Sklar Brothers Bring The NSFW, Young Adults Dig It

This past Saturday night at a ballroom at the Sheraton in Clayton, comedy duo, the Sklar Brothers, unleashed their humor on the Young Professionals of the Jewish community.

The event, organized to celebrate the end of the 2010 Federation annual campaign, brought together around 300 young adults (and some not so young) to laugh at the unique tag-team style of the St. Louis natives.

The brothers, known for their work on HBO and elsewhere joked about everything from growing up thinking they were poor, to problems buying the story of the original "Karate Kid" and brought some refreshing vulgarity to a world of Jewish events often known for being rated PG.

Although the language was at times gratifyingly crude, the controversy from the evening came from a decidedly different place: the cost.

The cost of the event, $15, could only be paid once a minimum $52 contribution had been made to the Federation. That brings the cost for two to over $80. In fairness, the donation goes towards the Federation's support of basic social services, agencies, advocacy, and sexier things like Next Dor and Moishe House. Last year, the minimum donation was $100, pointed out the YPD staff person, and truly, for those of us to earn an income a dollar a week isn't really a lot to ask.

But what about all of the graduate students, new arrivals and unemployed young adults living here? Many of them aren't particularly situated here in St. Louis, have little affiliation with the city or the Federation, and tend to simply not have a lot of spare cash. For several friends, they found the required donation distasteful and a turnoff. They felt disenfranchised and saw the whole thing as a reassertion that Federation sees them only as the contents of their pocketbooks.

In my opinion, the whole issue comes down to one of communication, and might have been avoided by a slightly different marketing campaign. A casual perusal through the promotional materials will show that the impetus of the event was communicated in a way that led to a bit of confusion. Many people don't understand what the campaign is and so saying that the event celebrates its close didn't help to disambiguate. Instead, the materials could have pointed out that as a thank you to all of those who enabled Federation to continue its important work in the community with a minimum donation of $52, an event was being organized with famous comedians, candy, and an open bar for $15, which is not a bad deal. From there, communicating that it is not too late to take advantage of the event by making the minimum donation is relatively easy. That clarifies the purpose of the event, the reason for the minimum donation, and includes a call to action to inspire those stragglers to donate.

In the end, I was able, through some finagling (and a larger than minimum donation), to ensure that a friend of mine who couldn't afford it, but loves the Sklar brothers, was able to attend. The event was well produced and put together, and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. It was certainly a success, but even from successes, one can draw lessons from the tensions along the way.
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Music, Social Activism, Balance, and Sushi

What do all these things have in common? They are all happening. Within the next week. In St. Louis. Read on for more.

Music - Tonight at The Gramophone, The Right Now are scheduled to tear down the house with a smashing CD release party. These guys bring some killer soul grooves so even though the show doesn't start till 10, you might wanna show up to get a spot. Bonus points for the smoke-free venue.

On Monday, a speaker will be covering how to manage stress and maintain balance and recognize behaviors that may prevent achieving that goal. The event is free, and will be taking place at the Next Dor house at 7 PM. More details here.

Thursday night is double stuffed, kicking off with Mark Hanis, Founder and President of the Genocide Intervention Network, who will be speaking about anti-genocide activism. This event, organized by the Young Professional's Division of JFedStL, will be taking place at the MO History museum at 7:30 PM. Genocide Intervention Network’s mission is to empower individuals and communities with the tools to prevent and stop genocide. As a grandchild of four Holocaust survivors, Mark has a deep understanding of individual persecution and of hope and opportunity. The event is free. For more details, click here.

Also on Thursday night, Rabbi Zvi Schwartz will be hosting a free and kosher sushi dinner at the Next Dor house. Rabbi Schwartz will be letting people know about Israel programs post-college. The dinner starts at 8:30 pm. More details here

What are you getting into this weekend?
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YPD Campaign Kick Off Recap and Reflections

The Young Professional's Division's big event is generally seen as the once-a-year place to be, even for those more 'ish' than Jewish. This year was no let down, as the Tribe came out strong and looking good.

A quick recap of the different pieces of the event; The Karaoke was kind of a joke. I mean, this little screen was hooked into Dell laptop speakers, and it was right by the entrance... did anyone sing? At all?

The open bar, on the other hand, was a hotbed of activity all night. The themed food and drinks seemed to go over well, and, while I didn't have any time to eat it myself, I heard the tempura was fantastic. The dance floor was empty early, but after a Tango demonstration by Tal Stein, the man who holds down Atomic Cowboy's Thursday night Swing dancing sessions, people started moving in, and eventually, booty shaking ensued.

After going 'around the world with YPD' on Saturday night, my own journey to become a part of the post-college Jewish community in St. Louis came full circle.

A year ago, I walked into YPD's kick-off knowing a handful of people, with my only claim to fame being that I had connected YPD with 30 cases of beer, thanks to my former position with a beer company.

Saturday night was a wholly different experience. To me, the evidence that we have started to succeed in building this young Yid community was present in the sheer number of people that I knew at the event, and who now know each other.

As the night wore on, the sake bombs took effect, and the dance party took off. One friend remarked that you could, "totally tell who the Moishe House kids were, we were the ones dancing and having a great time."

While it was certainly true that we held down the dance floor, we weren't the only ones having a good time.

Actually, there were so many new people to try to meet, it was a bit overwhelming.

In fact, I may have to reassess my claim that there aren't any young Jews in St. Louis. There clearly are, the question now is, what do we have to do to ensure that I don't have to wait another whole year to try to meet them.

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YPD's Kickoff, the largest event of the year for post-college Yids

Haven't made plans for Saturday yet? Made lame plans that you need an excuse to get out of? YPD's kickoff is this weekend!

The Young Professionals Division of the Federation knows how to throw a party.

Last year, I had the opportunity to check it out (full disclosure, I got Miller to donate a boat load of beer)and ended up being impressed by the attendance.

In fact, I don't think I've been to a better attended social event with as many Yids since. Which is why I'm pretty excited for the party this year.

From Jewishinstlouis.org:

“YPD Takes You Around the World” to launch its 2009 Jewish Federation Campaign with an international Jewish journey on Saturday, January 31, 8 to 11 p.m., at the Coronado Ballroom, 3701 Lindell. Parking is $3 and available at the Scottish Rite Lot (Spring @ Lindell).

The evening will feature food stations of assorted “global” appetizers, desserts and drinks. There will be karaoke, belly dancers, Latin dancers and Israeli dancers. In addition, the event will showcase where Federation dollars go to help in St. Louis and around the world.

Admission is $36 online and $40 at the door. There will be takeaway gifts and a chance to win great raffle prizes.

Click HERE to register.
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