Prepare your club officers to lead. Meet with them before they guide members through service project tasks or use the Member and Officer Toolkit or the Service Toolkit. These toolkits contain step-by-step instructions for activities, but a little planning will make officers more confident and comfortable with facilitating. 

Follow these four steps when you meet with officers, using the example, “Discover your inner leader” on pages 12-13 in the Member and Officer Toolkit. For this activity, preparation time is about 15 minutes. 

  1. Review the activity together. Have officers complete the “How am I a service leader?” worksheet on page 13. 
  2. Discuss who will lead the activity (this is often the club president) and how other officers might assist — such as handing out supplies, writing on the board, giving examples, etc. 
  3. Gather any supplies you’ll need. In this case, the club will need extra copies of toolkits for members who forget theirs. 
  4. Do a run-through of the activity with officers. Let them read the activity instructions aloud and figure out how to set up the meeting room if the activity requires it. For this activity, officers should read the instructions and practice sharing their worksheet examples of how they are service leaders (just as they will read to members when they give instructions during the club meeting). 

Remember to allow a little time after the activity for officers to discuss how they felt and what they learned (such as what went well and what they would change). Finally, note that some activities also may be led by committee chairs. You can use the same steps for chairs to facilitate meetings with their committees.