Parents’ Clubs
Parents and family members can be wonderful resources for our collegiate chapters. Parents’ Clubs can lend both physical and monetary support to the chapter through workdays, social events, service projects, and fundraising activities.
Parents’ Club activities will vary greatly from one chapter to another. Parents’ Clubs offer many benefits, but chapters and parents should remember that clubs are optional organizations. No chapter or parent is required to start or be a member of a Parents’ Club.
Getting Involved in and Establishing a Parents’ Club
1. Contact the chapter president about the existence of a Parents’ Club to learn how to get involved.
2. Communicate with your son or daughter’s chapter to determine what support a Parents’ Club can offer.
3. If the chapter does not currently have a Parents’ Club, contact the chapter president and have him/her send you a list of members and their parents’ names, addresses, phone numbers, and e-mails.
4. Elect officers. If you only have five or six in-town parents, they may be the natural choice to hold an office.
5. Establish the amount of your dues. Some clubs charge a set amount (around $25 annually for example) and charge out-of-town parents an additional amount (perhaps $10 for a total of $35) since they are unable to contribute in the areas of time and effort.
6. Determine your focus for the year and establish a means of communicating it to the other parents.
Potential Parents’ Club Activities
Parents’ Club activities should be directed toward the benefit of chapter members. Needs are best filled through joint discussions with the chapter, House Corporation, and Chapter Advisory Board.
Suggestions include:
1. Providing meals to chapter members during recruitment or rush events
2. Providing raffle items for members to receive at chapter meetings
3. Decorating the chapter house for the holidays
4. Delivering goodie bags for exam week
5. Holding a silent auction fund-raiser during Family Weekend
6. Participating in educational programming (provide guest speakers on alcohol awareness, financial management, networking and business etiquette, etc.)
7. Giving a farewell party and/or gift for graduating seniors
8. Providing incentives and rewards for scholastic achievement
9. Designing a party for new members and their families to introduce them to the chapter
10. Hosting a pre-game meal or event for parents and collegians before a major sporting event
11. Providing support and/or assistance during philanthropy events
12. Coordinate a service project with the Parents’ Club and collegians
Thank you to Kappa Delta Sorority, Tau Kappa Epsilon Fraternity, and Alpha Chi Omega Fraternity Headquarters for information on organizing Parents’ Clubs.
For additional references, visit:
Kappa Delta Parents’ Club Guide: http://www.kappadelta.org/media/PDF/ParentsClubGuide.pdf
Tau Kappa Epsilon Parents’ Club Guide: http://www.tke.org/parents/association.pdf