The Lester and Jewell Morris Hillel Jewish Student Center at
Michigan State University invites you to join us at our

Annual Tribute Gala

"Inspiring Future Leaders"

A Celebration of Jewish Life at Michigan State University

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Wednesday, April 19, 2009
Cocktail Reception 5:30p.m. - Dinner & Program 6:15p.m.*

The University Club of Michigan State University, East Lansing

Special Guest Speakers

MSII President Lou Anna K. Simon, Coach Tom Izzo,
Coach Mark Dantonio, Coach Suzy Merchant.
Master of Ceremonies: MSU Athletic Director Mark Hollis

Gala Chairs

Governor James Blanchard and Janet Blanchard
Mark Gaffney and Trisha Stein
Ralph Gerson and Erica Ward Gerson
Ron Geftelfinger

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Jewish
Federation
of Metropolitan Detroit

WE'RE PART OF THE TEAM

Richard and Jackie Long
Dr. Eric Phillips and Patrice Phillips
Dr. E. James Potchen and Geri Potchen
Walter and Marilyn Wolpin

Couvert

$180/person

*Kosher meal available, upon request.

Please Respond By April 3, 2009

For more information, contact Jonathon Koenigsberg at 517-332-1916 or jonathon@msuhillel.org

A28

March 26 2009

Birthright from page A26

drink free beer at those big events,
but they don't feel it meets their
needs to find Jewish community,"
Chertok reports.
Respondents also were interested
in learning more about Judaism
and Jewish culture and history,
including Hebrew, but were wary
of outreach groups with a per-
ceived "religious" agenda. They
also wanted a network of friends
to share those experiences as a way
of re-creating the camaraderie they
felt on their Israel trips.
"Birthright shows people that
being part of a group, a Jewish
group, is a meaningful experience,"
report co-author Leonard Saxe
says. "They come back hungry for
that, and most communities don't
provide them with a set of those
experiences."
Birthright NEXT, which has
chapters in New York and, as of last
year, San Francisco, is taking those
tips to heart, Brenner says.
Last fall, the organization
launched NEXT Shabbat, which
encourages Birthright alumni
to host Shabbat meals in their
homes. It's a peer-driven project,
Brenner says: Invitees RSVP online,
Birthright NEXT provides resources
and recipes on its Web site, and it
picks up the tab after hosts submit
feedback, which often includes
posting photos.
So far, Brenner reports, 2,000
such Shabbat dinners have been
held in the past six months. The
average age of participants is 25,
and 65 percent of the hosts said
they had never invited people to
a Shabbat meal before. In 2009,
Brenner projects 70,000 young par-
ticipants.
"We need to make drastic chang-
es in New York',' he acknowledges.
"There are so many alumni there,
and just 5 percent say they partici-
pate 'a lot:"
NEXT Shabbat seems to appeal
to New Yorkers, he says: About 28
percent of Birthright participants
come from the New York area,
which also provides about 28 per-
cent of those taking part in NEXT
Shabbat meals.
Brenner points out that many
young Jews sign up for Birthright
just because it's a free trip. "They
have no intention of doing anything
afterwards:' he says. "But if we can
meet their real needs, I have no
doubt we can help the majority
build Jewish community." 11