บทถอดความฉบับเต็มของ After October 7th: Why Teachers Need to Experience Israel Firsthand | Education Enhancement Initiative Ep. 174

and I and a couple other families might fund it. 00:04:49.199 --> 00:04:50.319 Well, you know, whatever. 00:04:50.480 --> 00:04:51.920 That's how we presented it. 00:04:52.240 --> 00:04:54.399 And he was like, it's a good idea. 00:04:54.480 --> 00:04:58.160 I love it, but let me talk it up the chain and I'll get back to you. 00:04:58.240 --> 00:05:02.639 And we thought that was going to be a nice way for him to let us down and not have it be his fault. 00:05:02.879 --> 00:05:08.480 36 hours later, we got an email in all caps saying, we're all in, let us know the next steps. 00:05:08.639 --> 00:05:13.360 So my husband and I looked at each other and said, sorry, oh shit, like now we have to do this. 00:05:13.680 --> 00:05:15.199 Um, and we did. 00:05:15.360 --> 00:05:20.240 And so very quickly we developed a nonprofit, a full 501c3. 00:05:20.720 --> 00:05:24.399 We marketed to donors, we marketed to teachers. 00:05:24.560 --> 00:05:27.519 It moved very, very quickly from an idea to reality. 00:05:27.839 --> 00:05:40.160 When you were talking in the beginning about after the October 7th attacks, tell me a little bit about some of the misconceptions that you were hearing from students on these college campuses or even teachers. 00:05:40.639 --> 00:05:49.839 We see a lot of people who talk about Israel's an apartheid, Israel not being in the position to defend itself, Israel being the aggressor. 00:05:50.160 --> 00:05:55.600 And I'm never gonna sit and tell anyone that Israel's perfect, but it's very flawed. 00:05:55.839 --> 00:05:59.439 But there's a lot more to the story that people don't realize. 00:05:59.680 --> 00:06:02.240 Where does some of the restriction come from? 00:06:02.399 --> 00:06:04.879 Where does the security measure need to come from? 00:06:05.120 --> 00:06:11.519 A lot of people, I don't think, knew anything about the region prior to October 7th. 00:06:11.680 --> 00:06:20.560 And it's very, very easy to see the response that Israel have come across as more than what it should have been. 00:06:20.800 --> 00:06:27.439 And I think without people understanding the people on the ground and understanding the realities on the ground, it's very easy. 00:06:27.600 --> 00:06:29.040 We've seen it before. 00:06:29.279 --> 00:06:32.000 We still see it with some of our new cohort. 00:06:32.079 --> 00:06:45.759 I've actually had a number of people who've reached out and said, listen, I'm gonna be honest, from what I see on social media and in the news, it's very easy to look at Israel as the aggressor and the Palestinians as, you know, the ones who need our support. 00:06:46.000 --> 00:06:47.439 But I know there's more to it. 00:06:47.680 --> 00:06:48.079 Great. 00:06:48.240 --> 00:06:51.279 It's a much more complicated story than a slogan. 00:06:51.439 --> 00:06:56.240 And I think that we've seen a lot of slogans that have taken off, and there's validity behind a lot of them. 00:06:56.319 --> 00:06:59.120 They don't come out of nowhere, but there's more to it. 00:06:59.439 --> 00:07:02.399 So tell me a little bit about your own personal experience. 00:07:02.560 --> 00:07:07.040 So you had mentioned that you went to Israel after the October 7th attacks. 00:07:07.199 --> 00:07:08.240 What was that like for you? 00:07:08.480 --> 00:07:08.959 Yeah. 00:07:09.199 --> 00:07:14.160 So I've been to Israel more times than I can count, and I can count pretty high. 00:07:14.480 --> 00:07:17.600 And there was a drive to go. 00:07:17.759 --> 00:07:20.079 I think it's a lot of people felt that. 00:07:20.319 --> 00:07:22.879 I had a couple of opportunities, and one felt like the right match. 00:07:23.040 --> 00:07:26.319 Our synagogue was doing a solidarity mission. 00:07:26.480 --> 00:07:28.079 It was just a few days. 00:07:28.480 --> 00:07:30.639 This was January of 24. 00:07:31.040 --> 00:07:33.839 And I did not fully know what to expect. 00:07:34.000 --> 00:07:39.120 I will be honest that it was the first time in my life that I had a little bit of hesitation, just because I didn't know. 00:07:39.279 --> 00:07:40.879 I didn't know what to expect. 