PLAY BETTER
TOGETHER
Play Better Together brings the best of recess and
elementary school field days together with interfaith
action for serious fun and serious issue impact. It is
a core event of the Better Together Campaign. Visit
our website (ifyc.org/bettertogether) to download the
Better Together Quickstart Toolkit. Visit facebook.com/
WeAreBetterTogether to join the national conversation.
PLAN IT
Pick your games and gather all the necassary gear,
Pick which issue-related org you’re fundraising for and decide how to
give them donations,
Decide on the day, times and flow of the tournament,
Secure a public location on campus (so passers-by can jump in),
kickball, foursquare (the original, not the app), Hungry Hungry
Hippos, Connect Four, marbles, etc. To involve more people,
choose one for the more sporty and one for those who
prefer (or need) to be less active and run both tournaments
simultaneously.
Players form multi-faith teams
(big enough to play the game) ahead of time and raise money
to play. They compete both in raising the most money and in
the tournament.
Promote like crazy (Facebook, Greek Life, Dining Halls, etc),
Recruit teams and give out fundraising tools and instructions (make
sure teams know they should begin fundraising in advance of game
day),
Put up your Better Together signage,
Design and construct your Wall of Inspiration (where particapants can
post their personal reflections on why their religious or non-religious
values inspire them to work and play with people of other traditions),
Bring food (if you can),
Play background music,
Don’t think that we can’t play games while voicing our values,
engaging with others, and acting together!
WE CAN, AND … WE WILL!
Put out sign-up sheets for people to stay involved, and
Give out some Better Together gear so participants can help spread
the word.
PROMOTE IT
Spread the word about your event on Facebook, email, posters, chalk, class
announcements – whatever it takes to get the attention of your campus.
What you’re doing is important. Let the campus and local newspapers know
what’s going on and reach out to relevant campus staff, faculty, even the
president. (They can be a major help if you ask for it!)
DO IT
Open the tournament with
a short, inspirational
and informational program. Make sure people have to come to
the opening program to get information about how and when they are
playing – that gives you the opportunity to get them involved in the
vision of the campaign. Spend a few minutes talking about the Better
Together Campaign on your campus and how Play Better Together is
having an impact on your issue by building interfaith relationships and
raising money for your cause.
Inspire reflection throughout the day by constructing a
large inspiration board with a prompt that gets people to voice their
values and share what inspires those values from their religious and
non-religious identities. We recommend something like:
Prompt: What religious or non-religious values
inspire you to Play Better Together?
Plant a few answers on the board that explicitly mention religious and
non-religious inspirations to get others thinking in the right direction.
Play! Get on with the tournament and be sure to post team play
times and score boards in prominent places. Consider ways you might
build in additional opportunities to highlight the vision of Better
Together and encourage voicing of values, engaging with others, and
acting together during game play or between rounds. But keep it light
and fun!
You can also consider switching games for each round of tournament
play if it adds to the fun without overcomplicating your event.
Celebrate the impact you’ve had and the tournament players
at the end of the tournament. Showcase tournament winners and top
fundraisers as well as the total amount raised. Bring it back to the
vision of the Better Together Campaign and the significance of the
issue you’re impacting. Be sure people walk away having had a great
time and knowing how they can stay inloved.
TALK ABOUT IT
Consider live-tweeting the tournements. After the event, share the
experience with others online (don’t forget to tag Facebook.com/
WeAreBetterTogether). You want to encourage others to join, tell the
world how many people came to your event, and what happened.
At the end of the year, nominate your campus to win a Better Together
Award by telling IFYC about the change you catalyzed on campus.
LEARN FROM IT
Get your Campaign Team together and identify the lessons learned from this event.
That way, you’ll be ready to make your next event even better. Share these insights
and challenges with your regional group on Facebook.
Play Better Together is an event of the Better Together Campaign. As a
Better Together organizer, you will motivate others to identify and voice
their values, engage with others in conversation about their values, and
act together on an issue of your choice to improve the world. Your efforts
and impact will be amplified through interfaith cooperation.
Visit our website ifyc.org/BetterTogether to download the Better Together
Quickstart Toolkit.