Organizational Fairs!

For many of you, Organizational Week/Fair was about a month ago, so I know this is coming in a little late.  I apologize for the delay!Regardless of this, however, there have been a few responses to my request for Org Fair experiences at different campuses around our region, and I feel I need to share some of the good things that we have going on.At Lewis, we had our Org Fair during the second week of classes, and since we're still a new group, we used every possible means we could to gain members and spread the word of our presence on campus.  We not only had a sign up sheet on our table along with various pamphlets and handouts, but we also took turns actually walking around campus clipboarding at the same time.In the end, we gained about 40-45 more names on our email list, and from that list we nearly doubled our active membership, and welcomed several new freshmen to our meetings as well.Matt, a student at the Illinois Institute of Technology, told us of how their group not only had pamphlets, fliers, and pictures from rallies and from service events, but also had a laptop set up displaying a slideshow of the different stages of fetal development.  The feedback seemed to be positive as a whole, "We didn't really receive any negative reactions from those attending the student org fair," Matt said, "We got a few strange looks and some people that only stopped by for the candy, but we had a lot of good conversations and no one was rude. We presented a very friendly and peaceful display which was received well."He also gave some advice as to how they presented their group to interested students, many of which look for service opportunities when looking to join different groups on campus.  "When we talked with people we stressed the service portion of our work, side-walk counseling and fund-raising for women's centers."Lisa, from Loyola University, also had notes from this year's Org Fair.  She mentioned the success her group had in pushing for members interested in many various life issues. "We had many students sign up, and I think what made it so successful was that we seemed fun and not so serious.  The fact that we are a multi-issue group seemed to attract a lot of members."  They also created a handout of all the different events the group is planning to do this year.  "The March for Life was a huge seller!" she said.If any other groups would like to submit their Org Fair experiences, or would like to share ideas on other events they are planning, you can reach me at guestgr@lewisu.eduI also look foward to seeing you all at our upcoming statewide conference THE TIME IS NOW! See "Conference Registration" link above for details.