00:07:41.199 --> 00:07:47.199 And we got there, and it was definitely a different country than I had experienced before, a little bit more solemn. 00:07:47.519 --> 00:07:52.959 But within the first couple of hours, we realized that the country was starting to come back. 00:07:53.199 --> 00:07:56.560 So we were able to go out and eat in cafes. 00:07:56.639 --> 00:08:03.199 We were able to have, you know, positive moments just sharing with people who have not really had tourists who weren't coming in. 00:08:03.360 --> 00:08:05.759 So we were able to have a lot of really positive experiences. 00:08:05.839 --> 00:08:09.199 And then we also did all the things that we were supposed to do in going. 00:08:09.439 --> 00:08:13.279 We bore witness to some of the sites that were directly hit. 00:08:13.439 --> 00:08:23.439 We went into one of the kibbutzim Kfaraza that was very strongly targeted by Hamas and spoke to people who experienced that day. 00:08:23.600 --> 00:08:31.279 This was still at a time where the majority of the hostages were still in Gaza, and we were able to see the homes that they were taken from. 00:08:31.360 --> 00:08:34.639 We were able to see the bullet holes that were shot into the walls. 00:08:34.720 --> 00:08:37.679 There was still a lot of cleanup that hadn't happened yet. 00:08:38.000 --> 00:08:39.360 So we saw it all. 00:08:39.679 --> 00:08:42.720 We were able to see the fence that they were, you know, broken through. 00:08:42.879 --> 00:08:48.559 We spoke directly to people who had their opinions changed on that day. 00:08:48.639 --> 00:09:02.159 There were, there were a number of people who were very focused on partnership and had connections with people in Gaza and, you know, to hear their perspectives on what that day played out like for them was eye-opening. 00:09:02.480 --> 00:09:05.919 We heard a lot of different narratives,

which I think is actually wonderful. 00:09:06.080 --> 00:09:10.240 People in Israel have very different opinions about what should be happening. 00:09:10.399 --> 00:09:13.759 So it's great as outsiders to be able to hear that. 00:09:14.080 --> 00:09:22.080 We volunteered on a different key buttons that a lot of these, you know, farms lost their workers. 00:09:22.320 --> 00:09:25.279 Some were taken hostage, some were not able to return. 00:09:25.519 --> 00:09:28.080 So they needed a lot of help and support to keep things going. 00:09:28.159 --> 00:09:31.840 So we spent an hour and a half picking avocados, which was lovely. 00:09:32.000 --> 00:09:33.840 Yeah, we spoke to hostage families. 00:09:33.919 --> 00:09:38.799 We visited a lot of different sites that were starting to pop up for advocacy and support. 00:09:38.960 --> 00:09:41.440 Kind of a pretty, a pretty standard, I would say. 00:09:41.519 --> 00:09:44.480 I mean, a standard of something like that is solidarity trip. 00:09:44.799 --> 00:09:46.960 So tell me a little bit about your upcoming trip. 00:09:47.039 --> 00:09:52.879 So this is going to be your first trip to Israel with educators, and that's going to be at the end of July, what, July 27th, right? 00:09:53.200 --> 00:09:54.080 27th, yes. 00:09:54.240 --> 00:10:00.320 We unfortunately have had two trips that were our that were planned with first trip, the first go-arounded trip had to be canceled last minute. 00:10:00.399 --> 00:10:05.039 So we are now on our third planning, hopefully, first trip. 00:10:05.360 --> 00:10:05.759 Perfect. 00:10:05.919 --> 00:10:10.639 So tell me a little bit about what the educators can expect on this trip. 00:10:10.799 --> 00:10:12.799 Tell us a little bit what how you have planned. 00:10:13.120 --> 00:10:13.440 Yeah. 00:10:13.600 --> 00:10:20.480 So people ask that question all the time because there are a lot of trips that go to Israel, all for different reasons. 00:10:20.559 --> 00:10:21.919 And what makes us different? 00:10:22.080 --> 00:10:26.320 And again, like running a nonprofit was not on my life bingo card. 00:10:26.399 --> 00:10:30.399 So I'm not here to reinvent the wheel or do anything that already exists. 