You can watch this video to help prepare for your year!
- Executive Board Meetings
- This is for the officers only.
- Held at least twice a semester, once before the first general meeting to make the upcoming agenda, and at the end to review and see how it can be altered in the future.
- Keys to a successful meeting
- To get started, watch the SFLA “How to Run Effective Meetings” video.
- You should have a group meeting at least twice a month. Pick a day, time, and place and make that a reoccurring event.
- Use Icebreakers to get to know everyone, and to let everyone have a chance to speak. Keep them short and fun.
- Make sure you pass out the goals/mission of your group. This is important to keep everyone on the same page and to keep striving towards a set of goals.
- Allow the club members to brainstorm ideas. Come to the meeting with a list of suggested events for the semester that the officers already made up and let members give their suggestions and comments.
- Keep meetings to an hour or less.
- Always come to the meeting with an agenda to pass out to members.
- Prepare a calendar of the semester’s meetings and events and make sure that every member receives this calendar. Remember to keep the calendar flexible, but after a few suggestions, the calendar should be set by the meeting’s end. It is ideal to set your calender for the next semester at the end of the semester prior for budgeting and planning purposes. However with new groups, your calender should be set as soon as possible.
- Also, have sign-in sheets at your meetings so you can contact people later.
- Delegate responsibilities for the semester and form committees to assign tasks. It is key to have people involved in order to keep them as a part of your group.
- Give members tasks that reflect their abilities and interests. For example, if a member is a journalism major, then ask him or her to start a pro-life publication or to be the press secretary for the group.
- See the How to Run Effective Meetings Guide.
- Make meetings interesting! Have someone talk about a current issue or hot topic that will help educate your group members. Some ideas are:
- Pro-life 101 – The basics
- How to talk to a friend who’s facing an unexpected pregnancy.
- Post abortion counseling
- Post abortive testimony- If you know of a willing woman who has been through the pain, have her speak
- Legislation and elections
- Cloning and Stem-Cell Research
- Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide
- Common pro-choice questions and pro-life answers
- What exactly is an abortion? Talk about types and perhaps show a video, such as the Silent Scream or Harder Truth
- How to Sidewalk Counsel
- Have snacks at your meeting
- Try to talk individually with each new person that attends. This will encourage them to attend future meetings.
- Hold special events for club members to encourage friendships within the club. (This will help develop more active members.)
- Have a movie presentation in one of the dorms or at your cinema – For Keeps, Life is Beautiful, It’s a Wonderful Life, Cider House Rules… and have a discussion following it.
- Have friend nights where members are asked to bring their friends to learn about the club, enjoy snacks, and play games or watch a movie.
- Go on an outing with club members to volunteer or just hang out.
Know your legal rights, see the memo from the Alliance Defense Fund
For more information, see the SFLA Activism Workbook.
If interested, check out the How to Start a Statewide Students for Life Group Guide.