Sisterhood Workshop

[BritniMSB]

I am an alum of Gamma Phi that tries to stay actively involved with my chapter. Recently, I have noticed an incredible decrese in respect and sisterhood among the active members. I know a lot of this is due to the lack of instilled values, but they need to get back to where they were a few years back.

So, I am wondering, does anyone have any suggestions for a sisterhood workshop? A guest speaker, an activity, a retreat...anything?

Something that's really going to work.

[ZeePhiBee4Me]

it genuinely sucks to have to make people get along...

a few ideas that struck me are: camping. im talking real camping with super-involved hiking and sleeping on the ground. nothing bonds people faster than bitching and moaning about how miserable they all are together.

a buddy system. get an involved person with a non-involved person and make them do something together.

how involved are your chapter meetings? make them ULTRA one on one.

one of the best i can think of is make sure you go to activities that have other GLO's there. One look at those other super tightknit girls in their matching tshirts should snap them back into reality. i did this at a charity walk. aaaaalllll the other girls were hugged up and dressed alike, and as soon as we got there it was like, oh nuh-uh, we are so much better than them. and by the time we left...everything was back to normal

guest speakers can work, if you find a really good one.

good luck, hope this works some...

[LPIDelta]

Do a values contract workshop--split the group into values teams, with a mix of ages in each group. Assign them a value that is important to your organization (ie sisterhood, friendship, loyalty etc.) and ask the groups to come up with 5-10 charges/statements. Example: Because we are Gamma Phi and we value sisterhood, we will not engage in activities which degrade out members etc. Put each team's list into one contract. Use this to get the conversation going about what is important to the group, to talk about what makes their sorority experience meaningful and then make sure everyone receives (and possibly signs) the values contract written that day.

The other thing I have used with some success is having each sister explain briefly why they are there and what they want to get out of their sorority experience. Often just realizing what the expectations or needs are helps to focus the group and help them get along better.

[FSUZeta]

a simple activity is to have a candle pass. each sister may say one negative thing about the chapter but MUST follow it up with a positive statement. you can set a time limit for each speaker.

[Buttonz]

Originally Posted by FSUZeta

a simple activity is to have a candle pass. each sister may say one negative thing about the chapter but MUST follow it up with a positive statement. you can set a time limit for each speaker.

To go along on this you set guidelines before:

Be honest, but don't attack anyone.
Say both positive and negative things, get out how you really feel
No talking unless your the one with the candle.
All cell phones off
Whatever is said stays in the room
etc

Make sure you have a box of tissues per sister. Trust me, even the ones who don't think they will need them...they are the ones who reach for them first.

Make sure everyone gets at least one chance to speak, and if they feel that they have more to say, let them.

[sageofages]

Originally Posted by BritniMSB

I am an alum of Gamma Phi that tries to stay actively involved with my chapter. Recently, I have noticed an incredible decrese in respect and sisterhood among the active members. I know a lot of this is due to the lack of instilled values, but they need to get back to where they were a few years back.

So, I am wondering, does anyone have any suggestions for a sisterhood workshop? A guest speaker, an activity, a retreat...anything?

Something that's really going to work.

Actually Phi Mu has a terrific program called "Journey of a Woman" that is wonderful. It covers many aspects of sisterhood life and growing as women. Our alumnae chapter has used parts for many things. It is really really a wonderful framework of ideas.

I am sure that parts of it would be applicable to Gamma Phi. Contact our HQ (www.phimu.org) about it and see if you can a copy of it. (probably purchase).

[RHITDeltaGal]

My sisters recently had this problem as well. People wouldn't show up for events and had a generally negative attitude toward being around one another. One girl had the idea to draw another sister's name out of a hat and do something with that sister. Whether it was grab a quick lunch or take a walk in the park, you would really learn about one another and why you share the same letters. Luckily, things got better before we really had to enforce anything like this, but it wasn't easy.

Good Luck!

[AKA_Monet]

My sorority is overall structurally different. However, we still share a "sisterliness" and sisterhood.

