When thinking about the scope of your programs for the entire year, make sure to find a balance of social, educational, and social action programs and projects that best fits your group. There are numerous ways to do each type of program: Look for area resources to carry them out. Also see what other groups are doing, and perhaps cosponsor an event.
 

For programming related to prayer service

After Shabbat services, get a group of people to either eat dinner with everyone else at Hillel, go out to a restaurant, or even have a potluck dinner in someone’s apartment. A comfortable dinner is key to maintaining a communal atmosphere.

Make sure everyone knows that a community or group Shabbat dinner is taking place, and that they will not be alone if they decide to go.  Sit with students for whom it is their first few times there, as some rituals may be unfamiliar and confusing and the social situation may seem overwhelming.  Walking over to the dinner together may serve as a great comfort to such students and a little helpful explanation may be just the thing to make them wish to include this in their own weekly Shabbat experience.

Always include Havdalah when you have a program on Saturday evening. Havdalah is a "transportable" service that can be done almost anywhere. Try going to dorms or having it outside in nice weather. By having it in locations other than Hillel, the experience may be less intimidating and give students an opportunity to try something new in a friendly and inclusive environment. See the section, "Planning Shabbat Services," to read more about Havdalah.

Social Action Programming

You can always find organizations that would love to have a group of students’ help. You might want to become involved with area hospitals, nursing homes, or day-care centers, either on a one-time, weekly, or monthly basis. If you choose to do the same project throughout the year, make sure that you encourage involvement year-round, or else provide additional opportunities. Other social action-oriented measures include adding an extra dollar or two to the cost of an event to donate to Mazon: a Jewish Response to Hunger, (310) 442-0020 or to another such organization, or gathering canned goods or toiletries to give to a nearby soup kitchen or homeless shelter. The Religious Action Center can be of great help in this area; contact them at (202) 387-2800, or see their listing in appendix 10.

Educational Programs

These can be tricky.  You should identify any issues that are being discussed on your campus about which you would like to help educate your students, giving them a Jewish view.  Look for professors who might lead wonderful discussions, or perhaps give a sermon or d’var Torah.  A text study can also be very insightful.  Princeton University’s Kesher offers a program called Shabbat Shiur, which consists of Saturday morning text study (and bagels, of course!) that has become popular with non-Reform students as well.  One suggestion is to hold a weekly discussion on the parashah (Torah portion) with a Hillel or area Rabbi (or even without one!) and order pizza for dinner.  (“Parashah and Pizza” makes a great event title!)  Remember, however, that students sit in lectures five days a week and spend a lot of time studying.  Therefore, a heavy stream of educational programming may not meet the needs of your students.  We have found that programs are more successful if there are educational aspects hidden or added to a social or social action program.

 Try to identify other religious or ethnic groups that might want to hold a joint meeting or event to share your own religious and cultural ideas and customs.  This can be a great learning event, and also a way to build better relations in the university community.  You might even try to create a multicultural Passover Seder.

Social Programs

More traditional ideas are ice skating, miniature golf, bowling, hayrides, and bonfires. Look for not-so-ordinary ideas and things people would really have an interest in doing but might not get a chance to do alone, such as rock-climbing on an indoor climbing wall, or a trip to a university- sponsored show or concert. Depending on the location of the campus, resources will vary. Consider traveling to other Kesher chavurot to do joint programs as well, so that you may share ideas with each other.

In General

We suggest biweekly meetings for the continued health of a campus Kesher chavurah; it serves as a routine, easy to plan, and very informal event. These meetings can serve multiple purposes. They can provide a place for people to meet other people in a relaxed atmosphere, often one with fewer people than any singular event. They can even be a perfect time to plan upcoming events and coordinate people and activities. Phone calls can also be made at the meeting. This helps to ensure that a routine for phone calls gets put into effect.

For each program, it helps to fill out some sort of form (two sample forms are provided in Appendixes 2 and 3) that can be used to outline plans and track attendance and budget. These certainly help in planning future activities.