Logistics of Recruitment
 

Hi,

So my chapter is now in it's second year. We have finally built up a strong base have 40 girls. I am the VP-Membership and I am struggling with ideas on the actual logistics for set up of Recruitment. We are located in the heart of Manhattan so we don't have a house or convenience of too many open spaces. We usually have our events in classrooms but I struggle with decorated the room to reflect the theme. If you have any suggestions on how to decorate the walls, ceilings, tables...something that will really make a difference I would love to hear it. I am fine with the little stuff but I essentially need to transform bare white walls into a set and I wonder how other chapters do it. I was thinking of buying huge sheets of canvas curtains and painting them and trying to hang them....I am iffy on if this will work or not.

Also, all ideas are welcome on nametags...attire...etc..

Pictures would also be really appreciated.

Thanks So Much Everyone!

My school had the same situation - recruitment in classrooms. Mostly we used butcher paper to cover up the walls, always painted in some kind of theme. For preference, we went all out and by the time we were done you never would've known it was a classroom. We covered the walls in a dark fabric, then covered the ceiling with white, silver and pink balloons (in other words, we used our chapter/sorority colors) with curled ribbon dangling down from them. Our tables were covered with black tablecloths, with small bowl vases of water w/pink carnations floating in them.

white sheets can work too, if you can find some at a bargain. they can be painted & they can be reused if put away and stored properly. they even make white duct tape-for years i thought it only came in gray-so you could tape the seams of the sheets together.

sometimes class rooms have that carpet strip around the top of the walls that circles the entire room. that makes it real easy to hang sheets with up push pins.

something that looks really pretty are those icicle christmas tree lights hung around the top of the walls. they look their best if you are able to lower the
classroom lights or turn off the lights completely.

Christmas lights + tulle = yay! We have events in classrooms or conference rooms, and stuff like that makes it better.

As far as other stuff about nametags and attire, you should be able to find threads about it on here. I think we should have separate folders for the different sides of recruitment, but there's still good info to be found here.

I can't help with decorating ideas because I readily admit creativity is not my forte. One of the best things you can do is look to your own members. What are their talents? What are their majors? Do you have any interior design, fashion, or other creative arts majors in your chapter? Use their abilities and talents!

I do have some suggestions for the actual logistics as the OP put it. Think long term when designing and purchasing decorations. Buy things that can be used more than one party round and more than one year, even if design themes change. Also look for ways to reuse items in other areas of sorority life. For example, some chapters drape walls for other events. Draping sheets can be reused if they are the right color. Another thing, go for quality not quantity. Having just a bunch of stuff in a room doesn't necessarily make for great decor.

Along with this, plan for storing items afterwards. If you don't have a house with storage space available, consider renting space at a self storage facility. One idea I recently heard at a workshop was renting a Pod. It's a self contained unit that the company brings right to your door, then picks up when you are finished. Pack things away safely. Label boxes well. Then have the Recruitment Chair keep an inventory list of everything stored so that plans can be made for next year without having to dig through to find out what you have and what still need.

Finally, if you're in a classroom make sure you know what can and can't be done beforehand. For example, if you plan on taping things to the walls it can be a real scramble to find out at the last minute the school won't allow tape on the walls. Even worse, if you get fined by the school for damage done to the property.

Definitely check on what you can put on the walls. There are adhesive things you can put up that don't mar the wall surface, so that might work.

If you really want to get away from the bare white walls, check out party supply stores and look for something called Scene Setters. There are a bunch of different kinds - fiesta, beach, Las Vegas, Princess, western, etc.