Passing The Torch

Are you looking to pass the torch of your DoSomething.org Club leadership? Are you worried that your club might fall apart when you leave? Don’t worry, here are some ways to help you lay a good foundation for a long-lasting club. (And congratulations! We know you’re going to be moving on to more great things after this year!)

• Draft a statement of purpose. Make it flexible and open for change by future members. This will help your members remember why you started this club in the first place. What are the issues that your club is passionate about? What do you want to change in the world, for you, your friends, your neighbors? Writing it down can help your members stay motivated.

• Make sure that underclassmen are set in leadership positions before and after you leave. Seniors can still be leaders, but you should actively encourage the younger students to run for positions and get more involved.

• Make sure that the younger members start developing the skills to run the club. Give them more responsibilities during the year, like making flyers, recruiting members, and facilitating meetings.

• Have a skill-share session. By giving the underclassmen responsibilities, you’ll see which skills they have and which they don’t. Set aside times where people can teach other skills.

• Try out a new timeline. For example, hold elections in December, so officers stay in place during the calendar year instead of the school year. That way seniors are still around for a semester to give new officers advice and help them ease into their leadership roles.

• Take care of as much necessary stuff as you can before you leave. For example, if your club has to reserve space, get an advisor, and create a budget by the end of the school year in order to stay active for the following school year, you and other seniors can take charge of those details (while also bringing on a few underclassmen to help.)
• Have newly elected/selected officers run a meeting. This will let them get used to leading while you and other experienced officers are available to assist.
• Share past materials. This may include past agendas, to-do lists, and any other materials that would be helpful for the next leadership team. You might even want to consider writing an official Guide for the next individual in your position or general team, complete with information on how to run things that they might not know about and tips that you have for them.