[SWTXBelle]

Oh, sis, I was in your exact shoes!

And to make it even better, the chapter had been burned by advisors who only came a few times and then dropped out. They couldn't believe that my mother and I were going to make a 5 hour round trip once a week just for them. (We did it for years, and even moved into the dorm for recruitment!)

I would suggest getting some of the members who are most unhappy to get in there and plan things. Do you have PACE once a month? Get some suggestions as to what the members would like to do, or see about inviting some speakers (I have a great speaker I can recommend for an incredible recruitment workshop - pm me.) Do a craft project - have a "spa" meeting - watch the chapter's favorite television show somewhere on campus - be together having fun with no pressure to "perform".

If I remember correctly, you do not have a house. This means you may have to work a little harder at getting the girls together at times other than meetings. For philanthropy, again, get input from the girls. I found that projects that required more than just raising money were big hits - is there something the members can do that would get their hands "dirty", so to speak?

Retreats are great - we planned some great ones with speakers, activities, and tried to have them at fun places. My grandmother's beach house, a university camp - you get the idea. (And all those camps around Asheville - could you get into one cheaply during the fall/spring? Maybe Black Mt.?) The chapter's ennui would be easier away from the day-to-day. Have them identify what they need to work on, and brainstorm on how to approach it. They will be more invested in a solution they have come up with then something the advisors tell them they should do.

Sunshine committees, or secret sisters, or something along those lines could work. Goofy things are amazingly affective - give a funny award every week to the sister who has best exhibited Gamma Phi spirit.

Good luck -