Pexels stock image
How is it July already, my friends?
Fifteen days in, at that! Halfway through! This summer is absolutely flying by.
I want to take this opportunity to encourage you to make your TOPS chapter the best it can be — with our latest “4 or more in 2024” challenge.
Just to recap before we dive in: In April, we encouraged you to use social media to your advantage in attracting new members. In May, we urged community involvement to help spread the word about TOPS. In June, we talked about how you could host a Bunco party, or another related event. And that brings us to this month!
As the name of this blog post implies, I’ll challenge you and your chapter to be the change you wish to see within the organization. Do you want to attract younger members? Do you hope for more visibility in your local city or town? Do you brainstorm about what it would take to open another chapter in your community? Maybe challenge one another to fun competitions, like who can walk the most steps?
Well, we all have to start somewhere, when it comes to anything we’re hoping to accomplish.
Just like healthy living, a lot of this lies within YOU — and you have to make the decision to dive in and begin today. Or if not today, then perhaps next week. Circle a date on your calendar!
And if all of this seems too “abstract,” here’s a suggestion you can take to heart, perhaps more literally: How are your chapter meetings? Do you use the activities provided in TOPS News? Are your meetings engaging and supportive? Are people kind to one another? When you get a new member, is your group welcoming to that person? Is it a place you’d want to return, week after week? I’ve heard some cool ideas over the years about what some of you do — having the new person sit with a seasoned pro, sending a follow-up card in the mail; all sorts of nice touches.
I want to encourage you to make your chapter meetings … fun, above all else. Of course, healthy living and weight loss should be at the core of these, but one of the major elements that’s going to keep people coming back, is absolutely the social support. People are lonely. Humans crave connection. Who wouldn’t want another friend? (Especially as adults — it can be challenging to make new pals when you’re all grown up!) Anyway, you want these gatherings to be places that both new and returning members will gravitate toward. Let’s start there.
We want judgment-free meetings; if someone doesn’t want to weigh in on a particular week, thank that person for showing up (perhaps even applaud the member — sometimes the hardest part can be attending, when we feel off our game!); again, put yourself in others’ shoes. How can we expect to attract new members if the meeting experience is lacking? I’d love if we could make a collective effort to strengthen the meeting experience, across the board.
That way, when someone asks you, “What’s TOPS all about?” or “Why should I come to a meeting?”, you can speak from the heart. You can give a real answer that you absolutely stand behind, and can explain easily.
After all, it starts with all of us. And don’t forget about this page, on tops.org, for some Featured Chapter Programs, Contests & Activities — in case you’re scratching your head, wondering HOW exactly to spruce up those meetings … this should help!
Good luck gaining those four or more! I’ve heard from a number of you, saying the task is already complete. Hats off, seriously! And remember, you don’t have to do anything additional … you’re in the running for those prize baskets!
Just a reminder that a chapter may have added four or more new members at this point, which in itself is to be applauded, but the goal is to end the year with a “net” gain of four or more members. This means not losing any current members as well. 😉
True story!