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I'll echo honeychile as one of those alums who would take a week vacation to help with recruitment... the other thing that was very nice was the chapter member who let me stay on her futon after a late night which was followed by an early morning (the chapter was over an hour drive for me). That was a thoughtful touch (and yes, I took her to lunch later in the semester) but made me more willing to go out of my way to help them (and talk up how much fun it was to help the chapter at my next alum meeting).
Coming from the other perspective, alums sometimes don't know what chapters would appreciate most... money to buy things for the house/ suite, help with recruitment, career networking are all things that my alum association has done for the 2 chapters in the area. Those are things that we initiated. I think the chatper was sometimes at a loss to know what they could include us in. One event that I thought was especially fun was when the chapter invited us to a garden party... no, I'm not talking tea and crumpets! We cleaned up flower beds, trimmed bushes and planted flowers so the house would look nice for recruitment and then had a cookout. We brought garden tools, they bought the flowers.
Daffy KD's comments reflect the research that Pi Phi did recently. Seniors have different interests and priorities. One thing that can be done to keep their interest is for the alum association to invite (and have someone pick them up) seniors to an alum meeting- especially in the spring semester. I've found that chapter members don't always have an accurate perception of what happens at alum meetings (no, it isn't a bunch of blue haired ladies drinking tea and playing bridge). The bottom line is that the line needs to blur more... chapters need to talk to alums and vice versa. We will only survive and thrive if we see greek membership as a continuum not a ending/ beginning because too often. that second beginning (as an alum) never happens
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