Making your Club’s Yellow Candle Program Meaningful and

Effective

Bruce Gordon

FJMC Consultant

Why We Distribute Yellow Candles

• Six million reasons – yahrzeit candles• The number of survivors dwindle over time• The number of deniers continue to grow

This is a concrete way to insure the Holocaust is never forgotten

"In the name of the Holocaust they have created a myth and regard it to be worthier than God, religion and the prophets." Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Jews and the Holocaust

The Shoah Yellow Candle

• The March of the Living in front of Auschwitz

• Beautiful, energized youth continues to thrive

• Not extinguished• Our FJMC brand. Same

candle everywhere• Keeps our dues low, important

FJMC funding source

The Shoah Yellow Candle

This is not a Shoah Yellow Candle

This is a yahrzeit candle from a grocery store. It is not a substitute for a Shoah Yellow Candle. Don’t shortchange the FJMC and more importantly, denigrate the Six Million.

The Thousand Pound Gorillain the Room…

..that no one wants to talk about.

I make no apology for Yellow Candles providing funding for the FJMC, and nor should you!

The FJMC creates andMaintains the Yellow Candle Program

Elegant CircularityThree paid FJMC staff run a multimillion dollar not for profit.

Women’s League and United Synagogue have scores of paid staff.

Yellow Candles commemoratethe Six Million Lost…Zechor!

Donations pay the cost of the candles, which

embeds FJMC funding

Providing local tzedakahand keeps the FJMC

intact

Begin here

The Traditional ApproachBulk Mail

1. Step One. Bring in the troops to pack the candles.

2. On right, you will find a multigenerational group of congregants dedicated to preserving the memory of the Six Million.

3. And having fun enjoying each other’s company.

Photo by Elliott Dubin

The Contents of the Box

• Introduction Letter• Poem and Meditation• Self Addressed

Stamped Envelope

Meditation

Place the Yom HaShoah Yellow Candle in the window on the evening of Sunday April 11,

2010, and recite the following as it is lit.

As I light this Yellow Candle, I vow never to forget the lives of the Jewish men,

women, and children who are symbolized by this flame. They were tortured and

brutalized by human beings who acted like beasts; their lives were taken in cruelty. May

we be inspired to learn more about our six million brothers and sisters as individuals and

as communities, to recall their memory throughout the year, so that they will not suffer a

double death. May we recall not only the terror of their deaths, but also the splendor of

their lives. May the memory of their lives inspire us to hallow our own lives and to live

meaningful Jewish lives so that we may help to insure that part of who they were shall

endure always.

Rabbi Jules Harlow

Intro Letter – Adapt it from the WebsiteNEVER AGAIN! “To forget would be not only dangerous but offensive; to forget the dead would be akin to killing them a second time.” Holocaust survivor, Elie WeiselMarch 14, 2010Dear Fellow Congregants,Please accept this Yom HaShoah Yahrzeit Candle with the compliments of the Olam Tikvah Mens’ Club. We ask that you join us on April 11, 2010, erev Yom HaShoah, by lighting the yellow candle, and placing the candle in a prominent place and reciting the enclosed meditation. As part of the worldwide Jewish community, it is our collective obligation to honor and remember the Six Million who perished in the Holocasut.In keeping with that spirit, we also encourage you to join us at the Northern Virginia area wide observance at Beth El Hebrew Congregation in Alexandria, VA. The Men’s Club will arrive by 7:00 p.m. for a program of commemoration, reflection, music, and education. We will carpool from the Olam Tikvah parking lot as an expression of our unity and commitment to saving energy. Please RSVP at the number above and we will make travel arrangements for you; we will mourn the Six Million together.In the spirit of remembrance, we encourage all of you to give tzedakah as a form of respect to those who did not survive the Holocaust. With your donation, we will empower our youth with support for their programs as well as donate to Holocaust related causes. Last year, your support enabled us to give to the family of the fallen hero at the Holocaust Museum attack, Stephen Johns.Thank you to those who volunteered their time to pack and mail the candles. Through your generosity, we will continue to purchase and mail candles each and every year; we will pledge our collective support to organizations dedicated to keeping the memory of the Six Million alive even as the number of survivors dwindles.

Sincerely,The Olam Tikvah Men’s Club

Enclosed is my tzedakah payable to the Olam Tikvah Men’s Club.____$18.00 ____$36.00 ____$54.00 ____$72.00 ____Other (specify amount)________Name (please print):___________________________________________________________________Address:______________________________________________________________________________

Schelp to the Post Office

Photo by Elliott Dubin

Other Time Tested Success Practices

• Have a Holocaust-related brunch – After the mailing and before Yom HaShoah– Have an inspiring speaker

• Publicize your club’s plans for observance– And encourage others to join you

• Let the Rabbi pick the tzedakah– FJMC has experienced two times the

revenues• Publicize the beneficiary

What Other Clubs HaveDone

• All night vigil. Etz Hayim of Marrietta, GA lit 350 candles and the club maintained a vigil to make sure none went out…– …and earned a Gold Torch Award

• Other clubs have recorded survivors’ stories on video and made CDs of these available

• Go to www.yellowcandles.org to learn more

Other Distribution Methods

• Door to door delivery• Direct mail from the FJMC• Retail Sales at your shul’s gift shop

– Six pack for $36.00– Single candle for $8.00

www.yellowcandles.orgis your Destination for:

• For program ideas• Marketing material• More understanding of the program• History and support• Ordering information

Yellow Candle LeadersEric Weis and Bob Weinstein

at the 2011 Program Fair

Yellow Candle General Information:info@yellowcandles.org.

FJMC Club and Region Support:gbrin@yellowcandles.org

Yellow Candles Order Hotline:TEL (800) 391-7293 (after 9AM MST) • FAX (602) 368-6357

Yellow Candle Order E-mail:orders@yellowcandles.org

Yellow Candles Ordering Address:FJMC Yellow Candles, P.O. Box 12582, Scottsdale, AZ 85267

References

Just Do It!

Until this is a habit we all do every year. Let’s make sure 100 years from now the Holocaust is never, every forgotten because Six

Million Shoah Yellow Candles are distribtuted to commemorate the yahrzeit of the Six Million Jews Lost.

Zerchor!