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Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful
committed citizens can change the world:
indeed, it's the only thing that ever has.
-- Margaret Mead
The
Party
To party or not to party is the question! Another exciting aspect of
our business is you don't have to have home parties! Some people
love the home party side of the business and others despise it. I
believe we are the only company that offers this unique style of a
network marketing system. Take advantage of marketing the way YOU
are comfortable!
For those of you who do like hosting
home parties, we have come up with some great diversity activities
that are guaranteed to spark some interesting discussion. As you
start hosting your own, please share your thoughts and ideas.
Remember--TOGETHER we are much stronger and can accomplish much
more!
Party Ideas
You will find that there are so many fun activities that you’re
going to have a hard time choosing which one to do. First, review or
Diversity Activities located in the advocate handbook. Following are
titles of the activities that are included as a resource when you
sign-up for the program:
Connect the Dots (activity to get
people to think outside the box)
First Impressions
The Herman Grid (everything is not
always as it appears)
Proverbs
Pipe Cleaner Similarities
Chain of Diversity
What do you know or What have you
heard
These are wonderful and offer great icebreakers to get the party
started. You’ll want to change them up depending on who your guests
are.
Other Ideas
Ask guests to bring a dish that reflects his/her culture.
- Make this optional, but many people love to cook and this is a
great way to get people to actively participate in the party. This
gives the person time to meditate on their own heritage as they
prepare their dish. At the party, have people tell about their dish
and ask them to share an interesting fact or myth about their
culture/heritage (you may want to tell them this in advance so they
can really think about what they want to share). Eat dinner LAST.
Diversity jellybean party favors
– These are fun to give your guests to take home as a final reminder
to not judge others by appearances. The flavor of the diversity
jellybeans may not match the color. Inside each bag is a card that
says, “These diversity jellybeans are just like people—you cannot
determine what is on the inside by simply looking at the outside.
Diversity Jellybeans remind us to experience people one at a time
and enjoy their unique qualities.” Make sure you have extra’s on
hand for people to purchase as they love to share them with family
and friends! You may also ask if anyone would like to take a free
sample to their Diversity Officer or Human Resources Manager at
work. Get their phone number and follow up with them—this often
leads to large corporate sales!
Get Everyone to Relate
– (You may want to have a board or notepad to write on) Ask people
to share how they are personally affected by diversity. For example,
“my sister adopted a daughter from China", "my child was born with
Down's Syndrome", "I married interracially", "I teach in a child
care center with multiracial children, "my boss is from...", "my
uncle is in a same-sex marriage", "my best friend practices a
different religion than me", "my neighbor is in a wheelchair"- At
the end, review the list and remind everyone that every single one
of us is affected by diversity in many different ways. TAKE NOTE—the
people named are all LEADS!
Have a big 2”
thick shoe string
–
This is for your UNITY Party. Send the shoe string around the room
and have your guests share an experience that made them feel
uncomfortable with regards to diversity. An example: When my
daughter was around 4 we were in an elevator and a little person
walked in the elevator and she said,
“look
mommy, he’s
my size”.
When they share their experience, have them tie a knot in the
string. At the end of the evening, pass the string back around the
room and have people share a way to
“U”ntye
“N”egative
“I”mages
“T”hrough
“Y”ou.
We always fear what we don’t
understand--we forget that we are a society of strangers.
Game Time. Come up with a game that will make you reflect on
people that respect diversity. One might be:
Who am I?
- Who am I? Is a game of inventors. 20 names (with ethnicity) of
inventors are listed on a page and 20 inventions are listed on the
opposite side. Have guests try to match the names with inventions.
Find the winner by sharing the answers. Another game might
incorporate unique holiday traditions around the world.
Informational
- This portion of the party really depends on who your audience is.
If your audience is mainly parents of mixed race children,
trans-racially placed children, or internationally adopted children,
then you may want to discuss at what age your children start
noticing differences, when/how do you start talking about your
differences, how to respond when strangers ask questions,
mainly--how to raise healthy children in a diverse home.
If
your audience is a group of women from church, you may want to
discuss where prejudices come from (parents/family, television,
comic strips, movies, etc.), list types of stereotypes for several
groups of people. Discuss stereotypes for Christians or Jews and
relate to other stereotypes.
The Challenge to Change
- Discuss how people can be "Challenged to Change". Why types of
things can we start doing to make a difference? Challenge people to
start looking at the things around them...art, books, music, etc.
Are they celebrating diversity or running from it? Complacency is
acceptance. If you do nothing--you exude nothing.
Mention local community organizations for volunteering, organize a
group of people to fix-up something that vandals destroyed in your
community...there are endless possibilities for this section. If you
choose to sign up for the Advocate Program many more suggestions and
activities will be provided to you.
Familiarize
With a little
practice, you will come up with some great activities and learn
creative ways to use them. Again, please share what does and does
not work for you!
Join TODAY!
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