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I created an Environmental Club at my school junior year but I became very busy so after the first meeting, it died. So I'm trying to get it going again senior year and make sure it's successful. I am pretty passionate about doing it, it's just that I was so damn busy I never got around to calling all the members and setting up meetings. How can I re-create this and make sure that colleges know I'm still passionate about it?

By Serene (Serene) on Wednesday, June 25, 2003 - 11:31 am: Edit

I dunno. Unless you write about it in one of your essays. Otherwise it'd look like "Founder of Environmental Club" and that's about it.

By Bobbyh (Bobbyh) on Thursday, June 26, 2003 - 10:56 am: Edit

anyone else?

By Me1 (Me1) on Thursday, June 26, 2003 - 10:09 pm: Edit

Find a good vice-pres & maybe a secretary & treasurer who can help u. Make sure u pick ppl who will do a good job as opposed to just your friends (unless they have more time than u do).

By Bobbyh (Bobbyh) on Friday, June 27, 2003 - 09:51 am: Edit

thx, anyone else?

By Bobbyh (Bobbyh) on Friday, June 27, 2003 - 08:53 pm: Edit

bump

By Smiley (Smiley) on Saturday, June 28, 2003 - 04:26 am: Edit

Hi Bobby! You might want to try hanging posters or making a few announcements to get members for your new club. Make them a bit different and fun.

In my school, most clubs have some sort of faculty advisor. Perhaps you want to think of inviting a teacher who shares your interest... certainly not to take over the leadership... just to help things run smoothly and to help you guys have a better chance of getting funds from the school board.

Calling each person every time you want to have a meeting is probably not the most efficient way to meet. Instead, try appointing a regular date/time each day and hanging a notice reminding people on that day (or, if everyone in your club has e-mail, dashing off a quick note).

If you make your first meeting really great, you'll be more likely to have people want to stay with the club and attend future meetings. Most people are sick of sitting in classrooms all day for classes and for other club meetings. How about meeting in a park that is soon to be turned into a parking lot? Or perhaps you could eat near a polluted lake where you could show the environmental problems that exist right in your area? Also, this sounds really dumb, but I'd recommend bringing some sort of food. When I brought pizzas and sodas to the first meeting of a project committee I was forming, it made everyone feel welcome and broke the ice a bit. Depending upon what time of the day you're meeting, you might bring cookies or pizza or whatever...

You probably want to leave your first meeting with a pretty good idea of what you'd like your club to do... are you going to write advocacy letters to local lawmakers? Are you going to work to clean up dirty areas? Are you going to study the problems in your area and formulate possible solutions?

If you convey your passion, your enthusiasm will be contageous! Good luck!