house party agenda
SAMPLE SCREENING PARTY AGENDA - HOST VERSION
This agenda, including film viewing time, takes less than 2 hours.
(Note: An abbreviated agenda designed for guest viewing is available at http://www.momsrising.org/guestagenda).
Welcome – 15 minutes
o Welcome guests and share a few personal thoughts
o Ask each person to introduce themselves by sharing:
Name
Where they live
Why they came
Funniest story about juggling family life, or your favorite dessert
o Briefly share the agenda for the evening-- i.e. watching the documentary followed by talking and dessert eating. And also introduce the recommended agreements for the discussion (see below for sample).
Watch Documentary – 45 minutes or 1 hour (depending upon version you decide to show)
o Hand out index cards and pencil/pen to each person so they can take notes if wanted
o Invite each person to jot down their ideas, reactions, reflections while watching the documentary
o At the very end of the documentary, ask each person to take a few minutes to reflect on the documentary and write down the 3 issues mentioned in the documentary that are the most important to them (e.g. providing flex time, expanding the length of maternity leave, healthcare, etc.)
Dialogue in Pairs – 3 minutes
o Invite participants to pair-up and quickly share their top priorities with their partner
o Pairs identify their shared/overlapping priority issues
Dialogue in Groups of Four (or 8 if a large group) – 5 minutes
o Ask two pairs to gather together and quickly share their respective top priorities
o The foursomes identify their shared/overlapping priority issues
Large Group Discussion – 10 minutes
o Reconvene as a large group
o Invite each foursome to share their group’s areas of agreement
o Assign a note taker to record the top areas of agreement from each group as they report them. For those that are common across the groups, mark how many groups mentioned the issue; we will ask you to report these rankings back to us after the party is over (see “Step 7 – Talk to Us”).
o Review final list of shared priorities (and please keep them around so you can share them with us after the party via our survey and forum).
Take Action – 30 minutes
o Ask your guests to consider taking part in the following three action areas:
1. SHARE THE MOVIE
2. MAKE 4 CALLS AND CHANGE YOUR STATE
3. JOIN THE MOMSRISING COMMUNITY & ENCOURAGE 5 PEOPLE TO DO THE SAME
Check out the more detailed menu of the three action areas below, and discuss which individual actions or the group efforts you’d each like to take.
---ACTION MENU FOR THIS DISCUSSION---
WAYS TO TAKE ACTION NOW!
************
(Share this with your guests & decide what each will do!)
1. SHARE THE MOVIE
2. MAKE 4 CALLS AND CHANGE YOUR STATE
3. JOIN THE MOMSRISING COMMUNITY & ENCOURAGE 5 PEOPLE TO DO THE SAME
1. SHARE THE MOVIE:
* a. Ask Guests/Friends to Hold House Parties *
Encourage friends and guests to hold a film house party of their own. The more, the merrier. Feel free to share a link directly to the host sign up page: http://www.party2win.com/momsrising/hostparty
* b. Show the Film in Your Community *
Organize more screenings of the documentary film in your community. Possible audiences include your PTA, neighborhood groups, church groups, book groups, play groups, parent groups, nursery school co-op, senior center, nursing homes, and more.
2. MAKE 4 CALLS AND CHANGE YOUR STATE:
In conjunction with the release of the film through house parties across the nation, MomsRising, along with the Progressive States Network, sent a DVD of the documentary film, The Motherhood Manifesto book, and a package of model family-friendly state legislation to around 1,500 state legislators across the country. We hope legislators and advocates will use this menu of model legislation to pass similar measures in their own states.
- You can see the model state legislation package at: http://www.progressivestates.org/momsrising
* a. Contact 4 State Legislators in Your State - We need your help contacting 4 state legislators in your state who each received the education package to reinforce the message that people care about building a family-friendly America.
Please check out the list of legislators who received the package at: LINK HERE.
(You’ll find contact information on that webpage). Then please call and e-mail the state legislators in your state who are on that list.
What to Say? - When you call your 4 state legislators, please tell them why these issues are important to you, and check with them to confirm they’ve received the package. This will increase the likelihood they will review these important materials! Please make that call, and send an e-mail, this week.
Sample script of what to say when you call your 4 state legislative offices, "Hello. I'm a member of MomsRising.org, and am calling (name of legislator) to confirm that they received The Motherhood Manifesto DVD and book, as well as the package of model state legislation to help build a more family-friendly America. I fully support policies that will help mothers and families, and hope you do as well. I urge you to take a look at the model legislation and see what you can pass in our state."
* b. Reach Out to Candidates While They’re Listening *
Contact candidates running for local office and encourage them to support family-friendly policies such as health care, parental leave, and support for childcare. Consider sending them a group statement or letter outlining your group’s top priorities.
3. JOIN THE MOMSRISING COMMUNITY & ENCOURAGE 5 PEOPLE TO DO THE SAME:
* a. Invite 5 Friends to Join MomsRising.org! *
E-mail invitations to join MomsRising for free by using our “Tell Others” feature at: http://momsrising.democracyinaction.org/dia/organizationsORG/momsrising/tellafriend.jsp?tell_a_friend_KEY=1104
Or you can just send a regular e-mail around to friends asking them to sign up for free at http://www.MomsRising.org. They just have to click the "Sign Up!" button on the upper right corner, fill in their info, and viola they're members of MomsRising! It's that easy!
The more members MomsRising has, the more effective we can be building a family-friendly America. Each party participant could pick a goal for how many friends they’ll get to join MomsRising (say 5 each) and together we’ll be stronger.
* b. Get Online *
Continue the discussion with the house party group or on the MomsRising forum at http://www.momsrising.org/forum.
Closing – 10 minutes
o Invite participants to share their thoughts/reflections about the gathering
o Take group picture
o Ask everyone to sign up on MomsRising.org as a member before they leave your house!
o Thank everyone for coming.
Eat & Continue the Conversation! Enjoy!
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Sample Agreements for Conversation
We recommend that you share agreements for conversation at the beginning of the meeting. Additionally, you may post them on a flip-chart in the room where the discussion will take place.
o Open-mindedness – listen to and respect all points of view
o Acceptance – suspend judgment as best you can
o Curiosity – seek to understand rather than to persuade
o Discovery – question old assumptions, look for new insights
o Sincerity – speak for yourself and from your own experience
o Brevity – go for honesty and depth but don’t go on and on
These agreements were developed by Conversation Café, which you can check out at http://www.conversationcafe.org
