This year, the Manhattan Region and the Big Apple Region came together for a successful Giving BBYO Day at the Fall Convention. Unlike previous years, where we held a Zoom or a small local event for chapter leaders, this year, we engaged a large crowd of people, ranging from regional leaders to new members. 

The Gizborim executed the event perfectly. They held a bi-weekly meeting for the Giving BBYO Day Task Force, where they grouped resources and ideas to executive a successful Giving BBYO Day. In the end, they decided to motivate people to participate in the Text-A-Thon with a Jeopardy-style prize board. Some of the prices included tickets to a NY Rangers game, AirPods, a Stanley, and Crumbl Cookies. They gathered these gifts through donations from friends and family.

The Text-a-Thon occurred on Saturday night of the convention, following Havdalah. We all gathered in a central ballroom, and the Gizborim of BAR and MHR announced the prizes. Then, we had an hour on the clock to raise the most money. The atmosphere was energetic, with lots of music and money guns! At the end of the hour, the first person to raise each benchmark price was called up to pick their Jeopardy section, which revealed a prize! 

We were not only able to raise $30,000 over a week before the official Giving BBYO Day but also able to engage a larger crowd of people. Thus, when Giving BBYO Day arrived, we had much less work and easily hit our goal amount of $36,000. Overall, I highly recommend incorporating Giving BBYO Day at a regional event or convention to engage more members. Also, incentive money is raised with free prizes!!