Toolkit: Start a School Club

One of the best ways to organize a Day of Action is to start and work through a club on campus. A club helps with having a consistent group to brainstorm and plan with and will be a huge help when recruiting other students to participate in the Day of Action itself. While the process varies a bit from school to school, following the steps below should help with a good start.

Visualize It

What will your Right To Learn club to be responsible for? At the very least, it should be in charge of planning your April 18 Day of Action, but you might want to do more: devise a school improvement project, start an after-school tutoring program or something else; the sky's the limit!
Think of a name for the group if you don't want to just call it the "Right To Learn Club," or wait to do it at the first meeting.

Make it Official

To create an official school club (which usually allows free meeting space and other perks), The Man has to sign off on it.
Find out whose approval is needed to start a club (the principal, university president, student government, etc.) and what the requirements are.
If you need a staff adviser, ask a favorite teacher or professor to support the club.
Turn in any necessary paperwork, and get the scoop on details like meeting space and funding (some campuses give a small amount of money to student clubs).

Recruit It

Spread the word like wildfire. Use these customizable PDF flyers or make an original one using these RTL graphics and logos. Use your powers of persuasion and really sell it. Be sure to list contact info, as well as when and where the first meeting will be.
Be sure to invite members from all of the social groups on campus -- freshmen and seniors, jocks and nerds, etc.
Leave flyers or informational postcards in popular student hangouts – coffee shops, restaurants, libraries, etc.
Send a letter to the school newspaper.
Publish a mention in the school announcements.
Never underestimate the word of mouth: tell five friends, and ask them each to tell five more.
Make announcements in classes (yours or any related to the club).
Start a Facebook group or MySpace page for the club, and recruit friends and friends of friends.

Kick it Off

Schedule the first meeting to explain your vision and to brainstorm future activities with new members.
Try to stay open to new ideas, and facilitate the discussion so everyone gets a chance to talk.
Decide how to break up responsibility within the club (don’t try to do everything alone; sharing is caring). Form committees, elect officials or divide tasks by interest.
Hint: offering food ("I was told there would be punch and pie") is a surefire way to get people to come to the first meeting. Bribery, what?

Fund It
Does the group need money for supplies or other materials? Chances are, it might need a little start-up money. Consider holding a fundraiser, asking people for donations or charging a membership fee.