00:10:30.720 --> 00:10:41.919 So we are taking it's K through 12 teachers in secular schools who have never been to Israel or would not otherwise have an opportunity to go. 00:10:42.159 --> 00:10:45.919 So there is going to be a little bit of Israel 101. 00:10:46.000 --> 00:10:47.440 You've never been to this country. 00:10:47.519 --> 00:10:49.360 Let's understand the lay of the land. 00:10:49.519 --> 00:10:50.879 Let's see the sites. 00:10:51.120 --> 00:11:02.639 We try really hard with each cohort to understand who's in our group and cater the itinerary to what they're looking for for their students and for their school environments. 00:11:02.879 --> 00:11:09.679 Just as an example, we were not planning on visiting the Dead Sea just because it takes a lot of time, honestly. 00:11:09.759 --> 00:11:12.399 And we have a short amount of time to get done everything. 00:11:12.559 --> 00:11:22.159 And that's probably been the hardest part of all of this for me is how can I squeeze in everything we want people to experience in what essentially is six days when you take out travel. 00:11:22.480 --> 00:11:29.919 And we did a survey for the first group, and 18 out of 19 of them had the Dead Sea as the number one place they wanted to visit. 00:11:30.320 --> 00:11:32.960 So we now have the Dead Sea on our itinerar. 00:11:33.120 --> 00:11:50.799 And we'll keep we also want to do a chunk that's specific to the current conflict and understanding the players, understanding what it means when you say Arab Israeli, what is a Palestinian, what is a Jewish Israeli, what are all these different components that exist within Israeli society? 00:11:51.039 --> 00:11:54.879 And how does Israel fit into the greater Middle East? 00:11:54.960 --> 00:11:57.519 Um, how does it not fit into the greater Middle East? 00:11:57.759 --> 00:12:03.279 And just understanding what we're seeing in the media while we're on the ground and we're able to talk to people. 00:12:03.440 --> 00:12:07.759 And then the final part, which in my opinion is the best, we want people to have fun. 00:12:08.000 --> 00:12:10.080 This is summertime for teachers. 00:12:10.320 --> 00:12:12.879 It's, you know, cohort building for them. 00:12:13.120 --> 00:12:22.879 And if we can give people the experience of going to Israel and having fun while they're there, when they come back and they talk about it, Israel's not a dirty word anymore. 00:12:23.200 --> 00:12:29.200 I share this story, and I wish this was the I could have shared the story in the moment when I had this idea. 00:12:29.360 --> 00:12:35.600 But the trip that I took in January, my youngest daughter was in kindergarten at the time, and it was a last minute trip. 00:12:35.679 --> 00:12:36.639 That's how things were going. 00:12:36.720 --> 00:12:42.240 I think I got the information that I could go while we were on winter break, and this trip was mid-January. 00:12:42.320 --> 00:12:44.000 So it was like two weeks' lead time. 00:12:44.159 --> 00:12:46.559 So my daughter must have mentioned she was six. 00:12:46.720 --> 00:12:47.759 You know, my mom's away. 00:12:47.919 --> 00:12:48.799 My mom's in Israel. 00:12:48.960 --> 00:12:49.519 That's it. 00:12:49.759 --> 00:12:57.440 Her teacher, who's not Jewish, sent me still to this day the nicest email that I've ever received from someone after October 7th. 00:12:57.679 --> 00:12:59.840 Number one, she's like, I just want to check in on you. 00:13:00.000 --> 00:13:01.679 Your daughter said that you're in Israel. 00:13:01.840 --> 00:13:03.759 I can't believe how difficult that must have been. 00:13:03.919 --> 00:13:05.440 How brave are you to go? 00:13:05.600 --> 00:13:07.039 Like, thank you for doing that. 00:13:07.200 --> 00:13:09.360 And if we can support you in any way, let us

