Giving Thanks and Giving Tuesday

Since our last blog post about what members are #DZGrateful for this month we’ve seen hundreds of posts and photos from our sisters giving thanks for Delta Zeta and all they have gained because of their experience. We’ve also seen how our members are donating time and treasure to their communities during this season of giving.

As the United States celebrates Thanksgiving this week, and the unofficial kick off of the holiday season, a new idea is circulating which celebrates how people give back. You’ve heard of Black Friday and, more recently, Cyber Monday, but do you know that Tuesday, December 2, 2014 is #GivingTuesday? Giving Tuesday is a “global day dedicated to giving back.”

Delta Zeta members give back every day. Whether it be in a volunteer role, through chapter community service events, fundraisers for philanthropy partners like the Painted Turtle camp, Starkey Hearing Foundation and Gallaudet University or by even making a donation to the Delta Zeta Foundation.

So let’s tell our story on #GivingTuesday!

Take a moment this week to plan how you can participate on December 2. And then tell us by tagging @DeltaZetaNatl in your Instagram photos, your Twitter posts and use the #DZGrateful and #GivingTuesday hashtags. We can’t wait to see how Delta Zeta gives back on December 2!

#DZGrateful Challenge

30 Days of Thankful. Thankful November. The Thankful Challenge.

Our newsfeeds have been full of the different ways friends and family acknowledge what they are thankful and grateful for this month. Sometimes inspirational, other times they bring a tear to your eye. But each time people are sharing a little personal piece of themselves and show what is important in their lives. Delta Zeta makes the list and we hear stories of sisterhood and love from our members when they share their thankful posts. 

What are you thankful for because of Delta Zeta? We’d like to know! And we’d like to share our member’s thoughts this month. Share your ideas using #DZGrateful, posting your photos, thoughts and ideas to our Twitter, Facebook or Instagram pages. 

So, how many of you will take the #DZGrateful challenge this month?

Finishing Your Officer Term

Everyone is excited when they start their term in office, but what about finishing up? The effective chapter officer should leave her position better than she found it. This blog post will provide you with some best practices for transitioning out of your officer role.

Your chapter officer transition should also include a meeting with the new officer. Use the date of that meeting as your deadline to organize your position’s materials. Whether they are in a binder or on a jump drive, go through the materials you used in your officer role and delete the old or out of date items and organize the current ones for your successor. Along the same lines of officer resources, if your chapter uses general email boxes for officers, make sure to provide the new officer with the log in information for that email.

Prior to the transition meeting, complete a reflection on your term in office. What worked? What would you have done differently? Are there any “tricks to the trade” that you’d pass along to the new officer? Were there things you wish you had known about the officer role before you started your term? Think about things you would have liked to know as you started this position last year in order to pass that on to the new officer. Anything you can do to make the transition as smooth as possible will help your successor.

Help the new officer prepare her calendar for the near future. Are there dates already set by your campus Panhellenic for recruitment meetings? Is there a national training that she needs to be aware of? Any dates you have on your calendar should be transitioned to the new officer to make sure she doesn’t miss out on anything big.

The best officer transitions are ones which don’t leave the new officers in the position to reinvent the wheel. What are some other ideas you would suggest to have the best officer transition possible?