Jacob Gimbel, Junior, AP student, NHS member
My name is Jacob Gimbel and I started the investment club at DMHS and I will give you a few tips about starting a club that I didn’t have, but instead learned from experience.
A club consists of a group of people sharing interests in specific activities or topics, that get together and discuss or perform those interests. And while high schools have thousands of students and even hundreds of clubs, they might not have the club you are looking for. There are a few steps to take to create this club:
Find a target audience (friends or classmates) who will join the club
Find a teacher sponsor that will allow meetings in their room & do the paperwork
Fill necessary leadership roles
Step One: Find a target audience
Clubs are enticing because they can be about anything you want. But in order to have a club, you need participants. When creating a club, make sure that your interest can be shared and explored with other students around you. This is required because having one student in a club does not qualify under the requirements of the school. An easy way to find students who are interested is asking classmates or friends from school if they will join. Once you have over three students, you are good to go. I know I created the investment club for IB or heavy AP students who enjoy investing or want to learn about it and cannot fit business 101 in their schedule that year. And at our school, we have a large audience for that club. I started by talking to my friends about it and now we are talking to the freshman and sophmores to join and continue the club.
Step Two: Find a sponsor
Every club needs a sponsor. A sponsor is a teacher or staff member that will allow meetings of the club to take place in their room and/or do the paperwork required for certain aspects of the club. If you cannot have your meetings in the teachers room before or after school, or during lunch, you can have the meetings online, or in the school library. However, a sponsor is still needed in order to officiate the club and communicate with the school. For every meeting, minutes are needed to turn into the sponsor so they can relay it to the school. This shows that the club is still active and will be kept in the school roster. Also in order for a club to be created, the sponsor must fill out paperwork given by the school to officially create the club.
Finally, the sponsor can also be the middleman in the process of fundraising and other money involved subjects within the club. There is much paperwork involved with the school that a sponsor is required to complete so finding one who is interested in the club and can provide active support is a great advantage. I have a great sponsor who is the teacher of the Business 101 course which is why we both share an interest in investing. He takes care of the paperwork and sends the forms to the school, and we have meetings in his classroom at lunch or online. So when searching for a sponsor, look for one who is enthusiastic to help you.
Step Three: Fill necessary leadership roles
As the creator of a club, you should take the leadership role of president so you can run the club according to how you envisioned it. But one person cannot run a club on their own. That is why leadership roles should be used to help split the many responsibilities of a club such as taking minutes, signing up for the yearbook, organizing the plan, recruiting members, managing funds.
For my club I am the president. I have two Vice presidents, one for member recruitment and the other for market research. I have a secretary who communicates with the sponsor and takes minutes, a historian who does the yearbook and takes pictures, and a treasurer who manages the club money. By having these positions, it creates a much smoother running club and also an easier job for everyone.
Conclusion
By following these 3 steps, you should be off to an easy and successful start to your club. But the most important part of creating a successful club is to choose something that you enjoy, and have fun doing/discussing. Good Luck!
-Comment what clubs you are a part of and if you have started a club yourself or are planning to!-
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