Part III - Running the First Meeting

Introductions

Spend some time to allow people to introduce themselves and to explain why they are interested in child survival issues. Break the ice! Really take the effort to remember as many names as you can and write them down if that helps.

Explain SCCS

Introduce SCCS and explain why child survival is an important issue that needs attention. Specific statistics or facts will not communicate as well as your personal level of passion and commitment. Convince people that they will be able to make a difference and that they are part of something great and inspiring. Make clear that even though the group is a chapter of SCCS, the members of the chapter must decide together the purpose and the meaning of the chapter. The national campaign structure exists to support and guide each chapter, not to define them.

You may therefore wish to allocate some time for the group to discuss a more specific platform it wants to adopt. Allow students to ask questions and promote discussion by asking questions yourself. This can take a lot of time so you may have to come back to the issue in the next meeting. The online sample PowerPoint presentation will help you discuss SCCS.

Plan out Action

Go into your meeting with an explanation of the role the SCCS will play on your campus. Have a list of workable actions that your group can begin right away. Consult our Action Calendar at (the current address of our action calendar). Ask students attending the meeting what type of specific action they would be interested in and plan out the appropriate plans to accomplish it. Possible actions include:

Planning a speaker on your campus about child survival or humanitarian assistance

Writing an op-ed for the school paper

Getting your congressmen to become a leader on child survival issues

Writing letters to Congressmen about the issue and setting up tables to encourage other students to do it too

Doing research on the political views and stances of your Congressmen

Adopting a project in a developing country and planning ways for fundraising

Every person should take part in determining the next step the group takes. If people feel involved in deciding the future course of action, they will participate more enthusiastically. Form committees for specific tasks. They could be in charge of doing the preliminary work for the meeting, setting up the agenda, or executing specific actions that the group has agreed to do. It is essential for everyone to have ownership of the group and its activities. Set out the date for the next meeting and finish by thanking everyone for participating.

Everyone should leave the first meeting with a good understanding of what the group's purpose is, how they will fit into the group, and what plan of action the group has adopted.

Evaluation

Congratulate yourself for organizing the meeting. It is certainly no easy task. With your core group of members, discuss what went well and what did not. Make sure your next meeting is even better. Send out a group email summarizing what happened and what course of action people have agreed to follow.

Ideas? Need help? Contact our National Organizer by e-mail here.

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