Sisterhood Workshop

[AlphaFrog]

Originally Posted by BritniMSB

I am an alum of Gamma Phi that tries to stay actively involved with my chapter. Recently, I have noticed an incredible decrese in respect and sisterhood among the active members. I know a lot of this is due to the lack of instilled values, but they need to get back to where they were a few years back.

I obviously don't know the dynamics of your chapter, but honestly, how are they going to take an alum saying "Y'all need to do this or that to get your sisterhood back because we were so much better a few years back when I was in the chapter". I'm not saying that you're going to put it that way, but that's probably what they're going to hear no matter how you phrase it.

[SWTXBelle]

I've had a great deal of success with a retreat. We've gone to my grandmother's beach house, a college retreat (campground with cabins), but any place AWAY will do.
Bring in some speakers who are not involved with the chapter and thus have no "baggage". It would be great if it were a Gamma Phi (and I'm available!) but any committed alum will do. Have her speak about the importance of not getting bogged down in the day-to-day problems - about focusing on the larger picture. If everyone rededicates themselves to not just saying but living our creed then the group dynamic will change.
One exercise that we used was to "map" the chapters strengths and weaknesses (I discussed this in another thread). A perfect chapter would be a circle - all the points would be on the outside of the circle. Plot the location of various aspects of the chapter on a scale of 1 - 10. So, if sisterhood is a 5, the dot would be half-way from the center. If grades were a 10, the dot would be on the perimeter of the circle.

The paper chain idea is great, as is the candle pass- and getting the sisters to bring favorite pictures or videos of past events is a great way to draw everyone together.

Get everyone to gather their favorite sisterhood poems, songs, etc., to share and make a "sisterhood book". You might have everyone submit the material beforehand and get it typed up and bound at Kinko's or the like to pass out for a fireside. Have sisters read their contributions.

HTH -

[BGbeauty]

The idea of having to force sister to respect and appreciate one another is ridiculous, but it happens in a lot of chapters.

For our girls, we did a sisterhood retreat that took place in a quiet room we rented in our student union. We did the "cross the line" ice breaker: girls form a circle around the room and create and invisible line on the floor with their toes. Scenerios are read aloud and if a girl has experienced it, she steps forward and crosses the line. Scenerios range from simple personality things (out of state versus in state, first person in family to go to college, only child, etc) to moderately personal things (ever failed a class, regreted something from their past, felt like dropping out of college, etc) to fairly personal (questioned sexuality, been through depression, lost a loved one due to overdoes/suicide, etc). While they can be extremely personal and may be uncomfortable for some girls, it's also a relief for others who feel like this is an easy way to share what they've been through. You get a sense of "hey, that girl has been through so much that i didn't know about--maybe that's why she's been so stressed out lately" and it gives you a little compassion and insite into girls' lives that you may otherwise never know.

We also played a form of 20 Questions (hader to do with large groups, may want to split up into groups of 20 or less). To make it personal, we sat in a circle, turned off the lights and used candlelight instead. The president (or group leader) would start by asking a question. At first they were siimple: favorite family vacation, hometown, least favorite meal on campus. They eventually got harder: person in your life you miss the most, most important person in your life, most regreted memory. The last few questions were tough, and they did get personal. But knowing that your sisters were so willing to open up and share their life with you gave you a little more respect and made people feel a little bit closer. After the president/leader would ask the question, each girl would answer it (or regretfully decline if she felt it was too personal--but once one girl really opens up, you'll be surprised at how easy others do too) until it had gone all the way around the circle. Finally, the president/leader would answer the question before moving on to the next one.

It was also made known that what was shared in the chapter at the retreat stayed within the chapter walls and was not to be shared with anyone else.

I hope maybe these ideas can help your chapter! Good luck!

[denimeans]

one of my favorite things has been when we've brought back a much older alumnus to tell tales about the way things used to be.

[adpiucf]

Originally Posted by BritniMSB

I am an alum of Gamma Phi that tries to stay actively involved with my chapter. Recently, I have noticed an incredible decrese in respect and sisterhood among the active members. I know a lot of this is due to the lack of instilled values, but they need to get back to where they were a few years back.

You are no longer a member of the chapter -- you are an alum. Let the collegians handle their own issues with their adviser. You may think there is a lack of respect-- the alum may have thought the same of you when you were a collegians. If they want the help of alumnae, they'll ask for it.