know. 00:13:09.519 --> 00:13:12.000 And then she asked me if I'd come in and speak to the class about it. 00:13:12.159 --> 00:13:14.320 And I was like, they're five and six. 00:13:14.399 --> 00:13:16.480 Like, what I explained what I saw. 00:13:16.639 --> 00:13:18.879 Like, I how do I talk to these kids about that? 00:13:19.120 --> 00:13:25.120 And I at that time I was scared to do that because, you know, think January of 24. 00:13:25.519 --> 00:13:33.120 If I was going in to talk to a kindergarten class about Israel on October 6th, we'd go in with Israeli flags, we'd be singing songs. 00:13:33.360 --> 00:13:35.279 I couldn't do that in January. 00:13:35.519 --> 00:13:37.120 So what was I gonna do? 00:13:37.279 --> 00:13:45.440 And I went in and it was pretty factual, but about Israel, you know, not about the conflict, not about the war. 00:13:45.679 --> 00:13:50.399 I did show them pictures of picking avocados, and the kids were like, wait, Israel has avocados? 00:13:50.559 --> 00:13:52.240 I'm like, yeah, you like guacamole? 00:13:52.320 --> 00:13:53.120 I like guacamole. 00:13:53.279 --> 00:13:54.639 Like it was a lovely moment. 00:13:54.799 --> 00:13:58.240 And when I was leaving, I asked the teacher why she asked me to do. 00:13:58.480 --> 00:13:59.519 Like, I didn't ask to come in. 00:13:59.600 --> 00:14:01.200 Like, you could have avoided this. 00:14:01.279 --> 00:14:03.039 Like, why did you ask me to come in? 00:14:03.200 --> 00:14:21.679 And her response was that she had gone to Israel on a Christian tour group right after college and has been hearing how people are talking about Israel and doesn't understand it and felt like it was an opportunity to talk about Israel in a different way and let kids hear a different experience than what they likely are going to hear in the media. 00:14:21.840 --> 00:14:22.799 And that was wonderful. 00:14:22.960 --> 00:14:26.000 It was absolutely wonderful that she did that and gave me that opportunity. 00:14:26.080 --> 00:14:32.000 And what would be your goal for educators after this trip to bring back to the classroom? 00:14:32.159 --> 00:14:33.120 What would you like to see? 00:14:33.360 --> 00:14:34.879 Guacamole, apparently. 00:14:35.120 --> 00:14:40.240 Um literally that experience, I think, in a positive way. 00:14:40.480 --> 00:14:44.639 The teachers that are participating range in terms of the grades that they teach. 00:14:44.720 --> 00:14:48.159 We've got pre-K teachers all the way through, like college counselors. 00:14:48.399 --> 00:15:03.200 And so at the lower levels, just being able to talk about Israel, being able to share their experiences as you know, the kids, the students, of course, get older, we want them to be able to have the knowledge and the information to be able to answer questions. 00:15:03.360 --> 00:15:07.120 I think there's a lot of misinformation and a lot of we don't know. 00:15:07.440 --> 00:15:12.720 And if you're continually fed one narrative, that's the one that you're gonna believe. 00:15:12.960 --> 00:15:18.080 So being able to give them not, we're not taking people with the intention of this is what you should think. 00:15:18.240 --> 00:15:19.600 We want to give them the experience. 00:15:19.759 --> 00:15:21.840 We want to give them the people to talk to. 00:15:22.159 --> 00:15:28.799 And kind of my hope is that they come back with more questions than they went with, because it is that complicated of a situation. 00:15:29.039 --> 00:15:40.720 And then another piece, I think, especially for the older student, the teachers who teach older students, we're seeing increase in anti-Semitism, even on the campuses that the high school campuses that some of these teachers are coming from. 00:15:40.799 --> 00:15:49.919 We had one local school actually reach out to us in response to an anti-Semitic incident that they had because they didn't feel like they were prepared for it. 00:15:50.159 --> 00:15:57.039 And for a Jewish student to know that a teacher went to Israel, that teacher is automatically a safe person to talk to. 00:15:57.279 --> 00:16:07.440 And so I think being able to have a network of teachers within these schools that when there are anti-Semitic situations that increase, we're not gonna combat all of that right now. 00:16:07.519 --> 00:16:22.080 But when there are situations that we do have a safe group that these students feel like they're able to talk to, because we have heard from a lot of high school and middle school kids that they don't know where their teachers stand on these topics. 00:16:22.240 --> 00:16:32.320 They don't know if they express something that happened to them, are they gonna be told that the person who did this to them was correct and that Jews are colonizers and, you know, all the rhetoric that we hear. 00:16:32.480 --> 00:16:32.960 So yeah. 00:16:33.279 --> 00:16:35.360 So you have a background in psychology. 