I need a little help!!! please

[PsiXiOmicron]

hi my name is Maghen and I am an alpha epsilon of Psi Xi Omicron a local sorority at Daemen College in Buffalo New York. I have a lot of questions but no where to turn for answers so I am hoping i can get some help here. My sorority is about 20 years old but we are very close to extinction. Last night me and my sisters were talking about a lot of different ways to help this sorority. I just recently found of that our sorority dos not have any help from alumni. How do we get alumni more involved. Another question is since we are so close to extinction how could we recruit that will bring people in. Another topic that came up is last night was how can we turn our all girl sorority into a co-ed frat.Do you think anyone would be interested in pledging. We just need some guidance can someone help.

[KSUViolet06]

Some things to think about:

1. Going co-ed doesn't always = more members. Yes, you will be able to recruit both, but there's no guarantee that more people will be interested.

2. Going co-ed may not be the best way to get alumnae involved. I'm sure that there are quite a few alumnae who would not be pleased that their sorority was just turned into a co-ed fraternity without anyone asking for their input.

[Psi U MC Vito]

Question, what kind of communications do you keep open with the alumnae?

[ree-Xi]

Originally Posted by PsiXiOmicron

hi my name is Maghen and I am an alpha epsilon of Psi Xi Omicron a local sorority at Daemen College in Buffalo New York. I have a lot of questions but no where to turn for answers so I am hoping i can get some help here. My sorority is about 20 years old but we are very close to extinction. Last night me and my sisters were talking about a lot of different ways to help this sorority. I just recently found of that our sorority dos not have any help from alumni. How do we get alumni more involved. Another question is since we are so close to extinction how could we recruit that will bring people in. Another topic that came up is last night was how can we turn our all girl sorority into a co-ed frat.Do you think anyone would be interested in pledging. We just need some guidance can someone help.

Oy @ the lack of punctuation and poor grammar.

Back on topic...how did you "just find out" that you you're alumnae aren't involved? Are you a new member? I imagine that it would be pretty relevant if went through a pledge process and had been initiated - that typically takes some time.

A relationship with the alumnae is a two-way street. If you historically do not reach out to them, share with them, and keep a line of communication open, you can't expect that they will suddenly become interested in the current chapter. To get alumnae involved, start communicating with them. Do you have access to the school's alumnae list? Send out a mailing. Share news from the chapter. Let them know that you value them and would like to stay connected. Have the chapter sponsor a reunion event.

As for bringing more people in, you have to think about what your group stands for, its purposes and ideals, and what characteristics you want your members to embody (not physical characteristics, but the intangibles - friendliness, grades, volunteerism, etc.). If you don't know what you are looking for, you're not going to find it.

As for going co-ed, why do you want to do that? What can you offer to male members? If you don't have these answers, you might reconsider going co-ed.

PS you might want to update your web page at http://www.angelfire.com/ny4/psixiomicronsorority/ and your MySpace site at http://www.myspace.com/165114613. The content is nearly invisible, the links are broken, and there is no relevant information. An informative web site can be an effective recruitment tool for a local sorority.