Workshop 8: Why you should apply for Diller by Madison Gold

Another wonderful workshop has passed us. The theme of this weeks work shop was marketing and recruitment. This is really important in Diller since this is how cohorts are formed. The reason for this workshop being this week is that we are in prime time for recruitment. There is an information session being held on Wednesday the 4th and applications are due on May 15th.

          The workshop was split into two components. The first part was a guest speaker talking about how to promote something we are passionate about in this case, Diller. The second part we worked on possible ways to get someone's attention to recruit them for Diller.

            Our lovely guest speakers name is Tanya Toledano. She spoke about how she got involved in marketing. It was really interesting to hear her story and take in the advice she had for us. She told us some good ways that she used to get herself known and get her message out to the people. One of the techniques she spoke about is called an "elevator pitch" this means pretend you are in an elevator and you only have the time that it takes to get to the floor you are heading for to get your point across. If you didn't realize this is around 30 seconds, not much time. This technique is great to use to be short and sweet in getting your message across.

            During the second part of the workshop, we focused on how to make a pitch. As a group we made two lists. One explaining what Diller is, what to expect from the program and what you can gain. The second one was about what kind of people we are looking for to apply. We made these lists as it would help us with brainstorming ideas for an amazing pitch. After that activity we were given time to try and write our own pitches to use while recruiting. Lastly, we did a little activity where we had to role play and pretend our staff were thinking about Diller and we needed to convince them why they should apply.

Now I'm going to take a little shot at making an amazing pitch for you, here I go:

            Diller, what a life changing experience! This is an experience of a life time, you will learn leadership skills while exploring your Judaism, learning about Israel and partaking in the Jewish idea of Tikun Olam. My name is Madison Gold and I am currently a Diller Teen Fellow in Montreal Cohort 8. Diller is an international program involving 26 communities including 13 from Israel, 2 from South Africa and 1 from Australia. To participate in this program you need to be going into either grades 10 or 11. This program is one of a kind. This is not an ordinary Israel summer program, it isn't even just an Israel summer program. It is a 15 month teen leadership program that has a 10 day hosting opportunity for you and a 3 week trip to Israel during summer vacation. I have had such an amazing time in Diller. I have made new friends and some of whom have become my best friends. The group has also become my family along with my new friendships and family in Israel that was formed during JCM. Other than these new amazing friendships I have also gained so many new qualities. I have learnt to become a leader and break out of my shell. If you have any questions feel free to reach out to me.