[AGDee]

The Alumnae Club that I'm in with AGD is sponsoring a Junior Circle. To hear their reactions to find out what it's like to be in an Alumnae Club was eye opening! The questions were like "You mean, meetings are just basically sisterhood events?" "We don't have to do monthly reports?". I don't think we get the message out that being involved in an alumnae club or chapter is mainly about doing fun things with sisters.. sisters from all over the place, not just from your University! I volunteer in overseeing some chapters also, but the Alumnae Club is my "fun" time. Of course we still do community service and philanthropy, but I don't think that everybody realizes that Alumnae Clubs, Chapters, and Junior Circles (in the case of AGD) are mainly sisterhood events. Sometimes we never even accomplish the primary activity planned because we're just too busy chit chatting! We do dedicate a short part of each meeting to ritual and business, but then we do things like Games Night, usually a dinner out at a very fancy restaurant (and everybody orders decadent desserts!), a potluck, a Christmas Ornament exchange, a craft night, etc. We're taking our kids to a nursing home in February to decorate cookies with the residents for Valentine's Day and we fund raise for the AGD Foundaiton. We did a diaper drive for a local women's shelter. I'm a busy lady, working full time, volunteering for AGD, a cub scout leader, single mom but those AGD Alum Club meetings are MY time and I put them over everything except my kids. The Alum Club feels like home, just like my collegiate chapter did, where I can be myself, laugh, love, get support and be supportive of my sisters. I think if more women experienced it, more would stay involved, but too many just disappear!

Dee

ETA: A Junior Circle is a special segment of a club for women who are under 35. They are generally sponsored by a typical alumnae chapter or club but do their own things to help gap the generational differences and keep them involved right away. Ironically, the women are active in the alumnae club that I'm in are primarily in our mid to late 30's and just as we're getting out of Junior Circle age, we're sponsoring a Junior Circle. It's good for the younger gals so they don't have to always listen to the stories about our kids, etc, but they are also invited to our events.