DBB's Retro Recruitment Thread

[FSUZeta]

i've really been enjoying your thread-especially the comments about the phil. crafts. i bet there are a lot of pnms who feel the same way about having to do a craft(and sorority members too, for that matter). i have heard new members admit that they were so worried that the sororities would critique their craft after they left the party-that had never dawned on me before they said it.

please come back and finish your story.

[KSUViolet06]

Originally Posted by FSUZeta

i have heard new members admit that they were so worried that the sororities would critique their craft after they left the party-that had never dawned on me before they said it.

I had a girl ask me during rush if we were going to grade the crafts after they left.

[bluefish81]

I would agree that there are probably a lot of PNMs that probably aren't crazy about the crafts that are done for philanthropy projects. I can remember one year, it was decided to do a Panhellenic wide project and the project were randomly assigned to the chapters. I think it was for the Boys and Girls Club in town. I imagine coming up with 14 different projects had to be difficult. My chapter was assigned to decorate pencils with the PNMs - not that fun or exciting for anyone involved.

[AChiOhSnap]

Originally Posted by KSUViolet06

I had a girl ask me during rush if we were going to grade the crafts after they left.

LOL, one PNM I sat with during our philanthropy party decorated part of her craft with a color combination that was another sorority's colors. Apparently another PNM out of my earshot told her that these were another sorority's colors, and the next thing I knew the PNM was furiously redoing her craft. I couldn't figure out why for the life of me, but she just kept saying "No, I screwed it up, I have to do it again." She ended up becoming one of our new members, and she later confided to me that she was worried we'd cut her for putting another sorority's colors on the gift bag. The funny things the PNMs stress about! It's really not easy sometimes to look at those things rationally, though, when you're a crazy-stressed PNM!

[OldAOPi]

We didn't do those back in my day. Does everyone do them? I don't remember dd talking about doing them at UNL?

[aopirose]

Originally Posted by OldAOPi

We didn't do those back in my day. Does everyone do them? I don't remember dd talking about doing them at UNL?

Many schools do these indiv. type projects but some schools do group projects. For example, on Tuesday morning, all the PNMs board buses and go to Goodwill and sort items. That afternoon they go to the chapter's philanthropy parties but they'll talk about it instead of doing something.

[MaggieXi]

I was recruitment chair the first year that Elon did a "craft" philanthropy round. We made pillow cases for the kids at Duke Children's Cancer Hospital with paint pens. It ended up being a huge mess and a real pain!!!

However, I will say that we looked very cute in AXiD's Green Choose Children shirts. No other org had specific shirts designed by their nationals for their philanthropy.

[Buttonz]

Originally Posted by MaggieXi

However, I will say that we looked very cute in AXiD's Green Choose Children shirts. No other org had specific shirts designed by their nationals for their philanthropy.

I've always liked the AXiD Choose Children shirts. I didn't realize that it was designed by nationals, that's awesome

[ForeverRoses]

I think philanthropy days started in the late 1990s- when I was in school 92-96, we didn't have them but I remember starting to hearing about them a couple years later. We had an openhouse round, talking round, skit round, and preference round. I think the philoanthropy round replaced the talking round. In theory it sounds like a good idea, but some of the crafts seem kind of cheesy.

[MaggieXi]

It was hard to come up with a craft where you could be engaged in conversation and make something in under 20 minutes.

The first year we did it, we made the whole room into a kids theme (like hand print cut outs, teddy bears and pics of all the sisters as kids -- which was really adorable!) we had the PNM's come in to a song we obvi changed the words to, and then had our philanthropy chair explain what Choose Children is and then showed a brief computerized slide show of some of the different events that we did and read some letters from the girls in the brownie troop we sponsored. Then it was time to make the craft and then clean up.

Of course that was the first year that Elon had philanthropy round and I am sure a lot of the kinks have been knocked out since, but it was brutal to get cleaned up and set up between each party!!!

Oh, and one of the PNMs at one of our parties had a paint pen explode all over her -- and she was wearing white!!! It was not a good scene!