Need activities for Rush
 

So, it's kind of a long story, but here's the deal: I am the President of my sorority, and I just found out that I am going to be loosing half of my chapter to graduation and trasfers this semester. Among those members will be my Recruitment chair, which means that I will be putting rush together by myself in the Fall. My chapter is currently going througha transitional image period. i.e. we are nothing like our alums, and need our image to reflect that. Since niether my Panhellenic Advisor and Greek Advisor are actually greek, we do not have what most consider a "formal rush" on this campus, and they don't offer much help in way of recruitment ideas. The image we are trying to convey is very girly, very fun, but still very sophisticated and classy. Since we only have one two-hour rush party, we have one chance to do it right. I am looking for activities to do at rush that will engage everyone, yet still convey our image. Any ideas? (please keep in mind that we will be dressed in heels and dresses)

We have a similar Rush to your rush, it sounds like. I recommend manicures. I'm not even kidding. We had manicures and margaritas last year (it is not mandatory that our rush events be dry, so long as we're not serving to minors) and it was such a great event. Also, I recommend crafts related to your philanthropy, just to give them a taste.

Hey, thanks sooo much! We will be sure to try that!

Skip the margaritas, unless they're virgin. The poster who replied is a member of a local sorority and her group's requirements are NOT the same as the ones that NPC groups must follow (I assume you are either an ASA or AST).

For that matter, I would skip the manicures as well, as some people don't like being touched, even for a manicure. Also, you would have the issues of disinfecting all the equipment or buying lots of disposable stuff, which would negatively impact your budget. The last thing you need is for someone to say they got a fungus at the Alpha Sig rush party.

Try something like a Hollywood movie premiere theme instead. It's more a feeling that can continue throughout the party rather than activities that will have to start and stop (I assume the rushees don't stay there for the whole 2 hours).

Also, stop thinking of rush as only one two-hour party. Rush is 24/7/365. Make connections with women now and they will be more inclined to rush and look at your group positively in the fall. This is very important since you're going to be losing so many members. Do you have an Assistant Recruitment Chair office or a Recruitment Committee? She/they should assist you rather than your taking on this responsibility alone.

Just to let you know in case you didn't already know or forgot, but technically Alpha Sigma Alpha is a dry sorority. So we are not allowed to have alcohol in our chapter houses, recruitment events, philanthropy events, or anything we do chapter related. We are also not allowed to 'wet' rush. (rush while drinking). But some fun events you can do to help out with recruitment events are fun things like fondue parties, ice cream socials, crush parties, or wing flings just to throw some ideas out there for you. Is your VP of PR and Recruitment leaving or just your recruitment chair? You donot have to plan it all by yourself, you can designate other exec or programming members to be in charge of different nights or you could also set up commitees to help you! I hope this helps and good luck!
Alpha Love and Mine

I'm not a girl, but I am a student programmer on my campus' programming board as well as the recruitment chair for my Fraternity

First of all I want to applaud 33girl because she is absolutely right. Recruitment isn't like filling a parking meter. You don't just do when the time comes up, you keep doing it until you are completely satisfied with your membership. Start recruiting today, get a list of 100 girls you would like to join your sorority and pick the top 20 instead of picking your top 20 out of your list of 25

Secondly, you are taking a great step in identifying what kind of members you want in your sorority. I would say try taking it even further. Ask yourself why you these types of girls. Have you been having image problems lately, or have you felt like your sorority isn't unified in it's personality? Identify what your goals are for the school year and let that pick your recruitment events.

Ex: I want to improve sorority relations, so I decide I need to get members that are more social. I switch out my annual poker night with a hookah mixer with a sorority

Other than that. I can tell you that I once had to throw a tea and cookies party for the women's center, it brought out a ton of people and they all had a blast. Perhaps you could combine that with the idea to do some sort of craft for a philanthropy

This sounds very yummy, but also a bit messy. LOL :D

I cannot agree more with this post, particularly the ongoing nature of rush. 24 hours a day. 7 days a week. 365 days a year. Make a friend, and make that friend a sister. Get at least one sister in the chapter to help you with planning and implementing. If you try to do this all by yourself, you'll get more frustrated than you already are.

I do like the Hollywood movie premiere idea. Think red carpet. Think of talking to the PNMs about seeing their names "in lights." I could go on for a while with ideas for that theme, so if you'd like some feedback, feel free to PM me, and I'll be glad to help.

Another idea for your recruitment event... A little black dress party. I've seen it done so many times before, and it's always a hit. Everyone wears black dresses (who doesn't have one of those?!). The quote of the night: ABC sorority, like the little black dress - timeless, classic, and never goes out of style. And encourage the sisters to get creative with their accessories. Everyone will be dressed up, but they can also express their individuality with what they wear in addition to their dress. I've seen girls wear simple silver/gold earrings and a necklace, I've seen leopard-print shoes and a matching belt, and I even know of one girl who wore a boa and sunglasses.

I know that you're looking for activities to do at this event, but if your conversation skills are where they need to be, you shouldn't need to do a ton of activities. My chapter, which I now advise, has been getting better and better at this, and recruitment parties which used to last 45 minutes doing small (kind of boring) activites, have turned into 2 hour long events with everyone just conversing with one another. Work on how to get past the "What's your major?" and "Where are you from?" topics, and it will make things a lot easier.

And if you'd like to do an activity for a little while, do something philanthropic. Here are a few ideas:

- Paint flower pots and donate them to a local organization/charity.
- Make cards for sick children.
- Make fish out of wash clothes wrapped around a bar of soap and tied with a rubber band. Decorate the fish with eyes and felt for fins. The fish and leftover supplies are donated as personal care products to a women's shelter.
- Decorate holiday ornaments for a nursing home.
- Make a banner for hospital walls.
- Make bookmarks for a local library.

Also, you could have a short question and answer period where the PNMs can ask anything they want.

If you have 45 minutes for one-on-one conversation with the PNMs, 45 minutes for the activity, and 30 minutes for a short presentation/Q&A, there's your 2 hours right there.


And as previously stated, recruitment is year-round! Meet new people! And as I tell everyone, visit phiredup.com.. and read everything.

ΑΣΑ is an NPC sorority if no one has mentioned that btw so those rules must be followed if you are an /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> ASA alpha sig.



We are in the midst of planning for our fall informal rush and some of the ideas have been great.
Tye dye is one of my faves that has come up.


Alos pr events that we have used for recruitment was charades sounds silly, but it gets girls out of their comfort zone and you can get to know them a lot more easily than if you were to sit back and do something not as interactive.


Our past formal rush we did a Sweet Home ASA event where we showed out aims aounrd the room like the room was our house. [My school is too small for houses, so if you do have a house, it might work even better] Prom was our 2nd and real bust.

The painting flower pots however is a really good idea! That was philanthropy night and a lot of girls loved it. We just did an earth day project with our local philanthropy and it was a blast.