Friday Night Light

Jews around the world celebrate Shabbat, or a day of rest, starting at sundown on Friday and ending at sundown on Saturday. At the heart of Shabbat is family, friends, reflection and food. In April 2024, after a challenging year for the Jewish community, we led an effort - in partnership with our Jewish Affinity Group - to host a school-wide Shabbat dinner, celebrating the joy (and food!) of Judaism with students, parents, teachers and really anyone who wanted to attend regardless of their religious affiliation. To our delight, over 300 people attended.

Inspired by our school-wide dinner, we have started Friday Night Light, an initiative by students for students celebrating community, reflection, rest and food. It is an all-inclusive gathering on Friday evenings where we can come together with our peers to share what we have in common rather than focusing on what makes us different.

Friday Night Light Toolkit – A Guide to Bringing People Together in Community, 10 Steps to Host Your Own Friday Night Light:

Step 1: Mission

State your mission or your aspiration. What are you trying to achieve?

United Teens Against Antisemitism (UTAA) Mission:

We aspire to educate and inspire young people like ourselves, to take action against the surge of Jewish hate around the world.

Draft Your Mission:

Step 2: Goal

What is your desired outcome?

Goal:

Unite the school and broader community against antisemitism and all forms of hate by bringing them together for Friday Night Light dinner (based on Shabbat) to connect and unite around our common values.

State Your Goal:

Step 3: Audience

Who do you want to bring together? Who do you need as advocates and allies? Make a list of each audience

Audience:

Fellow School Students:

Anyone who would like to attend! Shabbat is about community and through Friday Night Light, we want to put an emphasis on diversity and host a Shabbat dinner for all.

Sponsors:

School Leadership
Jewish Affinity Group

List Your Audience:

List Your Sponsors:

Step 4: Potential Challenges

What issues might you encounter?

Roadblock include:

Budget
Attendance
Support from school administration

Think About What Challenges You May Encounter:

Step 5: Space & Funding Needs

Do you need a convening space? Do you need funding?

Needs:

Space:

For our project, both the school and families at school have offered recreational space for us to host our dinner.

Funding:

We requested funding from our school administrators and they agreed to fund.
Considered a bake sale and raffle as an alternate plan.

Space:

How many people are you expecting?
What kind of a space do you need?

Funding:

Do you need money?
How much?
What are potential sources?
Do you need to fundraise?

Step 6: Working Group

Define the planning team for Friday Night Light and each person’s responsibility.
Set Meeting Times

Team:

Person 1:

Instagram Account to promote and raise awareness for your event!

Person 2:

Request Funding

Person 3:

Invites
Food
Ordering

Decorations

Meetings & Updates:1x per week until the event

Give updates at Jewish Affinity Group
Keep the school leadership informed.

Make a list and assign responsibilities to stay organized.

Set meeting times.

List out who else you need to communicate with regularly to make your event a success.

Step 7: Communication

Sample Letter to School Leadership

[Click Here]

Create an invite for those you want to invite

Who do you need to enlist for support?

Create both a letter to your administration and an invitation

Step 8: Write Your Welcome Speech

It is important to reinforce the reason for your gathering and share the mission with your community.

Remarks Checklist:

Thank attendees for coming
State the reason for gathering
Tell a story that reflects the community gathering
Make a joke to lighten the mood!Shout out anyone who helped organize (including the school and administration)
Optional: Have a school leader make remarks

Draft your remarks.

Step 9: Gather

Gather with your community and hold the dinner!

Have fun!

Step 10: Send Thank Yous

Draft email thank you notes to all individuals that supported the event.
Send a follow up email to all attendees thanking them and reinforcing the value of Friday Night Light.
Set a date for a future event!

List names of people to thank.