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Volunteers' Toolbox

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED

Would you like to become a Friend of Chelm-on-the-Med?

JOIN THE 'LAUGHTER BRIGADE' - NOW!

Give people- Jews and Gentiles - reasons to LAUGH about Israel, instead of feeling SAD, ANGUISHED, DISHEARTENED, WORRIED, DISENCHANTED, UNCOMFORTABLE, ASHAMED OR ANGRY!

 

Help combat one-sided coverage of Israel.  Fight preconceptions of all kinds by letting others know about www.chelm-on-the-med.com


chelm at the 3rd jewish humor festival in minneapolis 2

Volunteer Wendy Ackerman hands out business cards and fliers at
the 3rd Annual Humor Festival
in the Twin Cities (Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota)

 

 

Join the Laughter Brigade!  Send us a picture of what YOU are doing
to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.



The Chelm Project is a private pro bono endeavor.  It needs 'campaigners' and 'cheerleaders'.

IF YOU LIKE CHELM-ON-THE-MED© - SPREAD THE WORD.

How can you help?  Here are some ideas:

●  E-mail friends and relatives. Make it a short personal e-mail in your own words and ask them to share this with others. In fact, invite the worst Israel basher you know to subscribe; humor is disarming.  Chelm already has readers in 66 countries - including China, South America and Muslim countries.

Tell others that you read it and suggest they check it out. You may want to open with:  'You're not going to believe this, but...'  Copy-paste-in your favorite vignette (this is OK). Say this is one of the true stories about Israel on a zany online news outlet called Chelm-on-the-Med© Online - Incredible Snippets of Daily Life in Israel Culled from the Hebrew Press. Make sure you include the URL for the website (http://www.chelm-on-the-med.com). Don't forget to also mention the animated demo for television on youtube.com (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MoUmGgbD6uk)

NOTE: If you send the same message to a group of friends at the same time - respect their privacy by using 'bcc', not 'to' or 'cc' for message recipients.

● Talk it up on Twitter, Facebook and other social media, and in chat rooms and list serves you belong to.

● Write or call your local Jewish paper and tell the managing editor about Chelm-on-the-Med©. Recommend they run stories, and be sure to let them know that newspapers - commercial and non-commercial - have permission to publish stories for free.  Send the editor your favorite story as a sample.  Tell authors of odd news columns in the general press about Chelm-on-the-Med© Online as an odd news source, noting that Israel is rarely mentioned in their columns (if this is so).

● Recommend that your local Jewish radio station or radio program read or paraphrase these stories on the air - ad hoc or as a regular zany news from Israel 'corner'.

● Tell your synagogue or church newsletter that they can reprint these stories for free.

● Tell your synagogue or church educational director that these stories can be used to change kids' perceptions of Israel.

● Tell your rabbi or minister.  Vignettes are great enhancers for sermons.

● Tell the local shaliach (Israel emissary) about Chelm.

● Tell local Israel advocacy groups - particularly on campus, about this 'unconventional weapon'.  Humor is effective - even bonding, and hecklers and Israel bashers will find it's a 'hard act to follow'...

● Get local Jewish schools and youth organizations involved in spreading the word as a pro-Israel 'project'.  (Feel free to print up T-shirts with the winking flag on the front, and the URL and your favorite vignette on the back...)  Suggest schools and youth organizations use Chelm stories in their programming (ad hoc or as a regular 'corner') - in weekly activities, at summer camp and so forth - even stage them as a camp play.

● Post a postcard or half-page notice at the local JCC, the local Jewish or kosher deli, Israeli or Jewish gifts store with the title and URL.

● Post a notice on free online bulletin boards in your Jewish community...or the free classified of your local Jewish paper.

To download click on the hyperlink

WORD FILE:  CHELM Half Sheet A4 Notice.doc (52 KB)

WORD FILE:  CHELM3x5  Index Card Text.doc (45 KB)

● If you have a laser printer, print up two-sided fliers (it doesn't have to be color) and distribute them at Jewish and pro-Israel events.

To download click on the hyperlink

WORD FILE: CHELM Flyer #1 Bring on the Humor.doc (82 KB)

●  Set up a table or booth in suitable locations, and distribute fliers or business cards. There are ready-made texts and visuals you can use to enhance your table with banners.  If you can, set up a laptop and play the Chelm animated demo for television that can be downloaded on youtube.com.   If you really want to get fancy, wear do-it-yourself Chelm T-shirts with the Chelm logo and URL (You can buy ready-to-print iron-on shirt transfers from office supply or hobby stores.)


