Years ago, a friend of mine who was very successful at advocating for legislation for individuals with disabilities gave me this sage piece of advice. If you want to make an impact on legislation you have to be willing to lurk around or hang out where the action is happening. When you are around people who are making policy decisions you have to be present, you have to listen, and you have to make contacts.
This past weekend, Pat Rinkenberger, Linda Adcock, Elizabeth Mackie, and I did just this. We lurked. We hung around at an Illinois Council for Exceptional Children convention by setting up an exhibit with the beautiful promotional materials that Lois Mueller made and, of course, candy and free rose pens. We talked to women educators about who and what Delta Kappa Gamma is, we listened to their needs, we gave them resources, and we made many contacts. We listened and talked so much about the good in DKG that Pat lost her voice. Was it worth lurking? You bet. We already gained a member for Alpha Chi, we got people interested in what we are doing, and Pat has followed up with all of them that she could. We will invite them to meetings. It was an invigorating activity for us.
Now you may be asking how we can lurk at the state or local level? Are you a member of another organization and planning to go to their convention? If so, see if they offer free or low-cost exhibit space and get some of our DKG Goodies and set up a table. If you are speaking at any conference where women who may be eligible are attending, give out bookmarks. Remember the template for the bookmarks is on the website, and also in a file on our Facebook page.
Look for opportunities in your local area such as health fairs, teacher institutes, craft fairs, book fairs, and more. Ask for a table to exhibit information about Delta Kappa Gamma. Decide what giveaways you will need candy, bookmarks, water bottles, rulers, or whatever will cause people to notice to stop by and learn more about DKG.
Don't delay, start lurking today to spread the word about Delta Kappa Gamma.
