{"id":4715,"date":"2021-10-22T09:05:46","date_gmt":"2021-10-22T09:05:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sigbi.org\/llandudno2021\/?page_id=4715"},"modified":"2021-10-31T07:55:59","modified_gmt":"2021-10-31T07:55:59","slug":"membership-session-1","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/sigbi.org\/llandudno2021\/friday-sessions-29-october-2021\/membership-session-1\/","title":{"rendered":"Membership Session 1"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Blog by Anubha Ramgopal, SI Pune Metro East<\/strong><\/p>\n

Membership Director of SIGBI Federation, Chevonne Agana<\/em><\/strong> , started this session by welcoming all to the membership session on the first day of the 87th<\/sup> Federation Conference! Her cheerful demeanour and lively voice were infectious, making one look forward to what was to unfold next.<\/p>\n

Though the last year was a tough and challenging one she wanted all to focus on the positive aspects and hoped that members of different SI clubs could take notes and implement the measures taken by some of the clubs to increase their membership in spite of the challenges imposed by the Co Vid 19 pandemic.<\/p>\n

\"\"The first to speak was Kay Turner<\/em>, Regional Membership Officer of South west and Channel Islands.<\/strong> She lauded the efforts of Jane Bridges<\/em>, Club Membership Officer of SI St Austell and District.<\/strong> Jane managed to install nine full members and two link members as well as a transfer in. This was in spite of the pandemic. The tools used by her and her club were social media, communicating with all those who commented on their FB page, having speaker meetings as well as business meetings virtually. She shared with all the \u2018Growth Plan\u2019 her club had adopted since inception which keeps their members focussed on the objectives of the club such as increasing membership, communication, marketing and press and publicity. She spoke of linked membership as an alternative form of membership for those with time constraints. When a full member wanted to resign, Jane offered her \u2018Linked Membership\u2019 which was taken up enthusiastically by the said member. Mentoring was another aspect discussed by Jane, how they ensured that every new member is paired with an experienced member as her mentor. She gave the example of the mother daughter pair of President Nattie and new member her daughter Anna. \u2018Growing Our Brand in the Community\u2019 was another measure Jane spoke about. The Press and Publicity team worked on creating awareness about their club in the community! The club has even made a special mirror compact to mark the Centenary! Last but not the least they have masks made in the Soroptimist colours of blue and white with the name of their club. In conclusion Kay and Jane wanted all to remember the latest SIGBI initiative\u2026\u2019Each one Bring One!\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"Next was Jana Koylass<\/em><\/strong>, membership officer of SI San Fernando<\/strong>. She spoke about \u2018Securing the Future\u2019 by bringing in six new members and managed to get five more potential members. All the new members spoke about how they felt about becoming members of SIGBI. Stephanie Quan Soon said she loved the two sides of being a Soroptimist, serious work and the fun side too. She is the PAC currently and is loving her responsibility. Angela Guerra from Cuba said she is looking forward to be inducted. De Nyssa Christom-Furlonge said that when she attended a business meeting , she liked the mix of ethnicities and ages, the cohesion and mutual respect. Lisa Teewarie Sankar said she was drawn to the club after reading about them on Facebook. She was impressed by the work being done for education of girls and mental health. Seeing her background of accounts she was given a post in the Executive Committee just a month after her induction! Jana said that good use of \u2018Social media, Warm informative introductory Meetings, Early involvement in projects and activities, Early inclusion in the Executive Committee based on Skill and most importantly continuous training and mentoring\u2019 were the tools used by their club.<\/p>\n

SI Wigan<\/strong> did it differently! They had a billboard announcing, \u2018SI WIGAN IS SHOPPED!\u2019 \u2026..for over 12 months! Thank you Wigan Council. <\/strong>\u00a0On the same billboard, was this quote, \u201cAn Equal world is an Enabled world\u201d <\/strong>which was put on a busy roundabout visible for all motorists to see for the duration of an entire year. This visibility was instrumental in getting the club new members! SI Wigan\u2019s takeaway message is, \u2018See what is happening locally and be seen!\u2019 The club\u2019s secret for success is:<\/p>\n

Social Media
\nUniqueness
\nCelebrations
\nCredibility
\nEvolving
\nSimplicity
\nSee and be seen<\/p>\n

SI Wigan also has five Ps <\/strong>to increase Membership: Passion, Principles, Perseverance, Pestering and Planning for Post Pandemic time.<\/p>\n

SI Surrey Hills <\/strong>put up pictures of the work they did in spite of the pandemic such as supporting 700 women and raising 2000 pounds! SI Surrey doubled membership in 2021. New initiatives were undertaken. Virtual meetings, hybrid meetings, 80 strong mailing list with advertised calendar of events,etc helped them to embrace a broader audience. They increased local advertising and their range of projects including parliamentary lobbying, establishing their profile locally by putting up stalls at the Godalming Show and Bramley Village Showcase! New members were welcomed and given lots of attention by the experienced members. They were encouraged to join relevant projects giving them a real sense of purpose! New members Tracey, Mary, Debs, Nansi and Carol shared their reasons for joining. The club shared their proudest moments highlighting the election of their member Ruth Healey as President Elect of a Leading International Volunteer Organisation, a 6000-member organisation in 18 countries!<\/p>\n

SI Surrey Hills shared their 3 main tips with other clubs:<\/p>\n