THE NEW YORK DISTRICT OF CIRCLE K INTERNATIONAL PRESENTS

Club Socials Guide

2

ContentsFellowship 101 3

No Member Limit Socials 4

Small Socials 6

Medium Socials 7

Large Socials 8

Social Dos and Don’ts 9

Final Remarks 10

Legend

Fall Winter Summer Spring

$ 0-10 dollars $$ 11-30 dollars $$$ 31-50 dollars $$$$ 51+ dollars

3

Fellowship is such an important tenet of this organization that it is written into the official objectives of Circle K International. Every CKI member describes fellowship

in his or her own unique way. To one, it’s a shy smile from a child learning to read. To another, it’s an enthusiastic hug from a friend made at a convention more than a year ago. Indeed, fellowship means something different to everyone—but in the end, the stories have a common thread: friendships, bonds, trust, and companionship. Whether a CKI member is mentoring a child, networking with a business professional, or laughing with members during a convention, he or she is developing social skills, meeting new

people, and strengthening relationships.

The three tenets that embody Circle K International (CKI) are service, leadership, and fellowship. While service and leadership are great reasons to join CKI, fellowship is why you want to stay. It is fantastic to give back to the community and gain skills for the future, but there are once-in-a-lifetime bonds that are created within this organization. Club cheers, inside jokes, embarrassing moments, and sleepless nights are a part of the recipe that makes CKI so special. Make this memorable experience the best for all of your club members!

Fellowship 101

The word “social” can seem quite intimidating and overwhelming, but do not worry, it really isn’t. What do you think of when you hear “social”? Let me guess, you picture everyone dressing up, spending a bunch of money on snacks, and needing a lot of members to make the dance floor a bunch of fun? Well, get that out of your mind! A social can be anything you want it to be as long as it promotes fellowship within your club members.

This could be through a formal social event (such as an awards ceremony, ice cream social, dance, etc.), a meal together, a game night, or an outing. There are many different ways to build fellowship. The only thing that matters is that this is the only tenet that is being worked on. If there is service or fundraising involved, it is not counted as a social. So, if a club

wants to do a bunch of icebreakers at a meeting, the meeting and service project must be adjourned prior to the icebreakers.

It is suggested that each club strives to reach a goal of hosting two to three socials throughout the service year. Remember, a club dinner at the dining hall counts as a social!

Club secretaries and presidents, please do not forget to list any social your club had on your Monthly Report Form (MRF). Size does not matter!

We should explain why a social and fellowship are important in any club, regardless of size.

What is a “social?”

Fellowship 101 3

No Member Limit Socials 4

Small Socials 6

Medium Socials 7

Large Socials 8

Social Dos and Don’ts 9

Final Remarks 10

— Circle K International

4

New Member Social $Invite your main executive board and new club members to a “New Member Social.” This is the perfect opportunity for your executive board to get to know the new members on a personal level and first name basis, while the new members interact with each other. You never know, you might bond over having the same frustrating Calculus professor!

All you will need is an amazing music playlist, a few fun activities (this is the perfect time to test out some icebreakers), a couple of bags of chips, and sodas to put this bad boy on.

Pumpkin Carving $$Picture it: it is towards the end of October and the miniature pumpkins are on sale at Walmart. Do you walk past them or buy a handful of them for your next club meeting? Obviously, you swipe your card for these future Jack-O-Lanterns!

As opposed to having a formal meeting and in-house service project, dedicate one meeting in October to fellowship by having a pumpkin carving event! You can split up your members into groups and they can carve and/or decorate their pumpkin together!

You will need a few pumpkins (depending on the amount of members that usually attend your meetings), pumpkin carving tools, lots of paper towels, and painting tools (if you plan decorating them).

Potluck $$It is the end of the fall semester and you are tired of the food at your dining hall. You are just craving a nice home-cooked meal. This sounds like the perfect time for a CKI Potluck Dinner!

Members can all come together at the end of the semester, bring a dish, and everyone can enjoy a giant meal together. This could even be interchangeable with Friendsgiving (a friends’ Thanksgiving).

Each member is responsible for making something on their own, but no one is expecting a turkey or honey roasted ham. Make some Kraft Mac ‘n Cheese and Campbell’s Soup in a bowl and call it a day!

Winter Wonderland $$$December is the perfect time to throw a Winter Wonderland themed-social. This is for the more adventurous souls. Book a room on campus and make it as winter wonderland-themed as you possibly can. We are talking about fake snow, white fabrics, holiday lights, etc. Everyone can come dressed up in a scarf, hat, gloves, and all of that cute stuff. Also, everyone can drink a tasty cup of hot chocolate. :)

Play some holiday music in the background and have winter-themed activities. If there’s actually snow on the ground outside, your club can even build a snowman together!

This list is designed for all social sizes, whether you have 2 or 200 members showing up! Your club is not limited to these ideas. These are just suggestions to get the ball rolling!

