Chapter Activity:
Wrap Up the Academic Year in Style

May or June are the logical months to get as much mileage from your chapter’s hard work and success as you can. Don’t miss this simple opportunity to let your community know what you do, how well you do it, and how it can help you do it even better.

Host a Chapter Award Ceremony
Many chapters hold a ceremony to recognize the students receiving chapter scholarships. Often the ceremonies are held in late May or early June prior to graduation. Here are a few successful suggestions to make your chapter’s award ceremony a special event:

· Invite recipients and their families; invitations are a nice touch and can be generated inexpensively on a computer

· Invite the local press

· Have something special to start the program such as the high school’s chorale or a cappella group perform a brief selection

· Encourage families to take photographs

· Invite sponsors of named scholarships and provide an opportunity for them to meet the students they have sponsored

· Have a casual reception following the event with coffee, punch and cookies

· Include chapter volunteers in the actual presentation of awards

· Give a brief thumbnail sketch of named scholarships awarded in honor of someone, whether living or not

· Invite next of kin to present awards in honor of their loved ones

· Offer award recipients – or even all seniors – tokens of your chapter’s good will and best wishes. Northeast Dollars for Scholars has booklets for graduating seniors and new college students available at little or no cost.

Use Your Local Media
Ask the local newspaper(s) to print a list of your chapter’s award recipients and the postsecondary schools they are attending. Do it in conjunction with publicity around your award ceremony or do it separately.

Begin and end the piece with basic information about your chapter such as how you raised the scholarship money, how many recipients you have this year, and how much money you have awarded. Include key elements of your chapter’s success since its inception – the total amount of money awarded and the total number of recipients.

Recognize Student Volunteers
Many chapters have student members of their board of directors. Be sure to recognize graduating seniors. Do this at a special breakfast or other occasion or at a senior awards night held by the high school. Such recognition can also provide motivation to younger students to volunteer for the chapter with a long-term commitment.

 

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