bump

Thanks for bumping this thread. Has anyone had any experience getting alumnae re-involved in a chapter that's been shut down or reorganized? Is there a way to avoid/get over their feeling that "their" chapter doesn't exist anymore and get them re-engaged?

Yes. Get a printout from your HQ of all of the alumnae in your area (ours does it by zipcode, so you may want to figure that out first), and throw a "Recolonization Party".

Remind them that their vows were not to XZ chapter of ABC, but to ABC! Also, they are going to living a lot in "we used to do it this way". Have the chapter listen to this phrase politely, and later discuss whether or not it would work now. It's one of the hardest parts for both an alumna and a collegiate, to bridge that "way to do it"! Neither way is inheritently wrong or right, but one way will work better for the current chapter.

You may have to court them at first - let the chapter hold a tea or a tailgate party for them - something fun. Once they remember the fun aspects, the ones who are true to their sorority will come around.

Just one thing to remember: in this day & age, most women have to pick one or two activities over and above work and family. You must make being an active alumna attractive enough to be one of those two activities!

Good luck!

I'm guessing you're talking about the alums of that chapter in particular, rather than just area alumnae?

It depends on how the closing or recolonization was handled to begin with. If it was handled respectfully and with concern for the women who became alum, your chore shouldn't be too difficult. If it wasn't handled that way...well, you have work on your hands. And if it's too soon (i.e. if the recolonization was immediate) - it's going to take a while for the wounds to heal no matter how nicely everything went down.

With respect honey - it's all well and good to say you joined a larger sorority - but the plain truth is were it not for THAT chapter, you would not have come to that larger sorority. Chapter loyalties are not going to go away in NPC until we radically change the way we recruit members.

All parties involved - the alumnae, the actives and the national officers who work with the chapter - need to be on the same page for what they want the chapter to be and agree to work together and KEEP THE COMMUNICATION LINES OPEN so that a recolonization/closing never need be necessary again. There are chapters out there that have recolonized multiple times. It's hard to get the alums to buy into supporting "their" chapter if they're afraid they're going to get their hearts broken by seeing it close again.

If the chapter recolonized after a long dormancy, every effort should be made to find "big sisters" or "alum chums" from the chapter alumnae. They obviously won't serve the same purpose as a normal big sister would, but they help give the "old" and "new" sisters a sense of continuity. At some schools family lines are very important, so this shouldn't be discounted. You'll know whether or not that's a big deal at your school.

Look in the old scrapbooks and see if there were any old traditions that fell by the wayside when the chapter started to struggle. If there are, see if they can be brought up to date to be something the current chapter would enjoy and can share with alumnae.

Good luck!! :)