Night at the Museum with SI/Chilliwack, BC
Shout out to SI/Chilliwack, BC (Western Canada Region), who achieved 100% on the Club Roadmap!
SI/Chilliwack’s annual “Night at the Museum,” held in February, is a recruitment event for new members at the Chilliwack Museum. The event was very successful as a recruitment and engagement activity, with 10 members and 10 guests in attendance. One guest became a member!
Putting It All Together
SI/Chilliwack enhanced the event by using a Soroptimist Bingo icebreaker with prizes and entertainment from a local women's quartet. The highlight of the evening was two club Live Your Dream Awards winners telling their personal stories. Current members also gave introductions about how long they have been Soroptimist members and why. An SIA-branded PowerPoint presentation outlining their club programs & projects was shown, which included Dream It, Be It, Live Your Dream Awards, Heathers Hope Chest, and their signature fundraiser, Pajamas & Pearls.
To get the word out, both social media and printed invitations were distributed widely and posted on Facebook. Members were also encouraged to invite friends who may be interested in Soroptimist.
Other Retention & Engagement Activities
SI/Chilliwack implemented other retention and engagement activities throughout the year:
A Membership Committee conducts phone call reminders and check-ins on a semi-monthly basis with members & helps with the initiation of new members, and ensures new members feel welcome through the onboarding and mentoring programs. New members are partnered with existing club members to encourage members to have a "buddy" in the club (this was particularly successful during the pandemic)
Newly developed member welcome package that includes the Soroptimist pin, SIA branded club name tag, flyers about programs as well as the club bylaws, and SIA information flyers. Flowers are given to each new member at a newly developed induction ceremony.
Greeter at every business meeting to welcome members.
“Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner” small group social dinners annually to engage members.
Christmas Hygiene Gift bags for high-risk women in the community. Members donated the items, and at the December business meeting, everyone packed the bags.
Happy Dollars” to support the President's Appeal at each meeting with a specific theme to allow members to get to know each other.
Hard Work Pays Off
Overall, SI/Chilliwack welcomed seven new members and an honorary member (a Live Your Dream Awards recipient). Their hard work led them to win the region membership award, which is given to the club with the highest percentage of membership recruitment and retention. The future is bright for SI/Chilliwack!
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