4) Personal Contact: Make one-on-one contact with the people on your lists to remind them about the kick-off meeting and learn about why they are interested in the issues. You can also go to their dorm rooms (if you are at a school with dorms.) or eat lunch with them. Personal contact is more effective than e-mails, but if you don’t have the time, a small reminder is better than nothing.
Kick-Off Meeting
The Kick-Off meeting is the first big event your group will do. It should only take two or three weeks to organize. The goal of the Kick Off meeting is to get people involved with the group and motivated to do something about environmental destruction. It should be fun, interesting, and participatory.
The first step is to take care of logistics. Pick a time when the most people are able to come. Don’t panic! There is no perfect time when every one can come. Try to pick a time and place that can stay the same each week. Set a goal for how many people you want at your meeting (be ambitious). Then reserve a room that you think will be a little too small. When you pack a room it creates an incredible sense of excitement. There is nothing worse than empty chairs at a kick off meeting. Try to find a room with movable chairs so you can sit in a circle.
If it’s possible, get food for your meeting. That will keep everyone in a good mood. Another mood-saver is to start and end roughly on time. You want to convince people that the group is a good use of their time.
