Accommodating Religious Requirements of Attendees

Creating a Meaningful Passover Celebration for Conference Attendees

A professional association hosting their Annual Meeting in the spring faced a unique challenge when their event dates coincided with Passover. The association aimed to ensure that Jewish attendees could participate fully in the meeting with appropriate accommodations by planning a Seder dinner with the assistance of Jewish volunteers.

Challenge

Despite careful planning to avoid conflicts with religious observances and related conferences, the meeting location and dates were selected as the best fit for the association’s logistics needs. To improve accessibility, the association and AMR tried to find alternate meeting dates but couldn’t find a mutually available date with the contracted hotel.

This posed a challenge as the association wanted to ensure that their Jewish members could attend the meeting without compromising their religious observances.

Action

To tackle this challenge, the association took several thoughtful steps:

• The association President sent a message to all members, apologizing for the oversight and assuring them that appropriate accommodations would be made at the meeting.
  
  
• A question was added to the registration form asking if attendees observing Passover would be interested in participating in a Seder dinner at the hotel.
  
  
• The organizer reached out to those who expressed interest, seeking volunteers to help plan the Seder. This collaboration ensured the Seder was authentic and meaningful.
  
  
• Volunteers guided the organizer through the planning process, including selecting the menu, advising what materials needed to be purchased or printed, and coordinating with a kosher caterer and the hotel.
  
  
• Leading up to the meeting, the organizer followed up with attendees to get an accurate headcount and sent a calendar invite to all who RSVP’d “Yes.”
  
  
• For safety, the Seder dinner was not advertised on the conference website or mobile app, and no signs were posted outside the room. A contracted security person was stationed near the room.
  
  
• Beyond the Seder dinner, inclusive menu options were provided for meals during Passover, ensuring Jewish attendees had nourishing options as those observing Passover typically do not eat leavened foods like bread, but also legumes, rice, seeds, and corn. The hotel also provided boxes of matzo bread on the buffets.

Results

The Seder dinner was a resounding success, with 10 attendees participating in the event. Both Jewish and non-Jewish attendees expressed their deep appreciation for the opportunity to participate in a Seder at the meeting.

The association took a challenge and created inclusive options for those who wanted to celebrate Passover, ensuring that all members could participate fully in the Annual Meeting.