Red Day 2019
March 30th was a BIG day for Ohio Rainbow. We hosted roughly 275 Rainbow Members and Advisors for our annual Rainbow Education Day (RED). We covered many topics that are too important not to share beyond the walls of the Aladdin Shrine Center in Grove City. A huge thanks to the Shriners who allowed us to meet at their facility for free that day.
2018 Membership Recap:
As in years past, we started the day by reviewing the state of our membership and talking about goals for the upcoming year.
Key points:
We had a net decrease in members for 2018 of just 8 girls. We had a net increase of 7 girls in 2017. A slightly higher number of girls receiving Majority this year coupled with us initiating 6 fewer girls this year than last are the primary causes of this result.
Both the overall and the percentage of membership suspended has decreased again for a second straight year. We are encouraged to see that we are retaining our members.
We are focused on achieving a net increase for 2019 by decreasing our suspensions for the 3rd year in a row and having every Assembly initiate 3 girls this year.
Fun Facts about our members that were also discovered while reviewing our 2018 membership changes:
60% of them are under the age of 15.
60% of our members joined within the last 3 years.
CARE Leadership Training:
Ohio Rainbow was delighted to use RED day to be one of the first Jurisdictions in IORG to implement the 1st module of the new CARE Leadership Program from Supreme Assembly. Mrs. Lynn Buschhaus, Grand Deputy to District 20, led the entire group of Members and Advisors through the training. CARE stands for Compassion, Awareness, Respect, and Empathy. We focused on the 1st module for Compassion. The objective of the training was to teach the meaning and importance of conveying compassion in our everyday lives. This lesson was reinforced with 2 activities. The 1st activity was for each table of attendees to write acts of compassion they had recently done or were planning to do onto paper chain links. The links were then combined to create a massive compassion chain that easily could have extended the perimeter of the large ballroom we occupied. The training concluded with the 2nd activity which was a “secret mission” of compassionate deeds that were drawn out of a treat bag at each table. Participants were challenged to complete their mission before the day was over.
Special Projects Teams:
A member of each of the new Special Projects Teams presented a couple slides about their team’s mission and goals, who their team members were, and some of the initial projects and ideas they’re working on. Ohio Rainbow is eager to watch these teams learn, grow, and thrive for the good of our Order!
Breakout Activities:
The members and advisors separated into groups to each focus on relevant activities.
Advisor ACTIVITY 1:
Pledge Group Revitalization Update
Miss Lauryn Buschhaus, PGWA and State Pledge Advisor, presented a thoughtful and inspiring presentation about the pledge group revitalization efforts we’ve launched recently in Ohio Rainbow. Pledge groups continue to be one of the most effective ways to provide new, highly engaged members for our Rainbow Assemblies. We have a goal of increasing the number of Pledge Groups in Ohio from 10 to 18 by the end of 2019.
Advisor ACTIVITY 2:
Membership RoadMAP
The Advisors completed a Membership RoadMAP Worksheet in which they reviewed their membership gains/losses from 2018 and forecasted their predictions for 2019. They used these numbers and some simple guides to determine a New Member Goal for their Assembly for 2019. With their goal identified and the historical numbers at hand - they pinpointed their biggest membership challenge between suspensions, few prospects, or majority, and brainstormed 3-5 activities for facing those challenges head-on. The project concluded by identifying an Advisor and Member who could spearhead each activity.
Members ACTIVITY 1:
Stand Up for Your Sisters Activity
The girls anonymously completed a questionnaire which was then collected and randomly re-distributed to them. Each question was read aloud and the girls raised their hands if the question on the survey they were holding was answered with a “yes”. The identification and recognition that other girls shared in some of the same challenges led to an honest and open conversation about what they learn from this activity and how their Rainbow values can relate to this lesson.
Members ACTIVITY 2:
Personality Quiz Activity
The girls completed another survey in which they answered questions to reveal their personality types. The potential types were presented and discussed, especially as it pertains to how one can work better with someone who is a different personality type. Personality type awareness and education lended to the theme declared earlier in the day of compassion. It also helped instill a sense of self-understanding and confidence within our members.