes around the issues.

 

Tikkun Olam Speed Dating

 

Then came a new topic what to do for the self-management Tikkun Olam overnight in September. We started in a whole group and figured out some essentials: location, timing, and theme. We then decided on some groups and started on our next task: how to help the next cohort of fellows during their second workshop.

Self-management overnight and workshop planning.

 

All in all it was a fun drive down and great to see everyone for the first time since Cincinnati. Thank you to the Katz family for hosting us!

 

By: Daniel Balogh

Last day in Cincinnati

It wouldn't be Diller if we didn't "woosh!" our guests!

 

Thursday morning we got to sleep in a little bit before enjoying a breakfast of yummy donuts and bagels. After our breakfast we had a special guest, Rabbi Avi Poupko, who also happens to be Jessica's cousin, come speak to us about the situation in Israel today. It was really interesting to hear his perspective, because he lived and taught in Israel for a long time. He was also extremely informative in helping us all truly understand some of the things that we constantly hear on the news. After Rabbi Poupko left, we all got a chance to hang out for a little bit, playing ping pong and pool and enjoying all the time that we had together.

 

Delicious Indian buffet!

 

Next we headed out on the bus to lunch. We went to a Kosher vegetarian Indian restaurant. It was my first time having Indian food and I loved it! Next we went over to the only JCC in Cincinnati, where we got a sense of what it was like to have a centralized space for the Jewish community. There we toured around the beautiful facility, complete with water slides and a state of the art gym. We also did an activity where we each got the breakdown of a fake budget for the JCC for the year and how much money each activity brought in and cost. This was a cool way to show us how difficult it can be to keep all of the programs that the facility offers while still being able to afford everything. To round out our look into the Cincinnati community we all took time to sit down and think about what the perfect community would look like to each of us. They included lots of things ranging from Fro-yo to good school systems to a nice Jewish community. Finally we picked up all of our luggage and headed to the bus! We played some games and braced ourselves for the long ride back.

 

 

All in all this trip was a great way for us to explore a community outside of Chicago and to see the similarities and differences that we share. This came together throughout the trip by visiting the different organizations and volunteer opportunities. I think we can all walk away from this trip with a greater understanding of communities outside the Chicagoland area and what it's like to live in a smaller Jewish community. We can all also walk away with stronger bonds and friendships. Going to Cincinnati and being stuck on bus for 6 hours each way, was wonderful because the stronger friendships that we take from this trip will make the rest of our Diller experiences that much better!

 

By: Shira Brandhandler