No Member Limit Socials

5

Themed Social $$$$This is where your imagination comes to play. The ideas are limitless. From a disco night to a luau, your club can have the most amazing social of all time. Depending on the theme, members can dress up and your club can decorate a large room booked on campus.

If your club wants, this could be similar to how New York Circle K handles District Convention (DCON) and the theme, by having themed-activities and fun awards. This would be great for an end of the semester or end of the year social because you can coincide it with member awards.

Other ideas are: Decades (‘20s, ‘50s, ‘70s), Mardi Gras, Superhero, Mean Girls, Hollywood, Disney, etc.

Ice Cream Social $Sweating is not cute, let’s be real. So, what is a better way to cool off than with an ice cream social? Invite your club members out to a night filled with sundae building, activities, and dancing!

This could substitute a meeting or be an end of the year social. It is all up to your club!

CKI Olympics $$The Olympics are coming up soon, but that does not mean you cannot have your own between your members. Book a room on your campus and set up a bunch of different fun activities. Your club can participate as teams in sack races, apple bobbing, relay races, dance competitions, etc.

UNO Tournament $Have you watched those Uno commercials and thought, “Wow, that looks like a lot of fun”? Well, let’s make this a reality! After a meeting, instead of a meeting, or on a different day, just play Uno with each other. Turn it into an intense tournament while you’re at it. A little competition never hurts anybody. There could be a prize for the winner, such as a free cupcake or cookie at your club’s next bake sale. Everyone loves free food!

Ice Skating $$$$Research your area and see if there are any local ice skating rinks. If your school has a hockey team, chances are they have one or there is one on campus. Call the rinks up and see the prices for going to the ice rink.

If it is on campus, chances are it is very inexpensive or free! It might be too expensive to rent out the rink for a couple of hours, but you can ask them what hours are their least busy and you and your members can go! How much fun would it be to see everyone fall on his or her butt?

6

Snowman Building $Snow on the ground is a college student’s dream come true, until they have to walk in to go to class the next day. Before that reality has to set in, why not enjoy Mother Nature’s gift and have a snowman building bonding experience with your members? This can either just be a fun activity or a competition to who builds the best snowman!

If you want to be extra adventurous, turn it into a snowball fight!

Game Night $This falls along the same criteria as the Uno Tournament, except you cannot have 500 members playing Mario Kart or Monopoly at the same time. This is great for a time when many of your members are stressed, such as midterms and finals and just need a break!

Choose a range of board games and video games. Game ideas include Life, Poker, Pictionary, Taboo, Mario Kart, Monopoly, Super Smash Brothers, etc.

Member Meal $

Here is a social where it can be as impromptu as you want. You love to eat and chances are your members do too. Before a meeting, after a meeting, on a day you do not even have a meeting, go eat with your club. Spend an hour of your day with each other enjoying food on campus or off campus and simply get to know each other. Food is an automatic bonding experience.

Study Break $Finals/Midterms are always the worst time in the world, so why not incorporate a giant study break with the clubs? Whether you all go to the Night Owl together, outside for a s’mores bonfire, or to an event on campus, it will count as a fellowship event!

On Campus Events $A bunch of organizations always have events going on. Encourage members to take advantage and go together as friends. There might even be a chance to market Circle K, but that should not be a priority.

Also, a lot of schools have concerts on campus, so go to those too! This a great way to have a lot of fun for free. Free is always fun!

Movie Night $-$$This can be done in a number of locations: if your school does something like this, you can just go as a club and sit together. If you’d prefer a personal experience, then just use one person’s room (or even your club’s meeting room) to host a movie night! Bring food and snacks for your members to eat and enjoy the time spent together.

Small Socials 1 - 1 0 M E M B E R S

These socials are perfect for either clubs that do not have a lot of active members or for days when not a lot of your members are free to hang out. They are more intimate and a great way to really get to know each other on a more personal level.

7

Medium Socials 1 1 - 2 5 M E M B E R S

These socials are fantastic for clubs that have a good amount of members. Again, this is not only limited to them. Smaller clubs have the potential to host these events by inviting other clubs or allowing members to bring their friends to the socials.

Sports Game $Most campuses have at least one sports team and the games are usually free for students. Members can go together to a game and bond! Cheer on your home team, whether they are good or not, and talk some trash about the other team. Make it a night to remember.

Scavenger Hunt $$-$$$Create teams, but try to add more new members with a couple of old members. You want to spread out your old members as much as possible! The scavenger hunt could even be themed, depending on if there’s a holiday. For example, an egg hunt during Easter or a Wild Turkey Hunt during Thanksgiving.

Bowling $Some campuses have bowling alleys on campus or some bowling alleys have deals for students. Take ad-vantage of the discounts and have a bowling night! Who doesn’t love a nice break from Wii bowling?

