Being a Reunion Volunteer
Your class Reunion is the perfect occasion for reconnecting with old
friends, visiting campus, and sharing news and memories. The Alumni
Relations and Advancement staff greatly appreciate the time that Reunion
Volunteers give to the College, and we want to make your job as simple
and as satisfying as possible!
Below is a list of general Reunion Volunteer expectations:
VOLUNTEER HANDBOOK
Thank you for your commitment to Sarah Lawrence College. As a
Reunion Volunteer, you will play an important role in making Reunion weekend (Thursday, June 2, through Sunday, June 5, 2016) fun
and memorable!
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Make every effort to participate in conference calls and meetings.
Contact classmates to promote attendance and participation.
Support the Reunion Class Gift efforts.
Brainstorm class programming and special events.
Notify Alumni Relations of updated classmate contact information.
Make every effort to attend Reunion!
Organizing and Supporting Our Volunteers
Reunion offers a wonderful opportunity for alumni of all ages to return to the College’s beautiful campus and connect with faculty, staff,
fellow alumni, and even current students. Reunion Volunteers are the
most important component of the Reunion planning process. Alumni
have the best insight into the kind of celebration their classmates enjoy, and that can make a real difference in the quality of the experience. By calling friends to invite them to Reunion, assisting in the
planning of class-specific gatherings, and/or asking others to pledge
financial support to Sarah Lawrence College, Reunion Volunteers
truly make Reunion weekend a great occasion for all.
Thanks again for helping to plan a fun and rewarding weekend!
SLC’s Office of Alumni Relations sends e-mails and letters during the
summer and fall prior to Reunion to secure volunteers. This effort yields
several volunteers per class. We also rely on classmate referrals to help us
identify alumni that would be active volunteers. Personal contact from a
classmate is by far the best way to secure Reunion Volunteers.
Reunion Volunteers can provide different levels of support. Some are able
to devote time to brainstorming programs and fundraising, while others
might only be able to lend their names to a class letter. We make every
effort to recruit volunteers from across the nation/world, and, ideally,
volunteers will be alumni who were active members of the SLC student
community (student groups, service organizations, sports teams, performance groups, etc). The Office of Alumni Relations will provide class lists
to Reunion Volunteers to assist in identifying additional volunteers.
Reunion Volunteers can assist with Communications,
Programming, Encouraging Attendance, and Class Gift
Communications
There are a number of Reunion communications scheduled throughout the
months leading up to the big weekend. Some of these letters and brochures
will be generated by the Offices of Alumni Relations and The Fund for Sarah
Lawrence, and they will be sent to all Reunion classes. Others will be
generated by the Reunion Volunteers from each class and then forwarded
through our offices by e-mail, postcard, or letter. Please see the planning
calendar on page 8 for specific mail/e-mail dates.
Office-Sponsored Communications
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Save the Date postcard
Reunion Magnet
Planning to Attend Letter
Citation Awards Ballot
Reunion Brochure and Registration Forms
Registration Reminders
Call for Participation in the Art Show and Cabaret
Reunion Giving Appeals
Volunteer Communications
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Letter encouraging classmates to submit program suggestions
Personal Communications (phone/e-mail) via Class Gift efforts
Social Media
Registration reminder to classmates highlighting choice Reunion events
Class Gift Appeals
E-mail vs. Snail Mail In an effort to be green, the Office of Alumni
Relations will use email to contact alumni when possible. Reunion e-mails
will always contain links to Reunion web pages and class Facebook
groups.
Updating Contact Information
To make sure classmates are in the Reunion loop, it is important for the
Office of Alumni Relations to have current contact information, particularly
e-mail addresses. You can help by sending updates to the office or by
asking classmates to contact us directly with their updates. The Office of
Alumni Relations can be reached by phone at (914) 813-9219 or by
e-mail [email protected].
The Office of Alumni Relations honors all "exclusion" requests. We will
not send mail or e-mail to classmates who have requested they not be
contacted by the College.
Programming
Class Activity: Reunion Volunteers are tasked with planning a classspecific activity on Saturday, June 4th from 2:30pm - 5:00pm. Please
make sure your special class program is planned in a timely manner as it
can help boost excitement and participation. The Office of Alumni
Relations will support you in planning and executing this event. Here are
some past class activity examples:
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1958
2003
1987
2007
1964
1994
1989
2004
1983
reconnected over wine and cheese in Marshall Field
hosted a party behind Andrews House
played croquet on Andrews Lawn and made Pimm’s Cups
compiled a nostalgic slideshow and watched it in Slonim
held an open salon to highlight classmates’ accomplishments
played softball at Marshall Field
had a casual gathering at the Teahaus
had a student band Reunion in the Cannon Theatre
took a bird-watching tour of campus
Suggesting Programs and People: You know your class best, and we rely
on you as Reunion Volunteers to provide suggestions (faculty, seminar topics, performers, alumni performers and artists, and programs) that will
draw your classmates.
Attendance
Class Gift
Here are a few pointers on getting a great turn-out:
An important part of the Reunion tradition is the Class Gift Campaign.
