help needed promoting unity in SK

[SigmaKayRU]

my chapter has been on a letter of challege for the past year, i have been in for a year and have never been to a mixer, date party, social or banquet but have held an exec position for two semesters now. ... as you can see, it's frustrating.

my sisters are all beyond frustrated with not having any social priveleges and not seeing any results when we've worked SO hard to prove ourselves over the past year...

any ideas promoting sisterhood, appreciation, respect and unity would be greatly appreciated!

LISK <3

[_Lisa_]

This is exactly what our RESPΣΚT program is designed to help with. Login under Sisters Only on the national site & you'll find the program under the Publication Library.

[BetteDavisEyes]

I agree with what Lisa said. Just log in and I'm sure you'll find lots of useful information.

[SoCalGirl]

Does letter of challenge mean no social privileges? I know we didn't limit our socials when we got our letter back in the day.

[Aquastar]

Originally Posted by SoCalGirl

Does letter of challenge mean no social privileges? I know we didn't limit our socials when we got our letter back in the day.

Nope, it does not. HOWEVER a letter of challenge can be followed up with a loss of social privileges depending on the offense.



I second/third the RESPΣΚT section on the sisters only site (even though I am not a fan of the insertion of our letters into that word).

[violetpretty]

Has a field consultant been visiting your chapter?

[Aquastar]

PM coming your way ...

Just seems like not something to be filling the boards with. You should log into the Sigma Kappa sister's only section board (is that even still up?)

[BetteDavisEyes]

Originally Posted by Aquastar

PM coming your way ...

Just seems like not something to be filling the boards with. You should log into the Sigma Kappa sister's only section board (is that even still up?)

It's still up but she may not get a response right away. Sometimes it takes a bit.

[Aquastar]

OH!!!!!

Okay, after getting a PM from SigmaKayRU I understand her question better, and I know you ladies can help her out. She is looking for ideas for sisterhood events ... you know, the kind that make you feel warm and fuzzy and remind you why you love your sister :-p You ladies always have great ideas (I've heard tons of them) so get to posting!! (I'll post some soon.)

<3

[SigmaKayRU]

Ladies, you're For Sisters Only suggestions are greatly appreciated, however Aquastar worded my question much better... suggestions would be lovely!

LISK

[_Lisa_]

Originally Posted by SigmaKayRU

Ladies, you're For Sisters Only suggestions are greatly appreciated, however Aquastar worded my question much better... suggestions would be lovely!

LISK

My suggestion is still to follow the program in the Sisters Only section of the web site. It can be a sisterhood retreat or something.

[Drolefille]

Trips to the zoo
Cook outs
Movie/Must See TV nights (I don't know what you kids are watching these days (says the still recent alumna))

[SoCalGirl]

Sisterhood retreats with bonding and team building activities are good but I think most sisterhood is built in smaller groups as opposed to chapter wide mandatory activities.

Alumnae chapters have SIGs (Sigma Interest Groups) where women with similar interests can get together. You could form a couple SIGs for the chapter.

Book Club
Dancing
Dining
Tennis, soccer, other sports. (IM Teams are a great way for the girls to bond on the team. Also, the chapter can come out to cheer them on and it's a great way to get easy PR if the team name includes SK. )
Running/Walking
Gray's Anatomy, any favorite show really.

The SIGs can get together every week or two. Any of their activities would be open to all sisters but nobody would be obligated to attend. Mandatory bonding can be a turn off to some women.

As a chapter sisterhood can be built by going to the school's sporting events. Have an SK tailgate party. Are there any camp grounds with in a reasonable drive? A camping trip in the mountains would be a great way to bond.

Encourage the women to hang out with each other even when doing things they wouldn't normally think to invite someone with them to do. Trips to the store (2AM trips to Ralphs were common when I was in school) or even just an afternoon of doing laundry can give a small group of girls time to learn more about each other.

Something you could try to implement that we did was we had a weekly prize for the sisters that shared the best activity during meeting. The girls would brag about what they did with their sisters and the winners would get a small prized. Candy, pens, small little things. Making sisterhood a competition is a surprisingly effective motivator.

We also had a Violets & Vinegar box. During informal meetings women could put notes in the box that were then read out loud by the Pres or EVP. The notes could be anonymous and were usually "Suzy, you're the best" types messages.

[Aquastar]

We did "flames" (or flamers) after meetings. Chapter members would put notes in a basket and the basket would be passed around and everyone would take one (or two depending how many were left) and read them out loud. They would say congrats on your A in accounting or I'm glad we got to spend time together or You are the greatest little in the world! ... stuff like that.

My chapter also had pockets. They were basically sewn onto a quilt (by a loving alum) and each member decorated a wooden heart pin on the outside. People left keys and phone messages in them, but we also had times where we left notes for each other.

Another option is to have an ongoing competition. You can great the chapter into small groups/teams and have small activities they need to do to earn points. Ex) Take a picture of your entire team on campus in letters; Do something nice for another sister and leave your team's name but not who exactly did it; Deliver flowers/cookies/cards etc. to another sorority chapter as a team; Do some sort of community service together ... you get the idea. New ideas can be sent to the chapter weekly and they can have a point value. The team with the highest points win some sort of prize. Afterwards during an informal chapter meeting and ask people to share their favorite moments as a team and to point out things other teams did that were creative or really nice.

My chapter LOVED LOVED LOVED our yearly game of assassin (a little too much love actually). Everyone had a $0.50 squirt gun and was given a name, once they "assassinated" their member they took that members name. (Logistically the names must be put in a circle member A has B, B has C, C has D, D has E and E has A) Every day there was another way not to get caught. You can't be caught on monday if you are in letters, tuesday if you have a stuffed animal with you, wendesday if you are wearing a tie, stuff like that. You can also pick safe place though our only safe place was in the shower

I know this is long but my last suggestion is a game of pass it on. You find one (or a couple) important objects, say a decorated pillow. Let everyone know that when you have the pillow you are asked to do one nice thing for a chapter member; ask them to get coffee with you and chat, bring them a snack when they are studying, leave them a note saying how much you appreciate them, then you pass the pillow to them asking them to do something for someone else.



I hope these were a little helpful. Jump in everyone else ... I've heard tons of great ideas from you all before!



Edit:
Although I agree wtih the RESPECT program and think its great (and encourage you to look there), there are also other places to seek advice.
There are a ton of ideas at the end of the VPNME handbook (and other handbooks too ... its just the one that I can remember exactly whats in it).