Kulanu-Abayudaya Speaking Tour
Event Planning Kit
2010: JJ Keki
Thank you for hosting JJ Keki in your community during his speaking tour through the United States and Canada! The Event Planning Kit is available online here for your convenience in coordinating the speaking tour presentation in your town. Please contact us if you have further questions.
Contents
- About the Presentation
- Promotional Materials
- Setup at Your Event
- Concerning JJ Keki
- Merchandise
- Expanding the Event’s Impact
I. About the Presentation
The original speaking tour announcement gives an overview of what to expect from JJ Keki's visit in your town. In general the presentation lasts one to two hours, depending on what the group prefers. A typical schedule involves:
10-15 minutes about the community's Jewish history and struggle to survive
15 minutes on the slide show, which highlights the Abayudayans' impressive developments and the education and sustainability projects coordinated with Kulanu
15 minutes of singing (JJ is an accomplished musician and a wonderful performer!)
30 minutes question and answer
Each of these segments could be shorter or longer depending on the community's schedule. We also have a 5-minute video about the Abayudaya schools that is available for you, congregants, students and audiences to watch in advance - you can watch it online via YouTube, here, or we can try to get you a higher-resolution version on a DVD.
Before and after the presentation, we also hope you set up a table with more information about Kulanu and the Abayudaya, and with merchandise for sale. The merchandise benefits the Abayudaya (proceeds from their kippot and music CDs go to the community) and Kulanu's work with other Jewish communities around the world (proceeds from our self-published collection of essays and stories go toward other isolated and emerging groups). See the Merchandise and Literature section, below, for more about table displays at your event.
II. Promotional materials
Click here for a sample press release you can use to publicize the event with your local media.
To see photos you can use to promote Mr. Keki's presentation in your community, visit www.kulanu.org/press.
Check out these fliers created for events in New York and Ottawa, to inspire your creativity in publicizing your event:
Riverdale, Bronx
West Side, Manhattan
Ottawa, Canada
Here is a link to the announcement for an event in Los Angeles, as an example of how to promote your event on the web:
Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles
Click here for JJ Keki's biography.
The original speaking tour announcement is available here.
To find out where else JJ Keki is traveling during this tour, check out our online calendar - more details are added all the time, so check it again before the event near you!
To learn more about the Abayudaya of Uganda and Kulanu's work with this community, see their Kulanu Community page at www.kulanu.org/abayudaya.
III. Setup at Your Event
Audiovisual and Other (optional for Shabbat events)
- Audio CD player
- Working PA and microphone on a podium or microphone stand
- Computer, LCD projector and screen
- Knowledgeable person to run the equipment
- Guitar (for JJ to play as part of his presentation)
- Kulanu and Abayudaya literature: postcard fliers, Mitzvah Project brochures, "About Kulanu" sheets and mailing list sign-up (see "Merchandise and Literature Materials", below - these documents will also be mailed to you)
Merchandise Sales Setup (if you choose to sell Kulanu goods)
- Someone to order merchandise, receive goods and track inventory (more info below)
- Table(s) for product sales and chairs for volunteer sales staff
- Someone to staff the merchandise table at the event
IV. Concerning JJ Keki
He is shomer Shabbes and does not generally travel by car on Shabbat, but will ride to shul.
If your event is on Shabbat, he will speak with or without the slideshow and will not object if the microphone and slideshow are managed by someone else.
He keeps kosher. He will eat dairy/vegetarian foods, including fish, prepared in a non-kosher kitchen.
We will be sending you his itinerary and details of his arrival when his schedule and transportation have been confirmed. We ask that you tell us who will be meeting him on arrival in your city (usually by plane or train) and who will be helping him travel to the next location in his tour. This is so we know who to contact in case of an emergency. Generally speaking, our goal will be to have him in each new location by early afternoon. Please remember that most of his flights will not include any meal so we ask that you make sure he has a bag lunch with him when he leaves your city.
During his stay in the US, he will be carrying a cell phone and we will be sending you that telephone number with the arrival information.
We hope that whoever is hosting Mr. Keki will talk with him regarding his needs while he’s staying in your community. For example, you might ask him whether he would like to check email, have time to rest, go sight-seeing, or do laundry.
↑ TopV. Merchandise To Benefit the Abayudaya
In conjunction with JJ Keki’s visit to your community, we invite you to sell kippot made by the Abayudaya, CDs of the community’s singing and music, and Under One Canopy: Readings in Jewish Diversity, a wonderful book compiled and published by Kulanu. If you purchase products in bulk Kulanu offers discounted prices; you can choose whether or not to mark them up to their normal retail price and use the proceeds either to offset the speaking tour fee or to donate back to Kulanu -- it's up to you! You can take advantage of the great bulk rates on these and other unique Judaica products through our Boutique website, www.KulanuBoutique.com.
