Join the new Shindig Committee!

[Angela Wiley]

Hey SOC,

 

I just had a little convo with Ruby Levine about the brand new Shindig Committee [Shin Com]. Remember that fabulous gathering this summer where we all got energized, [re-]acquainted, did some DANCING and DRUMMING in the kitchen?? Well, folks had to plan that! This is your chance to be part of that planning process -- there is a form in the e-mail below if you are interested in signing up to be part of the planning committee for this years Shindig! I encourage you to sign up if you are interested, and e-mail Ruby or me if you have any questions!

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Ruby Says:

Hello, SSC!

The Executive Committee has recently approved a proposal to make the committee that plans Shindig into an official, year-round committee instead of an intermittent working group. (Not sure what Shindig is? Scroll down to where it says "What is Shindig?") Here's the mission statement that the new Shindig Committee will be moving forward with:

ShinCom will be charged with planning for a 5-7 day organizational gathering in the summer of 2010.  Shindig is a key opportunity for SSC leaders to plan for the year ahead.  Responsibilities include:

• Working with the Fundraising Committee to secure funds for food, site costs, and travel stipends.
• Coordinating with ExCom, committee chairs, and staff to create goals and an agenda for Shindig.
• Organizing the logistics of travel, lodging, food, and programming.

This mission statement will be expanded on by the members of the committee and we will work together with other committees (particularly the Executive Committee) to decide on the exact details of what ShinCom will be responsible for.

Ready to sign up? Awesome! Fill out this little form here (it shouldn't take more than 10 minutes, max) and you're on your way to ShinCom membership.

Still need some convincing? Completely confused as to what I'm talking about? Check out these questions:

What is Shindig? Shindig is the national leadership gathering of the Sierra Student Coalition. It's a great opportunity for SSCers, new and old, from all around the country (and the world, for that matter) to come together to plan for the next year, join committees, and build community with all the other awesome people there. Shindig has been in August in the past, although the dates for this summer are yet to be decided.

What does ShinCom do? The members of the committee will decide precisely what tasks we're going to take on, but tasks will likely include:

• Funding
  
• Devising and implementing a fundraising strategy to cover the costs of Shindig
• Writing a budget
  
• Allocating travel stipends
• Goals and agenda
  
• Articulating the goals of Shindig in collaboration with ExCom
  
• Reviewing feedback on past Shindigs and gathering input from other members of the SSC to design a kick-ass agenda for the actual event
  
• Crafting a final agenda that meets all of our stated goals, works as a cohesive whole, and meets the needs of all members of the SSC
• Planning fun team-building activities to do during Shindig
• Logistics
  
• Researching and selecting a site at which to host the event
• Choosing and inviting speakers and non-SSC people to run workshops or facilitate conversations
• Organizing an awards banquet to honor SSCers and allies of the SSC as part of Shindig
  
• Running day-to-day logistics and making sure the agenda is being followed (or effectively amended) during Shindig
• Gathering feedback following the event and effectively capturing the lessons we learn to make next year's Shindig even better

And those ideas only go through a little bit past Shindig. As a member of the committee, you can help decide what we will do in the fall. We could help plan other SSC events like Winter Gathering (similar to Shindig, but smaller and in the winter). We could write guides for planning this kind of event. There has never been a ShinCom during the fall before, so it's up to us to collectively figure out what we want to do and how we can best further the goals of the SSC.

So you are probably falling over yourself trying to sign up at this point, since all that stuff sounds like so much fun. I'll put the link to the sign up form again so you don't have to waste time scrolling before you get to join ShinCom.

Who are you? Hi! I'm Ruby Levine. I'm originally from Vermont and I go to school at Macalester College in Saint Paul, Minnesota. I've been on the Shindig Committee for the last two years and went to Illinois Sprog in 2009. I wrote the proposal to make ShinCom into a full committee and am planning to chair it. If anyone else is really excited about taking a lead on ShinCom, there is most definitely room for a co-chair. I am super excited about working with all of you who are going to make ShinCom great!

Much love to all of you,

Ruby Levine
Chair, Shindig Committee

--
Angela Wiley
ang...@ssc.org
304.290.9173