How to help a struggling chapter

[AlethiaSi]

Sigh, believe me sweetie, i'm in the SAME position. My groups and I raised numbers and now they are in a slump... i try to help them and certain sisters (my first little was President at the time) have been less than receptive to help. Now, the current president is my second little and she's a lot better about asking for help and receiving it when I give it.... It might be best to seek out the sisters that you are closer with or have a connection with and just talk with them, share ideas, etc and then maybe they'll put those things into action or ask you for help when needed. unfortunately, as alumni, we want to help and (i know this is true for me) do more things, because I want them to be successful but I also want to be involved. The one thing I have had to come to terms with is the fact that they have to figure it out for themselves (for the most part) if they are unwilling to ask or get help from you. Good luck.

in terms of events etc, participation might be helpful, setting things up, etc. Also, I know with my org, money was always a big help, so if you can afford it, going up there and buying a few things that you think would be nice, or even buying food for the girls is often a big help for morale and staying positive is also big.

[andrea981]

Originally Posted by AlethiaSi

Sigh, believe me sweetie, i'm in the SAME position. My groups and I raised numbers and now they are in a slump... i try to help them and certain sisters (my first little was President at the time) have been less than receptive to help. Now, the current president is my second little and she's a lot better about asking for help and receiving it when I give it.... It might be best to seek out the sisters that you are closer with or have a connection with and just talk with them, share ideas, etc and then maybe they'll put those things into action or ask you for help when needed. unfortunately, as alumni, we want to help and (i know this is true for me) do more things, because I want them to be successful but I also want to be involved. The one thing I have had to come to terms with is the fact that they have to figure it out for themselves (for the most part) if they are unwilling to ask or get help from you. Good luck.

in terms of events etc, participation might be helpful, setting things up, etc. Also, I know with my org, money was always a big help, so if you can afford it, going up there and buying a few things that you think would be nice, or even buying food for the girls is often a big help for morale and staying positive is also big.

Thank you so much for your encouragement. It does help to know I'm not the only one with sorority woes (it seems like nationally my sorority is going just peachy, which makes some of us feel even more badly for ourselves). I see so many similarities between your situation and mine -- definitely the girls' morale is a major obstacle. Another one, that I did not mention earlier, is that there have been advisors in the past that have really burned the chapter's reputation with headquarters -- advisors that just didn't like the idea of the chapter growing into something that didn't resemble their own memories of the chapter. I think this history makes them all a little weary of me, the "new adviser."

[33girl]

You can make your chapter grow without sacrificing its integrity or taking girls you aren't proud of. You just have to know where to find them.

I think part of the problem is when you have a small chapter, everyone will have an office or 2, have to go to everything, etc. When you get larger, you're going to have some people that are "just members" and some people are going to look at that as them being less committed or lazy. I don't think that should be a problem if total is 35 though - everyone should be able to be on a committee at least.