[Home-on-the-range] "how affiliates grow their memberships"

[Dianne Hemphill]

Good morning federationists - I bring this to your attention with some hesitancy as it is an article found in this months ACB Braille Forum..as you probably know by now, I am a serious reader and will check out materials that I find available to me that has easy access . News Line allows this with ease and lots of options. So I always read what the other organizations have to say...I am sure we can learn from each other as well as reaffirm our choice of organization commitment If we want to spread our philosophy we must be able to get out into the world and spread the word to those that might not really know us other than by some negative, misleading messages spread by those that misrepresent who we are and what we stand for. Putting our preverbal heads in the sand will not help us or those blind or going blind to understand the importance of joining the NFB and how it can change their life for the better. .With this in mind, one ongoing challenge that we face is growing our affiliate. Many of us attend "Back to Basics" seminars offered at national conventions, attend leadership training opportunities etc, yet we must continually try  to figure out how to get our message out without turning someone "off" so to say...This article  is number 13 and one that might provide some ideas for us to implement should we choose to do so. So with this  in mind, let us consider what's out there for us to look at, evaluate and perhaps consider for use or not...what are some of the ideas out there for growing our affiliate: our chapter's?? How can we as  individuals as well as a group influence others to better understand who we are and why it's important for them to join us to change what it means to be blind?  Dianne