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PARENT'S GUIDE: What about future meetings and activities? Be sure to communicate clearly with your membership. Ask from time to time whether members want to change the meeting place or time. Also ask about issues of concern to your members and for their ideas for speakers or topics of discussion. Encourage members to share their opinions and ideas, and to ask for information when they are in doubt about whatever is being discussed. Remember to debate the issues, not the persons who present them. As your group becomes more established, there may be other questions to consider. Many possible questions are listed below. Although not all will be relevant to your group, this list may help the group decide upon future activities or directions.
Don't confuse interest or effectiveness with numbers. Some topics only attract a small audience, but they may be of great interest and importance to those people. In general, more people will say they can attend than actually get there; there are many difficulties that may prevent people from attending, including childcare, illness, transportation, schedule conflicts, weather, or just plain exhaustion. Large attendance is not the key to success. However, if attendance is regularly lower than the membership, there are several explanations. Some people join groups for reasons other than attending all the meetings. They may join to receive a newsletter, to be a part of a group that is working for the benefit of their child, or to attend only one or two meetings of special interest, or they may simply not have the energy to go back out at night even though they are impressed with the mission and work of the group. You also should be careful to avoid scheduling meetings at busy times; consider experimenting with a variety of times and days, interspersing informational meetings with more social gatherings, and regularly surveying your membership for suggestions on meeting times, locations, and topics. How do we keep up interest? A group is made up of members who may have distinct ideas of what's interesting, needed, or convenient. Be sure to keep communications open, and try to elicit ideas and participation from all members. A group managed entirely by a few members, runs the risk of not only overworking their leaders but also having no pool of upcoming leaders to carry on the work. Next year's success or even the continuation of your group will depend upon identifying new leaders and new volunteers and upon maintaining a sense of interest and commitment. To keep your leaders from burning out, and to provide opportunities for new leadership, you may want to:
Many people cannot commit themselves to one more activity, but will certainly help out for an hour or two. It is also useful to discuss your mission every year, and redirect it, if necessary. Schools change, communities change, your membership may change, and children are certainly always changing. What is important one year may not be a burning issue next year. Examining the mission of your group can play a critical role in assessing your successes, learning from your mistakes, identifying new goals and needs, redirecting your efforts, and maintaining and renewing members' interest in the group. Some groups may form to address a specific goal, such as providing an accessible playground or establishing an information center. When this goal is accomplished, the group may choose to disband. That's okay, too. Be sure to let NICHCY know about your group, so we can be part of the same network. Put us on your mailing list, and we will add your name to ours.
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