Last week, I traveled to Austin, Texas for the Partnership2Gether (P2G) Council of Communities. This yearly conference brings together people from all across our P2G region for several days of planning and budgeting for the upcoming year, and time to connect and develop relationships with other participants.
This year, we had participants from Israel, Budapest, and 16 of the 17 U.S. communities that are part of our P2G consortium. This included both professional staff and lay leadership.
I never could have anticipated just how magical this year’s conference would be. The Israeli participants were overcome with gratitude for the support they have received since October 7th. We heard from a gentleman named Moti Yeger, who is the Chair of P2G in the Western Galilee. He shared with us his experience of what it is like right now to be a 52-year-old Reserve Naval Officer and father to several IDF soldiers, and insight into how he is keeping his family together in the midst of the war. We welcomed our new P2G Consortium Director, Tamara Schuster, who has been involved in Jewish education for over 20 years. And we looked back on our successes of the past, including the Women Leading A Dialogue program, Sliding Dors (second generation Holocaust survivors), and visits to consortium cities by an Israeli chef (if you attended our Yom Ha’Atzmaut celebration this past year, you were able to enjoy his delicious food!).
In my role as Chair of the P2G Marketing Committee, I gave a presentation on marketing resources. As part of this presentation, I led participants in an exercise asking them to come up with an “elevator pitch” for P2G. There were four components to the pitch:
- What
- How
- Who
- Where
For me, the answers were:
WHAT Building meaningful relationships HOW through engaging activities and programs WHO with our Jewish family WHERE in Israel, Budapest, and 17 U.S. communities.
This is the essence of P2G. And now, more than ever, I am incredibly proud to be a part of this exceptional program. There is an excellent opportunity coming up to experience our P2G region in the Western Galilee. The P2G Summit will take place in February 2025. For only $100 (plus the cost of airfare), you will experience three days exploring the region and seeing firsthand P2G’s impact, while building and strengthening meaningful relationships with other participants. There is a two-day pre-trip for those who are new to P2G and wish to learn more ~ the cost for the pre-trip is $650. There is also an optional extension that includes travel to Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.
Registration will open next month. I would love to have you join us and experience all that P2G has to offer. Please contact me if you are interested or have any questions.
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