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Abayudaya Kippot Finely crocheted pillbox and smaller traditional-style skullcap that comes in an assortment of colors (US$15; bulk rates range from $8-$12ea depending on order size) |
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Shalom Everybody, Everywhere! CD The acclaimed recording of the unique sounds of the Abayudaya Jews of Uganda was nominated for a Grammy in World Music. Hear traditional Jewish liturgy and new compositions set to African melodies and rhythms, sung in English, Hebrew, Luganda, and Swahili (US$15; no bulk rates available at this time - contact us if you are interested in a large order of these CDs) |
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Lecha Dodi CD Kulanu’s latest album release! Music for Shabbat services, composed by members of the Abayudaya community featuring J. J. Keki and family, Rachel Namudosi and Rabbi Gershom Sizomu. Sung in Hebrew and the local languages of Luganda and Lugisu (US$15; bulk price is $10ea when you order 10). |
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Under One Canopy: Readings in Jewish Diversity A wonderful compilation published by Kulanu and edited by Karen Primack. It is a delight to read, containing reflections, essays and poems by Jews worldwide (US$15; bulk prices are $5ea for 40 or $7.50ea for 10). |
It's easy to order online; just be sure to place your order at least four weeks before your event to allow time for packing and shipping. While you're visiting KulanuBoutique.com, check out the other items we have available that represent the diversity of the Jewish people!
In addition, we can put you in touch with a representative from Thanksgiving Coffee Company, the company that sells the fair-trade, kosher and organic coffee from the Mirembe Kawomera/Delicious Peace coop which JJ founded with neighboring Christian, Muslim, and Jewish farmers. Please contact us if you are interested in ordering coffee to sell or to distribute at your event; Thanksgiving Coffee can also help you arrange for Delicious Peace to be the coffee of choice at your shul!
Merchandise or Literature Table
Please display the following on the sales/literature table:
(These documents will be included in your literature package, and some are available online for your convenience and so you can make additional copies as needed.)
- Mailing list sign-up sheet - encourage attendees to get on Kulanu's mailing list. We send out short and informative "Kulanu Updates" every 4 to 6 weeks.
- About Kulanu - please copy and display these colorful 2-sided sheets that provide more information on other Kulanu projects and communities. They also look great in black-and-white, so you can print them in gray-scale if you prefer.
- Bar/Bat Mitzvah Project brochures - get young people in your community involved in tzedekah, beginning with this important lifecycle occasion.
- Abayudaya "rack card" flyers
- Donation envelopes
Check out www.KulanuBoutique.com for lovely products that benefit and are made by Jewish communities around the world!
Tips for Selling Kulanu Boutique Items
On collecting donations:
We have found that audiences are often moved to make a donation after learning about the inspiring lives of Jewish people across the globe. The funds Kulanu receives from events such as this are directed to our work supporting these isolated and emerging communities.
- When sending us donations, please do not send cash. We accept checks, money orders or online donations at kulanu.org/donate.
- All donation checks should be in U.S. dollars, payable to Kulanu.
- Donation checks to Kulanu should have mailing address and phone number.
- If someone would like to make a donation after the event, they can give safely and easily online at kulanu.org/donate or mail checks to Kulanu, 165 West End Ave, 3R, New York, NY 10023.
VI. How Have Other Host Communities and Their Members Extended Their Support of the Abayudaya and Kulanu?
Before the Visit
- Showed "Yearning to Belong" or other Abayudaya video to congregation
- Encouraged Hebrew School students to learn about the Abayudaya
- Sought additional synagogues, churches, and other organizations to co-sponsor the event
- Invited African and African-American residents of their area to attend
- Taught Abayudaya melodies to the congregation
While Their Guest Was In Their Community
- Held small patron-style event (lunch, reception) for select donors and other individuals to give them time to meet the speaker
- Held exhibit of photos taken in Uganda
At Any Time
- Promoted the Kulanu, Inc Facebook page (www.facebook.com/kulanu) and shared how to become fans to show support
- Encouraged people to sign up to be on Kulanu’s mailing list (just send an email to database[@k]ulanu[.]org with your name and email address!)
- Adopted Kulanu and the Abayudaya as an ongoing Tikkun Olam/Social Action/tzedakah project for a religious school or youth group, women’s or men’s club or tzedakah collective
- Continued to sell goods and Mirembe Kawomera Coffee
- Encouraged bar/bat mitzvah candidates to select Kulanu as the focus of their Mitzvah Project by distributing Kulanu’s printed bar/bat mitzvah brochures to the students in their own synagogue and to leaders in nearby synagogues and day schools
- Asked friends and family to make contributions to Kulanu in honor of special lifecycle moments, including high school graduation, adult bnei mitzvah, weddings, anniversaries and birthdays, etc.
- Made donations to Kulanu (www.kulanu.org/donate) for the Abayudaya in lieu of gifts
- Created and sold gift cards that could be used to inform people about gifts in their honor made to the Abayudaya Education Fund
- Planned a congregational visit to the Abayudaya in Uganda
- Ran booth about Kulanu and the communities that we work with at Jewish community fair
- Held concert or other special event to raise funds for the Abayudaya and Kulanu
- Worked on getting press coverage for this event and for the Abayudaya in general, in newspapers, magazines, radio and TV shows, and on blogs, etc.
- Introduced the Abayudaya and Kulanu to potential large donors or foundations in their area
Didn't find the information you were seeking? Email speakers[@]kulanu[.]org, or call Katie or Harriet at 212.877.8082 with any additional questions or comments.