Reunion Volunteers will work in conjunction with Fund for Sarah Lawrence
staff to raise money for their class gift. Any gift donated between June 1,
2015 through May 31, 2016 will be counted toward your class gift.
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Set a Reunion Attendance Goal -- A good starting point is 10-15% of
the active alumni in the class. A stretch goal might be 25-30%. People
love working towards a stated goal, and your classmates will enjoy
feeling that their registrations support a larger effort.
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Divide the Class List for Phone Calls -- The best part of volunteering is
catching up with people you have not talked to in 5, 10, or 50 years!
The class lists that we provide can be divided geographically, alphabetically, or by other criteria. Your representative from the Fund for
Sarah Lawrence will work with you to divide the lists for encouraging
participation in the class gift and Reunion.
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Lead by Example -- Always start your phone calls, Facebook posts,
and/or e-mails by letting classmates know that you plan to attend.
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Get a Verbal Commitment for Attendance -- Many are hesitant to
attend Reunion because of the common fear that they won’t know anyone there. As mentioned above, nothing breaks the ice like a
volunteer saying, "I am planning to attend our Reunion, and I hope
you and your friends are too." Before registration opens, the Office of
Alumni Relations will post a “Look Who’s Planning to Attend” list to
the Reunion website. After Registration opens, we will post a “Look
Who’s Coming to Reunion” list. These lists are great buzz generators!
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Use Facebook -- The Office of Alumni Relations has created private
Facebook groups for some Reunion Classes. These groups have been
very helpful in encouraging attendance! Please post your own plans
for attending Reunion and use the groups to increase enthusiasm and
to encourage classmates to join you for the festivities.
Update Contact Info -- During your outreach, always ask for contact
information updates. Please share any updates you receive with the
Office of Alumni Relations so that we may correct our records, and
keep everyone in the Reunion loop!
Your gift and your involvement will provide support to SLC on a day-today basis, enabling the College to meet the needs of current and future
students. Reunion giving helps provide financial aid, much needed professional support for faculty, as well as service programs and leadership
opportunities. This is a perfect time to give back while acknowledging all
that you have accomplished and all that you continue to gain from being
a member of the Sarah Lawrence community.
Celebrants present their class gifts to the College during reunion. Classes
also compete for prestigious Westland Awards. Established in 2007, the
Westlands Awards recognize outstanding fundraising efforts by classes
celebrating their reunions.
Classes also have the opportunity to be honored with a plaque on
Reunion Terrace. Adjacent to Westlands, the engraved plaques on the
Terrace celebrate classes for their outstanding leadership support.
Specific Duties for Fundraising Volunteers:
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Classmate-to-Classmate Fundraising: The personal touch is always the
best way. Making phone calls, signing your name to letters and sending e-mails to your classmates are the most effective ways of reaching
out to them. As a volunteer, you can connect with classmates in ways
that general requests from the College cannot.
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Making Your Own Gift to Sarah Lawrence: This gives volunteers the
opportunity to lead by example when asking classmates to make a
Reunion gift.
Reviewing volunteer training materials in advance of making any personal contacts with your classmates: Your Fund for Sarah Lawrence
representative will work closely with you to help support your efforts.
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Reporting the results of your communications to your FSL team member so that we can accurately measure class giving and respond to
any questions raised: Prompt reporting will ensure that classmates are
not asked to donate after having already pledged or given.
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Personally thanking classmates for their gifts by phone, e-mail, and/or
hand-written notes: Fund for Sarah Lawrence staff will provide volunteers with note cards.
General Reunion Planning Timeline
Sept. 2015
Save the Date magnet mailed
Reunion Volunteers recruited
Oct. 2015
Citation Awards Ballot mailed
Reunion Volunteer recruitment continues
Nov. 2015
Seminar and programming suggestions submitted
General FSL Reunion snail and e-mail appeals sent
Dec. 2015
Conference calls with individual classes
General year-end FSL e-mail appeal sent
Are you planning to attend? e-mail/letter sent
Seminar titles and descriptions finalized
Volunteer call lists assigned and solicitation calling begins
Jan. 2016
Class-specific Reunion e-mail appeal sent
Reunion brochure goes to production
Feb. 2016
Saturday Afternoon Class Programs decided
Attendance outreach begins
Mar. 2016
Reunion brochure mailed
Online registration opens
Volunteer outreach continues (attendance and fundraising)
Participation e-mail sent (Registration, Cabaret, Art Show, Class Gift)
General FSL e-mail appeal sent
Apr. 2016
Class-specific Registration reminder e-mail/letter sent
Class-specific Reunion snail and e-mail appeals sent
Reunion Phonathon to increase attendance and giving
May 2016
Early Bird Raffle closes (first week of May)
Last registration reminder e-mail sent
End of Fiscal Year General FSL e-mail appeal sent
Major attendance push
June 2016
Reunion weekend begins (Thurs. June 2 - Sun. June 5, 2016)
From all of us in Alumni Relations
and The Fund for Sarah Lawrence
THANK YOU
for all that you do for Sarah Lawrence!