Indiana District Kiwanis Governor-Elect Bruce Andrews was the featured speaker at the Cicero Kiwanis Club meeting this past Saturday.
Andrews, a well-respected servant leader with the Kiwanis Club of Warsaw, shared tools, tips, and his unwavering enthusiasm for growing Kiwanis clubs around the state. Using the Kiwanis International initiative Two for Two,” club members can reach out to others month by month, person to person to increase membership. The program suggests seeking ways to involve lapsed members and considering what type of members the club needs – experts, motivators, creatives, techies, workhorses, or connectors, for example. With needs in mind, the club sets goals each month: Make meeting prospects fun; make club growth manageable; and, make recruitment a continuous operation. Two for Two emphasizes two members reach two prospects and bring in one new member.
When reaching out to a prospect, Andrews encouraged having a one-minute informtional speech about the Kiwanis club, being able to highlight the club in an informative and brief summary. To help prepare that nugget, he suggested answering these questions:
- Why my club?
- What’s our community impact?
- How do we make an impact?
He also suggested handing out Kiwanis “business cards” that display impact statistics (e.g., number of children helped during the club’s history, money raised for specific needs, hours tallied for certain service projects). Specific statistics empower the message. He also pointed out that it’s important to remember that recruiting isn’t just about activities. People don’t join groups, he said – “People join people.”
The Cicero Kiwanis Club will hold a New Member Open House on Saturday, May 14 at Red Bridge Park Community Building in Cicero. For more information and/or to attend the event, email cicerokiwanis@gmail.com. You can follow the club on Facebook @CiceroKiwanis.
Click here to learn more about the Indiana District of Kiwanis and role and function of Kiwanis clubs.