00:16:35.519 --> 00:16:40.480 Do you think that that had any impact on how you've shaped this organization? 00:16:40.799 --> 00:16:46.000 It's been helpful in taking people into a war zone, which is like not, it doesn't feel that way. 00:16:46.080 --> 00:16:47.919 Again, I've been multiple times since October 7th. 00:16:48.000 --> 00:16:49.919 That was, you know, the January trip was just my first trip. 00:16:50.000 --> 00:16:55.759 I took my kids, like it, it's not as dramatic as I just made it sound, but people are nervous. 00:16:56.080 --> 00:17:01.759 So absolutely, you know, we have my husband and I have have primarily done this together. 00:17:02.000 --> 00:17:12.160 And my background as a therapist has served a very different purpose than Israel education or, you know, programming or even fundraising. 00:17:12.319 --> 00:17:18.480 That for the people who are making the decision to come, there's anxiety along the way and there's fear about it. 00:17:18.640 --> 00:17:21.519 And I also understand how people think. 00:17:21.680 --> 00:17:29.519 Like we want to

see empathy, we want to see support, we want to be able to understand things that we actually don't fully understand. 00:17:29.680 --> 00:17:31.759 And I think that's where a lot of people are coming from. 00:17:31.920 --> 00:17:36.160 So even though I don't have a background in education, I have a background in how people think. 00:17:36.319 --> 00:17:38.000 So I absolutely think that's helpful. 00:17:38.319 --> 00:17:46.880 And if there is an educator that's listening and is interested in one of your upcoming trips, how do they go about being a part of this? 00:17:47.119 --> 00:17:48.640 So reach out to us. 00:17:48.880 --> 00:17:53.519 We have an interest form for the current trip, which is pretty much filling up. 00:17:53.680 --> 00:18:03.119 Right now we are focusing on Baltimore area independent schools, but we want to be in any school community that would have us. 00:18:03.279 --> 00:18:04.799 So I would say reach out to us. 00:18:04.960 --> 00:18:07.920 We have different ways that we've worked with different schools before. 00:18:08.160 --> 00:18:18.880 Our hope is that as we gain momentum, as long as we have both the participant interest and the funding to do it, we will run as many trips as we can. 00:18:19.440 --> 00:18:31.359 And we want to start doing subject-specific trips, we want to start doing things that are a little bit more specific so that we can get more specific content in rather than just this, you know, overall view of Israel. 00:18:31.599 --> 00:18:32.640 So, yeah, just reach out. 00:18:32.720 --> 00:18:37.359 And depending on the timing that someone is listening to this, we'll point them in the right direction. 00:18:37.680 --> 00:18:49.279 So if you could leave educators with one question, and this would be educators of, you know, high school, middle school, older, older children, that they should be asking their students about Israel. 00:18:49.440 --> 00:18:50.559 What do you think it should be? 00:18:51.039 --> 00:18:52.319 No one's asked me that before. 00:18:52.400 --> 00:18:53.519 I really like that. 00:18:53.759 --> 00:18:55.119 What does Israel mean? 00:18:55.359 --> 00:18:59.440 Like I think coming, and maybe this is the therapist in me coming out. 00:19:00.000 --> 00:19:03.039 We make a lot of assumptions about what people think. 00:19:03.359 --> 00:19:07.599 And someone hears Israel and it's gonna mean a variety of different things. 00:19:07.920 --> 00:19:13.119 For someone who is Jewish and has visited before, it's gonna mean one thing. 00:19:13.279 --> 00:19:16.799 For someone who's not Jewish and visited before, it's gonna mean something. 00:19:17.039 --> 00:19:22.079 For someone who knows nothing about Israel other than what's in the media, it's gonna mean something completely different. 00:19:22.319 --> 00:19:29.680 So I think if teachers either come on the trip or can ask students what does Israel mean, we'd get a lot of information. 00:19:29.759 --> 00:19:31.039 And then it would start a conversation.

