| By Ashley Chen |
Starting a club is a hefty dedication, but it comes with many benefits, and it’s entirely worth it, seeing all the passionate peers surrounding you, interested in the same topics you are. Middle and high school is the best place to start a club, as everyone is exploring their passions as well. But, where do you start? How do you get people to join the club, and what even is a club?
Let’s start at the beginning. What even is a club?
Well, the definition for it is “an organization dedicated to an organization or activity.” So, to start a club, you have to centre yourself on a topic, or activity. If you have too many topics, it’s easy for people to misconstrue your club, or even get confused on the subject of the entire club. It’s hard to get people’s attention or keep people’s attention when the focus is scattered all over.
Try to get as specific as possible with your club. Here are some good questions to ask yourself as you narrow down the specifics of the club:
What’s the mission? What’s the goal? Who is the target of the club? What do your attendees get out of this club? Is it knowledge, volunteering hours, or experience that your club will provide?
There are many types of clubs. The next step is to identify which type your club will strive to be.
An informational club is one that seeks to inform its attendees and educate them about a particular topic, whether it’s knowledge out of a textbook or more creative knowledge.
A volunteering club is one that seeks to help communities and do charity work. These types of clubs are becoming increasingly popular, as many high school students are looking for resources to gain more community service hours, and as a way to dedicate themselves to helping out people in need.
An activity club is one that dedicates itself to a certain project or activity. This could be a chess club or board game club, or it could be a more hands-on project, like a robotics club.
Whichever club you may be, the next step would be to submit an application to the school board. This process looks different for every school, but usually, there is a form to submit and a minimum number of students joining the club to start. Usually, it’s 7-10 members in order to start the club, so spread the word! Make your friends, and friends of friends join the club.
How would they join?
Usually, schools have a policy of tracking members in clubs, and usually, it’s via Google Forms. As you gain members, start creating Google forms, and have your attendees fill out the form. Or, you could have them sign a sheet of paper.
This time would be a good time to plan how to promote the club, whether it’s the process of designing flyers, raising events, creating social media accounts for this club, or any other activities that may get your peers to notice your club.
However, you choose to promote your club, make it authentic and unique to you, your activity, and your target audience! People will only be interested if you’re interested!
Remember, starting a club is as hard as maintaining one, so give it much thought before you decide to start one.
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