Hello everyone!

[Christi Mooney]

Hi everyone!  I haven't attended a club leader meeting in a while but wanted to give an update on the South Georgia DIY Club.  We had our first meeting in November, which only had one other family come out.  We planned our first adventure for December, but we didn't have any members show up.  That was pretty disappointing and discouraging, but we plowed ahead anyway.  Our January meeting is scheduled for next Saturday where we will be working on the Chemistry skill.  So far, we have had 11 kids RSVP.  I'm not sure if it was the holidays, or just gathering interest, but if even half of those kids show up, it will be encouraging.  

[Ben Jones]

Hey Christi!

Way to stick with it!!!

We haven't done the chemistry skill with the club (yet), but that was the first skill my son achieved and it was a bunch of fun. 

So, what challenges are you going to be doing?

We had a similar experience for our first meeting. I have some tips for helping with a good turnout. What has really worked well for me is to keep a good stream of communication about the event. Here are some tips:

• Send a note in an email a week before. This is a quick note reminding everyone about the event. This is a good reminder for those who may have not put it in there calendars or if people are bringing stuff for the event.
• Send an email a day or two before. This is a reminder with the exact times and any other pertinent information (i.e. the address of the place we are meeting, contact details, fees for materials, etc.). This is good to send close to the day of the event so they don't have to dig through their inbox to find it.
  
• Use Facebook. Some people don't like Facebook, but I have found that it does help get the word out. I like to post cool things about the skill. So if I practice a challenge before hand, I take a quick pic and post it with a message like 'getting ready for this Saturday'.
• Be quick to respond to questions. I have found being responsive to questions shows people how much effort you are putting into it and they seem to be more willing to make a return effort...like showing up or bringing supplies.
• Create an Eventbrite event. Here's an example. This formalizes the commitment and takes care of sending the email a couple of days before. It may be too much if it is just a group that is meeting at your house, but this has really helped me with turnout. You can also use Evite.

I hope these help you with a good turnout.

Cheers,

Ben Jones

https://diy.org/pdxdiy

[Michele W.]

Great job keeping your chin up and your efforts going as you learn the patterns in your area. 

We have found a couple weeks before and after the new school year begins slow and also a couple weeks before Christmas. We've had events where no one has shown and those hosting the event ended up being the participants. Those were some good times though, bringing the team closer together, and helping us to relax and remember to explore these events ourselves.

We've also had events where those who RSVP'd brought last minute friends and we had drop ins so we ended up with a large group. Depending on the theme, those can keep the hosts hopping and you don't have the same connection that is found within smaller groups.

Sometimes you can't predict what the weather will be, sicknesses going around, and just have to go with the flow.

Have fun with the Chemistry event.

[Christi Mooney]

Success!  We had 11 kids show up and it was a blast.  Everyone seems really eager.  I'm glad this is taking off.  We're in the process of finding a larger area to host meetings.  We also have several members that want to host their own events in between our monthly meetings.  This is really exciting!  

[Michele W.]

Congrats!

[Jennifer Johnson]

Awesome Christi. A neighbor from Alabama here, and we may be starting a club soon. I hope these clubs catch on - my kids have fantasies about there being a regional DIY convention someday. :)