Tools for Sisterhood -> Membership
Membership
The key to every Sisterhood is membership.
Women join Sisterhood for a variety of reasons. You have to start by asking them. Inevitably, they will ask, "Why should I join"? You can give them many different answers such as:
- To feel part of a community of women
- For a wide variety of social, spiritual, and educational opportunities
- For personal fulfillment
- To add their support to the projects that sisterhood does for the temple
- To make new friends
- To support their children's involvement in religious school or the youth group
- As an advocate for issues of social justice
- To strengthen their Jewish identity
The list goes on. It is important that the members of your sisterhood board understand why they joined and can share those reasons with others.
You should have a membership committee and remember that membership is an ongoing process; it is a year-long campaign. For more specific pointers on how to set up a membership committee and a month by month guide to membership, please go to the leadership dashboard section of the WRJ website and download the brochure "Membership Matters".
If you have a great example of a paid up membership event or any other kind of membership related event, email it to info@wrjnortheast.org along with a few lines that describes what you have done.
Membership Appreciation Tea
Every year Holy Blossom Temple, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, has an Annual Membership Appreciation Tea that is a very well attended and successful event. They combine the tea with a prize draw from a fundraising raffle. This draw is one of the main fundraisers they do every year. The tea always includes entertainment and gives them a chance to touch base with many members and friends they have not seen for a while.
Click here for an example of the flyer for this event.
