This is a guest post Molly Cleveland, a junior at Noble High School in Maine and the ACE Ambassador for her Action Team, Noble Earthworks.

After a long summer apart it’s definitely a challenge to start up clubs again, but there are several things you can do to make sure the beginning of your school year sets you up for an amazing rest of the year!

#1: Advertise your club:

The more members you have the better! More passion in the club means more capability to do amazing projects.

– Make posters to advertise your clubs goals, meeting dates, and all the fun you are going to have.

– Put announcements on your schools message board or morning/afternoon
announcements, that way every student in your school will hear and know about meeting times and dates.

– Have previous members, teachers, and friends spend the word about your club, word of mouth is the best way to go!

#2: The First Meeting:

The first meeting is vital, the more prepared you are for the first meeting the better.

If you are confident at the first meeting then new club members will feel more confident and will be willing to jump right in a participate. (Note: An overwhelming leader can make members feel as if they have no say, be sure to find the right balance.)

– Introduce who the club is, what you do, past projects, potential projects, goals for the year, etc.

– Play games to get to know one another, the more fun you mix in the better time your members will have!

– Treat new members as if they are guests, the more they feel like you want them there, the more they will want to come back!

– Ask for questions and input, have each member write down or say what they want to see the club achieve that year.

– Talk about the next meeting, always bring up the next meeting at the end of each meeting. That way you know each member there is aware of upcoming meetings and events.

– Have an incentive, bring snacks or prizes to the first meeting, to entice people to either come, or come back!

#3: Plan and Set Goals:

It is important to set goals and plans for the year, that way your club is most likely to stay on track with projects and you will be able to accomplish more.

– Make a list of potential projects that your club can decide upon.

– Set a time frame for each project, step by step with dates to have each step

completed by.

– Research projects that have worked for other schools or organizations and

tweak them to your clubs size, capability, etc.

#4: The follow-Up Email:

After your first meeting it is important to let your members know how much you are glad they came and that you are looking forward to a great year together. This makes the members excited about coming back!

– Use color in the email, a different color for each section of the email. (Seriously!! This works, my members say the only reason they read my emails is because of the colors!)

– Be sure to bold the important dates and other info in your email.

Best of luck to everyone and their clubs this school year! Were making this world greener, one school at a time!

Thanks, Molly! We’re excited to see what Noble Earthworks, and all our Action Teams, do this year in recruiting, leadership training and Us vs. Waste projects.