00:19:31.200 --> 00:19:32.160 It's our ultimate goal. 00:19:32.480 --> 00:19:34.000 So, what does Israel mean to you? 00:19:34.319 --> 00:19:35.599 That question I've been asked. 00:19:35.920 --> 00:19:38.640 Um and I love that one as well. 00:19:38.880 --> 00:19:41.599 Israel's it feels like so cliche. 00:19:42.319 --> 00:19:44.400 It's home in many ways. 00:19:44.640 --> 00:19:49.440 The first group we were going with asked me what's my favorite place in Israel. 00:19:49.599 --> 00:19:53.759 And I paused and was not, because I'm the whole country. 00:19:53.839 --> 00:19:55.519 Everyone, I have to pick one. 00:19:55.920 --> 00:20:10.880 Um and what I ended up answering with, which I I surprised myself, was, and anyone who's been will understand exactly what I'm saying, the hallway when you get off the plane before you get into customs in Bengorian Airport. 00:20:11.200 --> 00:20:17.920 Every time that I land and I see that hallway and it's been all over the media, it was lined with all the hostage posters. 00:20:18.000 --> 00:20:23.039 And there's a you know, big sign that says in both, you know, English, Hebrew, and Arabic, welcome to Israel. 00:20:23.279 --> 00:20:25.680 And it feels like you're going home. 00:20:25.920 --> 00:20:29.359 And you don't have to have family there, you don't have to have a direct connection. 00:20:29.440 --> 00:20:31.680 There's something special about being there. 00:20:32.000 --> 00:20:34.319 Now, how can listeners help your organization? 00:20:34.640 --> 00:20:35.440 A few different ways. 00:20:35.519 --> 00:20:39.920 So, I mean, the obvious for any nonprofit is we will not function without donations. 00:20:40.160 --> 00:20:44.240 So we need to make sure that people are financially supporting us. 00:20:44.319 --> 00:20:48.480 And we've been very, very lucky in getting that support. 00:20:48.640 --> 00:20:55.039 I think one of the things that we offer is a relatively low budget way to make an impact. 00:20:55.200 --> 00:20:57.440 So, you know, we're a small organization. 00:20:57.599 --> 00:21:03.279 We, you know, every teacher that goes is going to impact hopefully hundreds of students over the course of their time. 00:21:03.359 --> 00:21:05.119 So that's the obvious one. 00:21:05.279 --> 00:21:06.480 Also spreading the word. 00:21:06.640 --> 00:21:08.400 People don't know that we exist. 00:21:08.559 --> 00:21:10.079 We just were created. 00:21:10.160 --> 00:21:14.799 We don't have great marketing yet, Farran's helping, but we haven't had a trip. 00:21:14.880 --> 00:21:20.480 So we don't have the photos and we don't have, you know, the sexy, hey, look at what we can do. 00:21:20.720 --> 00:21:41.519 So just sharing the word and connecting us with, you know, whether it be teachers who are interested, schools who need that additional support, one of the things that we're putting together that we'll have for the teachers, but would be accessible to anybody is a resource guide for teachers and students about how they can talk about Israel, how they can talk about these experiences. 00:21:41.759 --> 00:21:50.720 So yeah, if anyone is feeling like they need a little bit more support in how to have these conversations within the school system, reach out. 00:21:50.960 --> 00:21:57.920 Yeah, and absolutely send me some of the photos after your trip because I'd love to share them on our social media, which would be fantastic. 00:21:58.160 --> 00:22:04.079 But you know, is there anything that we haven't talked about before I let you go that you think people should know? 00:22:04.319 --> 00:22:05.839 I'm really fun to travel with. 00:22:06.000 --> 00:22:06.160 Yeah. 00:22:06.400 --> 00:22:12.640 So in all seriousness, we are putting together a really good trip. 00:22:12.880 --> 00:22:14.960 Yes, going to Israel is scary. 00:22:15.200 --> 00:22:20.960 There is nothing that I will be able to say to anyone that's going to convince them otherwise until they take that leap of faith and go. 00:22:21.119 --> 00:22:25.440 I've joked, and maybe it's a horrible comparison, that's kind of like bungee jumping. 