Submission #21515 by Brothers of Israel Men'S Club - Newtown, PA (504)

I have read the 2021 Torch Awards Program Guidelines.
Club Name
Brothers of Israel Men'S Club - Newtown, PA (504)
Happy Hour
Club Representative
Person completing form
Lenny
Rosenfeld
Club President at time of convention if known at this time
leonard
rosenfeld
Club President Now
leonard
rosenfeld
COVID-19

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The onset of Covid caused our synagogue to stop all in person gatherings. As interaction at synagogues events was an important social outlet for many mens club members this left a void, Our mens club president, Ralph Floyd quickly recognized the gap, obtained a zoom account and tried setting up a midweek happy hour. The happy hour has been held every Wednesday night since April of 2020 at 7PM. Attendance is always in the range from 7 to 12 members. The time to chat is highly valued and useful information and contacts are often made. Each month a speaker is featured for our entire congregation. A wide variety of topics are spanned including health related, politics, hobbies, sports anD finance. Talks have been by both synangogue members and non-members.
The president of the club sends a meeting notice with the zoom link every week. Group discussion identifies speaker topics of interest and possible speakers. Individual members take responsibility for scheduling speakers and working with the synagogue office for publicity. Most happy hour sessions are intentionally unstructured. There are many opportunities for online presentations etc. When there is no speaker, we all value the time to just BS.
Attachments
happy_hour.jpg
Self Assessment
The program has been a success in that it has consistently given our members the social interactions that are otherwise unavailable with COVID. Participation is always 7 to 12 people which for a relatively small synagogue like ours is excellent .
Also, a number of new synagogue and men club participants have become regular attendees to the Happy Hour.
The happy hour has been an essential element of building and maintaining our community. While many zoom programs are available online including shabbat service ran by our clergy, the opportunity to just socialize is not otherwise available.
The happy hour has become an essential part of building and maintaining our community during covid. The social interaction is also a contributor to the wellness of our members.

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Original Program
Previous Submission
Yes