For my Sorority, we may fight like cats. But in the end, we have to come together for greater tasks to begin...

In my chapter, an elder 50+ year member stated, "You relish the good times, and endure the bad"...

What I find that works when there's disillusion, is going back to your documents of why your sorority was founded. Then, if you have a philathropy, you need to gear major activities toward organizing the philathropy. Another way to build sisterhood is through community service. You all can either be the ones to initiate it, or you all can have a judge do the same.

Retreats, camping and conflict resolutions, yes, all those can happen, but it will not happen until leadership realizes the commitment made to your sorority...

[AGDee]

I did an activity with one chapter that was called A Letter to My Sisters. The chapter was divided up into groups of 4 and each group had the task of writing a letter to their sisters telling them why they were appreciative of their sisters. Each group read their letter out loud. The women wrote beautifully poignant letters and the whole room was in tears (happy, sentimental type tears) when the letters were being read. It was really effective in bringing them together just before recruitment.

[tanzera]

I love this idea!

[33girl]

Might have posted on here about this before, but the best activity we ever did like this involved making a paper chain. Everyone sat in a circle and each sister got a strip of paper. When it was their turn everyone said what made them a strong link in the chapter and what made them a weak link- what you were proud of and what you wanted to improve on. As you spoke, you stapled your link onto the chain. At the end we had a big circle showing that even with all our faults, our sisterhood encompasses all of us and is unbreakable. it was very emotional.

[cuteASAbug]

Originally Posted by 33girl

Might have posted on here about this before, but the best activity we ever did like this involved making a paper chain. Everyone sat in a circle and each sister got a strip of paper. When it was their turn everyone said what made them a strong link in the chapter and what made them a weak link- what you were proud of and what you wanted to improve on. As you spoke, you stapled your link onto the chain. At the end we had a big circle showing that even with all our faults, our sisterhood encompasses all of us and is unbreakable. it was very emotional.

That sounds so cool!

[AlphaFrog]

Originally Posted by BritniMSB

I am an alum of Gamma Phi that tries to stay actively involved with my chapter. Recently, I have noticed an incredible decrese in respect and sisterhood among the active members. I know a lot of this is due to the lack of instilled values, but they need to get back to where they were a few years back.

I obviously don't know the dynamics of your chapter, but honestly, how are they going to take an alum saying "Y'all need to do this or that to get your sisterhood back because we were so much better a few years back when I was in the chapter". I'm not saying that you're going to put it that way, but that's probably what they're going to hear no matter how you phrase it.

[honeychile]

Originally Posted by AKA_Monet

In my chapter, an elder 50+ year member stated, "You relish the good times, and endure the bad"...

I got chills when I read that! What a wonderful sister!

[SWTXBelle]

I've had a great deal of success with a retreat. We've gone to my grandmother's beach house, a college retreat (campground with cabins), but any place AWAY will do.
Bring in some speakers who are not involved with the chapter and thus have no "baggage". It would be great if it were a Gamma Phi (and I'm available!) but any committed alum will do. Have her speak about the importance of not getting bogged down in the day-to-day problems - about focusing on the larger picture. If everyone rededicates themselves to not just saying but living our creed then the group dynamic will change.
One exercise that we used was to "map" the chapters strengths and weaknesses (I discussed this in another thread). A perfect chapter would be a circle - all the points would be on the outside of the circle. Plot the location of various aspects of the chapter on a scale of 1 - 10. So, if sisterhood is a 5, the dot would be half-way from the center. If grades were a 10, the dot would be on the perimeter of the circle.

The paper chain idea is great, as is the candle pass- and getting the sisters to bring favorite pictures or videos of past events is a great way to draw everyone together.

Get everyone to gather their favorite sisterhood poems, songs, etc., to share and make a "sisterhood book". You might have everyone submit the material beforehand and get it typed up and bound at Kinko's or the like to pass out for a fireside. Have sisters read their contributions.

HTH -