Start a Club
Let’s face it – you spend a LOT of time at school! You have your group of friends, your favorite teachers, and your usual spot where you like to eat lunch. You may also have a passion for Africa, and are scratching your head wondering how the two worlds can collide.
Well YOU have the potential to turn your campus upside down and shake things up in the name of Africa! Grab those friends of yours, find your favorite teacher to be your advisor, meet in that favorite lunch spot, and start changing the world one creative idea at a time!
Having a club on campus can truly make an amazing impact. Many students have NO idea what is going on in Africa. This is your chance to begin by sharing the needs and issues surrounding East Africa. Once your friends begin to see the great need, your school can mobilize around creative ideas to help tangibly empower those in East Africa.
Getting Started
Paperwork: To begin, you will want to check out your school’s policy on starting a club. In many cases you will need to fill out paperwork stating the purpose of your club, when you will meet, etc. Check first with your school’s administration office.
Find an Advisor: The best advisor (most likely a teacher or administrator) is someone who also has a huge heart for Africa. Most of the time the club would meet in the advisor’s classroom so make sure you run that by the advisor.
Create Vision: Start by inviting a few of your close friends to help you dream about the goals for the club. Once you choose your club’s mission, you will want to pick a date, time, and room to meet in. Clubs generally meet at lunchtime in their advisor’s room, but pick a day and keep it consistent! Even if it feels small or slow at the beginning, keep at it!
Get the Word Out: Start spreading the word like CRAZY! Be creative - make posters to put around campus, submit information to the school bulletin, ask your teachers if you can make an announcement before class starts, create a club on facebook, email all your classmates! The outlets to share your ideas are endless.
Action Steps
Educate: So your first club is coming up and you’re wondering WHAT the heck you should do. Don’t panic. The best clubs are those that KNOW the issues and as a result grow a massive passion to help bring solutions to the problems. Start your first club by giving an overview of the countries ELI works in. Show an ELI video, have an ELI staff person come in, show pictures and maps…anything to educate on the issues surrounding the area.
Brainstorm and Mobilize: You’ve got a lot of manpower in your club, use it! Begin brainstorming creative ways to get the word out and raise funds for ELI and then do it! Find out the specific skills and passions of the students in the club, and see if you can organize an event around those giftings. If someone is musical, throw a benefit concert. If someone loves to bake, tell them to go home and make a thousand brownies...whatever it takes!
Change for Life: Once you get going in your club, implement ELI’s specific program called Change for Life. The program will help direct your club into directed fundraising ideas, and can potentially get the word out to your entire school. For more information click here.
Be sure to check out the other ways to get involved! Have fun, be creative, and know that your life has so much value and potential to change things for the better!
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed it is the only thing that ever has.” –Margaret Mead