Chapter Ideas

Spring to Action:

Top Ideas from Chapters Around the Country

By Holly Miller, NRLC Field Coordinator

Most of us on the East Coast are still digging ourselves out from the snow, so it seems premature to be talking about spring activities and Mother's Day. But that wonderful day is in the not-too-distant future for chapters planning to mark it in a pro-life way. And since January 22 is now nearly two months ago, our "cool down" period is complete and it's time to gear up for the next event.

Listed below are some activities that our chapters throughout the country are planning to celebrate and promote life this spring. No one is suggesting that you can't come up with new and creative ideas on your own, but it is also not necessary to reinvent the wheel: if you choose one of the following, just let me know if you need more information to pull it off in time!

The two tried-and-true chapter activities this time of year are Mother's Day Rose or Carnation Sales and Signature Ads. Both are excellent ways to thank mothers for the gift of life and both serve diverse, but important, functions for the chapter.

A Rose Sale provides a way for people to thank their mothers and help a good cause by raising money for your chapter. By selling roses outside pro-life churches and other appropriate places on Mother's Day, people can either be spontaneous or cover their lapses by buying their moms last-minute flowers.

A Signature Ad lists the names of hundreds or thousands of pro-life citizens and its primary purpose and effect is to show the magnitude of pro-life support in the community. People can give their mothers a unique Mother's Day gift by thanking their moms in print in the local newspaper. One of the newest and most popular fundraising projects for chapters has been "Baby Bottle Drives" and Mother's Day is an ideal occasion to perform one. Buy several hundred baby bottles and encourage the families in pro-life churches to take them home for a month and fill them with spare change.

They return them to you on a set date and you rotate the bottles to the members of another pro-life church. Several chapters from different parts of the country have reported that they have raised upwards of $5,000 and as much as $12,000 with "Operation Baby Bottle"!

Benton County Right to Life (Arkansas) hosts a "Spring to Life" concert to raise money for billboards. They invite Christian recording artists to perform. Each year, the act and the crowds grow bigger!

A twist on this idea would be to have a contest between local church choirs and bands. The musicians participate for the chance of being crowned your area's "best gospel choir" or "best praise band." And the members of those churches attend to cheer on their own choirs. It's a great way to acquaint area churchgoers with your right-to-life chapter, it's fun, and it's a good way to raise some money for projects and educational materials.

If these sound daunting, host a BBQ or picnic. It's important to show the community that pro-lifers are family people and not "all work and no play." Picnics are fun events for people that are pro-life to come together and get to know each other on a personal level. Don't underestimate the importance of fun and fellowship in the growth and overall effectiveness of your chapter.

Hosting a softball or volleyball tournament in conjunction with or separately from the picnic is a good draw for young people or husbands, who may traditionally only do the manual labor for the chapter. Competition is a wonderful tool to involve men and teens, and after they've had a good time, they'll be more open to getting involved in future chapter activities.

Spring is a time of renewal and fresh starts. We need your energy now for the growth of your chapter and the movement as a whole. Take this opportunity to plan a fun-filled (and even fund-filled) event so that the work of your right-to-life chapter and the cause of the unborn can be advanced.

Please call me at (202) 626-8809 or e-mail me at chapters@ nrlc.org with questions, comments, and ideas and for more information on any projects.