A strong SLS Chapter Foundation is an essential first step in making sure that your SLS Chapter is successful this year. As we wrap up the first month of 2019 SLS Chapters around the state are doing terrific work in their communities.
One of the important parts of any SLS Chapter is their Chapter foundation. Having a strong Chapter Foundation allows for your members to come back year after year and have a successful leadership transition. Having a strong foundation allows you to reach your communities and do better programs. It helps to create a culture that allows for friendships to be developed. The amount of impact your SLS Chapter can have is great increase by having a strong foundation.
When creating a strong SLS Chapter there are many factors that go into it. Below are some of the most important steps you can take to strengthen your Chapter Foundation.
Icebreakers
- Purpose: The purpose of an icebreaker is to essentially break the ice. It is important to have one every meeting, as it can help motivate your SLS Chapter and get things started. This allows for your members to connect with each other and meet other members that they do not normally talk to.
Motivating Your Chapter
- Motivating your chapter is key to making a change in your communities. It is an important part to make sure that everyone feels like they have a role to play.
- Example: Make sure new members feel welcome. Don’t always make conversations between last year’s members. Talk about past ideas, but include the new members, explain what happened last year. You don’t have to like each other (although it helps), but at least be on friendly terms with everyone so the meetings and projects can be team efforts and not just individual efforts.
Qualities of a Great Officer
- Great leadership can often “make” a group. Just as bad leadership can “break” a group. As officers, elected or otherwise, you must follow-through. You owe it to yourself and to your chapter. Great leadership is invaluable.
- Enthusiasm, Delegation, Follow-up, and Organization are all apart of qualities that make a great officer.
Chapter Follow-Through
- Your officer and members follow-through in your chapter can either make or break your chapter’s success.
- One of the ways that you can help promote your Chapter Follow-Through is by asking to see if they need any help. We all have busy weeks and bad days. Also, they might feel that no one wants to help. Offer assistance, they can’t do everything. Help them ask for help
There are many more ways to build your Chapter Foundation, and each of the items listed above have much more information with them. There are many schools have participated in trainings this past year to help strengthen their SLS Chapters and their Chapter Foundation.
Much of the information stated in this blog comes from our Student Driven Mini-Handbook Series. There is more information on Fundraising, Proposals, Grant Writing, Diplomacy and more just in the Chapter Foundation mini-handbook alone. The topics range for each mini-handbook. For more information on how to purchase your own set of mini-handbooks to take you SLS Chapter to the next level contact SLS today.