00:22:25.599 --> 00:22:30.559 We can give you all the safety and security measures and all of that, but like at some point you have to jump and then realize how fun it is. 00:22:30.720 --> 00:22:34.319 I don't like bungee jumping, so maybe that's where it's, I would never do it, but fine. 00:22:34.559 --> 00:22:36.960 But you have to kind of commit and be ready to go. 00:22:37.119 --> 00:22:38.960 And then we're gonna make it a great experience. 00:22:39.119 --> 00:22:45.440 And we really want to hear from teachers and schools where they feel like the gaps are. 00:22:45.680 --> 00:22:50.960 We do not want to create a trip that we think is what people need to hear. 00:22:51.119 --> 00:22:54.319 We want to create a trip that is what people actually need to hear. 00:22:54.480 --> 00:22:55.440 So we need to know that. 00:22:55.599 --> 00:22:58.160 We're not in the schools, we're not teaching in the classroom. 00:22:58.400 --> 00:23:00.880 So we're a partnership in that respect. 00:23:01.119 --> 00:23:05.039 Teachers sign up, but then we collaboratively work together and create these itineraries. 00:23:05.119 --> 00:23:10.400 So I don't have the backing yet to say our trips are great, but I know our trips will be great. 00:23:10.640 --> 00:23:12.319 So, how can people follow you? 00:23:12.640 --> 00:23:14.079 We do have an Instagram. 00:23:14.160 --> 00:23:16.160 It is Eden Dash Initiative. 00:23:16.319 --> 00:23:20.400 We came up with this name, and initiative is really hard to spell, and we had to put the dash in there. 00:23:20.480 --> 00:23:22.240 And I think that's an underscore actually. 00:23:22.400 --> 00:23:30.720 Our email has an our email and our website has uh the dash in it, but most of the information's on our website, eden-initiative.org. 00:23:31.039 --> 00:23:33.440 And that's really all we have right now. 00:23:33.680 --> 00:23:37.680 So we are a two-man show, which is me and my husband. 00:23:37.920 --> 00:23:40.160 And again, reach out to me directly. 00:23:40.319 --> 00:23:46.960 So, you know, I like to connect with people, I like to share what we're doing, I like to hear other people's perspective. 00:23:47.119 --> 00:23:52.960 So we will hopefully continue to build up our, you know, online and social media presence. 00:23:53.119 --> 00:23:56.480 But again, once we have the trip and we have more to share, that's where it'll all be. 00:23:56.640 --> 00:23:59.839 Well, I'm very excited for your upcoming trip and to see how that all goes. 00:23:59.920 --> 00:24:01.839 I can't wait to see all the photos. 00:24:02.000 --> 00:24:04.559 And I want to thank you again for coming on here. 00:24:04.640 --> 00:24:07.279 We're gonna have all of your information in the show notes. 00:24:07.440 --> 00:24:10.960 So people don't worry, just scroll down and then you can get in contact. 00:24:11.119 --> 00:24:17.279 And uh, want to thank you again and I want to thank everybody for tuning in to another episode of the Truman Charities podcast. 00:24:17.440 --> 00:24:18.720 Until next time. 00:24:19.039 --> 00:24:26.319 If you enjoyed this episode, please make sure to do us a favor and rate and review it on your Spotify or Apple app. 00:24:26.480 --> 00:24:30.799 The reviews really do count since we are a hundred percent volunteer-based organization. 00:24:30.960 --> 00:24:40.480 If you'd like to follow us, you can follow us on Facebook at Truman Charities, Instagram, Jamie underscore Truman Charities, and you can follow me on LinkedIn at Jamie Truman. 00:24:40.640 --> 00:24:48.880 Please make sure to go to Trumancharities.com and sign up for our newsletter so you don't miss any of our upcoming charity events and our Bethesda's best happy hours. 00:24:49.039 --> 00:24:51.920 Thanks for tuning in to another episode of the Truman Charities Podcast. 00:24:52.000 --> 00:24:53.039 Until next time.