Sisterly Relations Activities

[Discogoddess]

What are some good sisterly relations activities for graduate chapters? Graduate chapters tend to have a more business-like focus and with members' family, religious, career, and civic commitments, often don't have the time to hang out together as they did in undergrad. Any suggestions?

DG

[Shelacious]

sister-soror et al...

Our chapter's focus was on sisterly love this year. Therefore, I created more opportunities to bond as sisters, including Secret Zeta, adding more sisterly love activities (hugging each other before the meeting, for example) and inspirational poetry to our meetings. Additionally, we had a weekend retreat in the mountains.

I know that another graduate chapter holds their meetings in the evening, so that there is a "mandatory" fellowship after the meeting with food and drinks, and no business talk.

I would like to see this go even further...although we'll never be collegiate again, how can reclaim some of the spontaneity and other aspects in the graduate environment? Good topic, Discogoddess.
-Best, Shela


[This message has been edited by Shelacious (edited June 07, 2000).]

[PositivelyAKA]

good ques DG, our chapter is having a retreat this summer and a family social. Two events that will spur us onto greater things in the fall. We must remember that sisterhood is crucial to any sorority, business is important but we are not the Salvation Army, we are sorors!!!!

[ZetaAce]

DG-you've got the topics going today!!

I think a good idea is to have sisterhood activities at least once a month. Whether it is something simple like having brunch together, going bowling, or having a family night. These activities should be geared at getting to know one another and maybe setting the 'nitty-gritty' business aside for a night, just to fellowship. I believe that stregthening the sisterly bond between sorors will help to make 'strictly business' meetings more efficient, more enjoyable, and more productive!

As my soror said, grad chapters do lack spontaneity as compared with collegiate chapters. Usually when an activity is planned, everyone whips out their planners to make sure it fits! I think that a few spontaneous activities could add to more sisterly relations!

ZetaAce

[AKA2D '91]

I remember when I was a little girl, her chapter had it where the member's kids had their own group, they would have activities, like bowling, skating, lock-ins, and the like, then there was the group for the spouses, where the member's husbands/Sig. Other would get together. While these "aux" groups were going on, the sorors were able to bond on another level, without discussing official sorority business

[equeen]

I know that the experiences between Graduate Chapters and Alumnae Chapters are generally different, in terms of their purpose/function. However I'm willing to bet that my alum chapter comes close to what grad. chapters goals are. My Alumnae Group (almost to Chapterhood!) is having a lot of social events this summer, in an effort to get alum in a metro-area (4 hours from the active chapter) to coalesce. Also, a few women in the alum chapter are Expansion Representatives for a new Interest Group in the area. The most active alumnae are also trying their hand at fundraising...all in all, it's really cool, and I'm proud of those ladies. (Hats off especially to my sister Artimis, she bounces all over the place and has the same zeal and energy she had the day we were initiated!)

OK, I just realized I didn't at all answer the question, I got carried away by my own enthusiasm. Here's another try:

I think inherently it makes more sense for grad/alum chapters to have a narrower focus than undergrad/active chapters, just because we're focusing on so much more than ourselves and our own goals, once we're out in the "real world." Family, work, spirituality take on new ipmortance. Having said that, if there are grads/alums who want to go all out and put actives to shame, go for it! It's just important to set goals and have a focus, at any level of membership.

Service (to the sisterhood, community) is something would be cool to focus on. Also social/professional connections. I think those two things could be the key to keep people active and close-knit.

For example, I'd like to see my sisters and I tutoring young girls in math and sciences, perhaps even creating programs in local schools to mentor young girls who show aptitude or interest in the sciencs. I think we'd also be in a good position to expose older girls to exactly what it is that engineers/scientists really *do*, and dispell the myth that science and maths is "for nerds." (I know a lot of women scientists and engineers who are beautiful people, and they're not just my sisters either!)

I think social functions with family, with the active chapter, with other organizations (professional or social, or "little sister"), or just sisters-only could be great for keeping things lively.

My $0.02 worth!



[This message has been edited by equeen (edited June 07, 2000).]

[sgrho_22]

My chapter (grad) holds their meeting once a
month and a Soror is a hostess for each meeting.....she sets up the meeting and she has food afterwards.....that is great because we usually have fun and with so many different cultures in our chapter the food differs from month to month...of course November, December and January are the best because you can never get tired of that down south meal....and the older Sorors love to host those meetings. On another note our membership committee started a program last year where each month a Soror is responsible for putting on a 1 hr workshop ...next calendar year we will start to invite our Rhoers and Undergrad chapter and the public to attend...because we loved them......and this is one way that we include our inactive/unfinancial memmbers...I just finished my first year in grad and I can say this.... the ideas and what the chapter did made me more interested in attending all our meetings (I only missed one) We had business, food and we were educated on different topics it made us all happy with our year and now we have even more ideas for next year.

[This message has been edited by sgrho_22 (edited June 08, 2000).]

[snazzylady]

Our chapter has a sisterly relation activity monthly (bowling, movies, theatre, dinner, 5th Sunday worship etc.) the idea is to give those Sorors who are looking for a social outlet the opportunity to bond with other members.
This is especially good for new members because they really get to know other sorors.
We have also done secret soror and used the sisterly relations activities that other chapters have submitted at conferences.

[Sweet Deliverance]

Oooo I like this topic! As a Graduate member I too look for ways to retain and motivate sorors.

------------------
Sweet Deliverance's PHI-losophy:
"What you do or do not do today determines what you can or cannot do tomorrow."

[Lucky Charms]

The alumni from my sorority do potlucks and cookie swaps, etc. while the actives put on an activity for the kids. Its fun for us and them, and we get to play with our legacies and future members while their moms relive the good old days.