To download click on the hyperlink

WORD FILE:  CHELM Visuals and Texts for Table or Booth (1,364 KB)

JPG FILE:  About the Author Cartoon.jpg (471 KB)

JPG FILE:  Winking Flag Logo - JPG.jpg (223 KB)

JPG FILE:  Winking Flag Logo and Text Banner - JPG.jpg (269 KB)

PDF FILE:  Winking Flag Logo and Text Banner - High Resolution.pdf (1,726 KB)

WORD FILE:  CHELM T-shirt Designs (517 KB)

Order bumper stickers and give them out to friends.  Key chains and refrigerator magnets are OK, too.  Small stickers stuck to doors, lamp poles, and so forth are NOT OK.  Keep text simple - just the URL with LOGO.  (If you add 'Incredible Snippets of Daily Life in Israel Culled from the Hebrew Press' on bumper stickers, it is liable to become a traffic hazard.)

● If you have a laser printer, print up some cheap white business cards and give them out to people you meet, post them on public bulletin boards, give them out at Jewish gatherings/affairs. Ask permission to put a stack near the register of the local kosher market.  The following text fits most standard cards

To download click on the hyperlink:

WORD FILE:  CHELM BUSINESS CARD standard plain stock.doc (156KB)

WORD FILE:  CHELM BUSINESS CARD blue striped left border.doc (54 KB)

JPG FILE: CHELM BUSINESS CARD designer cards for online printing services.jpg (77KB)

NOTE:  You may have to copy-paste the text into a different template designed for the stationary stock you purchase.

www.chelm-on-the-med.com

Incredible Snippets of Daily Life in Israel

Culled from the Hebrew Press

Spread the word.  Help re-brand Israel!

"Even our worst enemies will be laughing with us,

not at us.

●  Are you digitally competent?  Internet initiatives such as the Chelm URL link posted on www.dictionary.reference.com by an unidentified supporter under the subject "soft-news" are greatly appreciated (only where 100 percent legitimate, please) in online encyclopedias and dictionaries (Wikipedia, etc.) Other categories:  "man-bite-dog", "vignette", "Israeli humor", "Jewish humor", "hasbara", "public diplomacy", "nation branding", "edutainment", "odd news", "weird news", "animated news" and lists of Israeli news sites)

● Are you a journalists or blogger?   Spread the word on your website whether with a short blurb (OK - it's a plug), full-blown feature or profile (Right on!), interview (I'll provide the teasers) or tip to a well-placed colleague or endorsements and exposure of other kinds. Write your own, or use this ready-to-run feature, and enhance it with the winking flag logo, a link to the television demo or other visuals in this tool box.

To download, click on the hyperlink

WORD FILE:  CHELM Feature Article.doc (55 KB)

● If you have a website/blog, add Chelm to your favorites / links. Even better, post a link on your homepage with the signature 'winking Israeli flag' logo.

To download a low resolution jpg file of the logo, click on the hyperlink:

JPG FILE:  Winking Flag Logo - Low Resolution.jpg (10 KB)

JPG FILE:  Winking Flag Logo with Chelm-on-the-Med© Online.jpg (24 KB)

●  If you see articles in online newspapers and magazines about Israel's image or Israeli advocacy, animated news and other relevant topics - write a talkback that tells readers about this unique endeavor - citing the URL, if allowed. The same applies to slanted articles / discussion that present a warped picture of Israel: suggest that readers / other talkbackers can get a fresh perspective that goes beyond conflict-driven news by reading Chelm-on-the-Med© Online.  Please - keep the tone civil.

● Send a link (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MoUmGgbD6uk ) to the animated news demo on youtube.com to Jewish and pro-Israel Christian television stations and suggest they become affiliate stations for these weekly snippets designed to balance 'hard' news from and about Israel with one upbeat and offbeat item.

●  Engage others as volunteers. Share this 'call for a Laughter Brigade' with others.  Send them a link.  Or copy-paste this page into an e-mail.


Resource Material for Friends of Chelm-on-the-Med©:

To access a full presentation of The Chelm Project - about odd news in general, the logic behind the Chelm Project, the power of humor, other Chelm platforms in the planning stages - including Chelm animated news for television and the financial backing needed to begin broadcasting, read the attached:

To download click on the hyperlink

WORD FILE: CHELM English Presentation WORD.doc (1.1 MB)

PDF FILE: CHELM English Presentation PDF.pdf (1.4 MB)

PPT FILE: (PENDING)
PPT FILE: CHELM Hebrew Presentation.ppt (2 MB)


Feel free to contact me directly via the website (faster) or via chelmonthemed AT gmail DOT com.

If you have other ideas how Friends of Chelm-on-the-Med© can spread the word or use Chelm content to change Israel's image, suggest them.

I'd love to hear what you are up to and what kind of response you are getting.

Daniella Ashkenazy