Mission Statement

The primary aim of the Doreh is for the children of the members to gather together on a regular basis in a supervised setting. We recognize the importance for our children to grow up together in a setting in which Iranian holidays and other community activities are encouraged.  We also feel it is important for our children to strengthen their network of friends and future colleagues within the Iranian community of greater Boston.

In general, gatherings will begin at 5:30 pm and will end at around 11:00 pm. Dinnertime is around 7:30 pm. Specific Doreh activities will vary depending on special occasions, including celebration of birthdays and holidays. The itinerary for each Doreh will be communicated to the members through the e-vite webmail system.

Fees

There is a one time nonrefundable joining fee paid by each member family. This will be used as a buffer fund for unexpected cost over-runs in any given month. In addition, there will be a biannual fee that covers fixed costs. There may be an admission fee to cover variable costs (e.g., catering). Financing will be transparent. Every month each member will receive a financial report for the previous gathering via e-mail.

Special  Occasions

One of the purposes of our gatherings is to celebrate our children’s important milestones (e.g., birthdays), and other special occasions (e.g., Norooz). If a member family wishes to celebrate their child’s birthday at the Doreh gathering, the parents should inform the organizers one month in advance, preferably at the previous Doreh.

Regarding birthday gifts, we encourage a $10 check per birthday child per member family. The reason for this is that not all families know all the children because we are a growing community. This policy is critical for encouraging the participation of new families and guests who may not know all the children, for simplicity, and for minimizing financial burden since there are usually at least one or two birthdays per month.

Doreh Council’s responsibilities

There will be 5 seats on the Doreh Council. Membership of two seats will rotate on an annual basis. If there are more than two members who wish to occupy the newly vacated seats, the names will be drawn by lottery. If there are no volunteers for an open seat, the seat will be filled by members who have not served or have served the least, in alphabetical order of family name.

The council has the following responsibilities:

1. Collect member feedback and propose revisions to the Doreh Policy statement

2. Send the invitations, and keep track of the responses

3. Coordinate special occasions

4. Manage and report the financial status to the members

5. Arrange dinner (cater or pot-luck), hire the cleaning crew and the baby-sitters, and

purchase necessary basic supplies

6. Review member’s attendance, approve new members and guests, and appoint new

members for the vacant seats on the council in accordance with the above policy

Members’ responsibilities

All members will receive an invitation for each gathering via the e-vite web based system. All members must send their RSVP by the deadline, which is 4 days before the date of the gathering. The RSVP must state how many adults and children will be attending, and must include any guests the member wishes to sponsor for that month. If the member does not RSVP in time, it will be assumed that the member will not be attending. An accurate head count is necessary for making the appropriate arrangements (dinner, supplies, goodie bags, etc.).

All members will have assigned tasks for each Doreh.  These tasks are outlined in detail in a document titled “Doreh Task List”.