8

Large Socials 2 6 + M E M B E R S

If your club has so many members that you do not really know what to do, these are some great ideas for your club! Large clubs can do so many things to involve all of their members while creating great friendships. So, take a look at some of these ideas below!

Mentor/Mentee $This could be a bi-weekly fellowship activity for the first month and a half of school. Pair off a new and old member or group a few new members with an old member (no more than 2). The club can have a quick meeting to talk about upcoming events, adjourn the meeting, and then dedicate a half hour/hour to bonding.

So, these pairings/groups can play games together, face off other pairings/groups in competitions, etc. This is to get the new members out of their shells and to make more friends. This also helps to prevent old members from only hanging out with the members they already know. Also, this will help ease the new members’ transition into the club.

$5 Prom $$$$

Prom was always an intense hot mess, so let’s recreate it in college, but make it more fun! Each person can only spend a maximum of $5 on their outfit! There can be a photo booth station (obviously the affordable ones you buy from Walmart) and a prom king and queen.

Field Day $$$See if the club can reserve a field on campus. If so, use it so have a field day where members compete in games like baseball, kickball, relay races, volleyball, etc. There could be food and snacks too, if they want.

9

Do: • Include all members, new and old.

• Separate old members from each other in the beginning. Try to get them to interact with new members. This will make the new members feel comfortable in the club

• Try to save as much money as possible. Shop at dollar stores and buy items that are on sale. If there is a free event on campus, go to it. If you can eat on campus and spend your meal plan money as opposed to swiping your debit card, do that!

• See if members are willing to temporarily do-nate their items for fellowship activities. For example, on game night, there are probably members that have board games and cards in their rooms/apartment. For the Olympics or Field Day, see what members have sporting equipment they could bring. The same goes for the other events you are planning on campus.

• Call local businesses and see if they have stu-dent discounts. A lot of bowling alleys, movie theatres, museums, and iceskating rinks give discounts to students. Utilize them!

• Ask your members for their input. Some of them might have more fellowship ideas. A lot of them are pretty smart.

• Reach out to clubs in your division to come to your larger fellowship events. You never know if your social could end up being a K-Family Re-lations and/or inter-clubbing event! Make sure you give them at least 1-2 weeks notice. No one likes a late invitation.

Don’t:• Exclude anyone by any means. Everyone is in-

vited.

• Include alcohol or drugs. This is against Circle K International Policy and Bylaws. If either is present at the event, you cannot list it as a so-cial on your MRF submission.

• Be afraid to invite members to come eat with you. Yeah, it is definitely awkward at first, but life isn’t easy. If it was easy, it would be so bor-ing. So, break out of your shell and make some new friends!

• Ignore fellow club invitations. Whether they are another club on campus or another Circle K club, see if you and other members can attend their fellowship event! You can create friends outside of your home club and step out of your comfort zone. It’s a win-win.

• Stress out over money. There are so many so-cials and fellowships that can be put on with-out any money. Donations and free events are key!

Social Dos and Don’ts

10

Now that you have recruited amazing and dedicated members, it is your job to retain these new members through fun fellowship activities and events. Something as simple as inviting a few new members to eat after a meeting could make a huge difference in their decision to stay in the club. All of the clubs on your campus have something to offer, usually a resume builder, but it is up to you to make CKI stand out above the rest with the friendship opportunities you can offer to your members!

Fellowship is one of the three tenets that mold CKI for a reason. Service and leadership are not fun unless you have friends to do them with! Hopefully, this packet has provided you with some insight and ideas to take back to your club to help it reach its full potential. Take this information and use it to create great memories with the rest of your club. If you have any questions, do not hesitate to contact the members of the Social Initiatives Committee whenever you need to. We are here to help you plan, execute, and enjoy your social events!

Have a fantastic service year and we cannot wait to either attend or see photos from your socials. Do not forget to take a million selfies! #yas

Yours in service, leadership, and especially fellowship,

The Social Initiatives Committee

Final Remarks

Contact InformationSOCIAL INITIATIVES COMMITTEE CHAIR:

Luisanna Sosa (luisanna.sosa@nycirclek.org)

Luisanna will be studying abroad in France until January. Any questions, comments, and/or concerns can be addressed to the Social Initiatives Committee Members, Terrell Merritt and Alyssa Famolari, or District Governor Walaa Ahmed (walaa.ahmed@nycirclek.org)

SOCIAL INITIATIVES COMMITTEE MEMBER AND DISTRICT EDITOR:

Alyssa Famolari (alyssa.famolari@nycirclek.org)

SOCIAL INITIATIVES COMMITTEE MEMBER AND SENECA DIVISION LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR:

Terrell Merritt (terrell.merritt@nycirclek.org)

11

Notes

THE SOCIALS GUIDE was written by Luisanna Sosa, Alyssa Famolari, and Terrell Merritt. Edited by Katie Lim. Layout Design by Sara Louie. New York District Board of Circle K International for 2015-2016.