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NRL News
College
Pro-Lifers Should Take a Break from Summer Break to No time of year is more anticipated by students than summer break. Beyond the stress of the finals week immediately preceding it, the nine months or so of balancing schoolwork, jobs, extracurricular activities, and everything else that goes along with life for students take their toll. While this summer is a wonderful time to unwind and recharge after a busy school year, it is also the perfect time to prepare for next year’s pro-life successes by getting a head start on planning your Students for Life group’s activities, outreach and recruitment programs, and educational efforts. In other words, regardless of where pro-life college students spend their summer or what they are doing, they should set aside some time to plan for their Students for Life club’s activities for the 2007–08 academic year. Granted, the last thing you may want to think about right now is more work or a new “To Do” list. So it needn’t be lengthy, but it will be critical to getting your club’s year kicked off right and put you on the right track for a successful year of advocacy, service, and education for the unborn and other vulnerable innocent persons. Summertime will provide you with the undivided attention of many campus personnel who won’t have the “traffic” of student requests they normally manage during the academic year. Coming This Fall Most universities host a club fair during the first week of school to introduce all new students to the activities and programs available for their involvement. This will be the single most useful and visible opportunity you will have to develop your membership and introduce your club to the student body. Plan appropriately to have a table that is staffed, attractive, and informative. Your members should be contacted sooner rather than later to sign up to staff the table so that they do not commit to other clubs and activities on that day. Also, if there is time, hold a training/social function before the club fair to remind the volunteers of key facts about the issues and any updates and brief them on planned activities and meeting dates. Make it fun to re-acquaint each member and generate enthusiasm for the club’s programs. Also, stress that the purpose of the table is to recruit new members, not to debate students or faculty who disagree with our mission. At the table, be sure to have a sign-up sheet and to hand out fliers with details of the first meeting. If you can afford it, have food at the first meeting and advertise that too. We all know how free food is a draw for starving students. Petitions make excellent sign-up sheets and are a good way of identifying whether pro-life students are registered to vote. Invite people over to sign the current National Right to Life petition urging the Republican Party to nominate a pro-life candidate for President, help them to register to vote if they aren’t already, and be sure to collect their e-mail addresses as well. Stress that they will only be contacted for official club business and pro-life action alerts. Plan to hold the first meeting within a week of the fair so that it is fresh in people’s minds and happens prior to other clubs’ activities that may also attract your prospective members’ attention and volunteerism. The sooner you set the date, the better chance you have of using prime meeting space on campus. If you are able to have the highlights of the upcoming year already scheduled, pass that information out as well. Students should be planning as early as possible to attend the National Right to Life Convention, as well as clearing their calendars for the big events your group undertakes. It’ll take some work, but we encourage you to produce a health services pamphlet. Research the health benefits, housing options, parking spaces, insurance coverage, etc., that your school offers to pregnant women (if they aren’t good—lobby to improve them). Use this information to create a “You’ve Got Options” tri-fold pamphlet custom-built for your school health offices. Include fetal development information, the benefits your school offers, and, of course, contact information for your group and the pro-life pregnancy assistance centers in your area. This way, girls in a crisis won’t only be given information that points them straight to an abortion clinic. Be sure to distribute these brochures at your information tables, campus health centers, and to Resident Assistants in the dorms. Lastly, Summer Break is a great time to do an all-important, and sometimes very consuming, chore—fundraising letters and meetings. Pro-life alumni and friends of the university will undoubtedly by encouraged by the courage your Students for Life club demonstrates just by being an active college chapter. They will most certainly be impressed when you share your accomplishments and agenda with them. The National College Students for Life Starter Manual has ideas for identifying and approaching potential donors for your club. Student groups can receive a complimentary copy of the manual by e-mailing students@nrlc.org. |