BROTHERHOOD IDEAS ACTIVITIES LIST

There is no easier way to promote brotherhood within the chapter than by conducting a brothers-only activity. These brotherhood events can be as simple as organizing a camping trip or in-house tournaments in billiards, bowling, 3-on-3 basketball, or flag football. More thought provoking brotherhood activities may include discussion type activities such as:

Fireside Chats

Come up with questions that are relevant to the situation the Chapter is going through like:

Who is an important adult in your life and why?

Describe an event that changed your life and what you learned from it.

Define brotherhood and tell what it means to you.

Gavel Pass/Candle Pass

Gather the membership in a circle. The president begins the activity by sharing why he values his membership in the fraternity. When finished, he passes the gavel to the next member. Whoever holds the gavel has the floor. No one can interrupt him. To add a personalized chapter touch add a saying after each member speaks that has special meaning to the chapter.

This is a great activity for chapters to do. Chapters have used this activity to air grievances, publicly praise their brothers one at a time, thank individuals, close chapter meetings, to send-off graduating members or to recount events at the end of a semester or school year.

Brother of the Week

This activity is a great one to use. Positive feedback and recognition is very important. This brief activity offers good recognition of brothers who do more than their share to build a strong chapter.

Post a large poster-sized nomination form in some high-traffic area such as the dining room, mail room, etc. Encourage brothers to nominate other brothers who during the week have gone above and beyond the call of duty. During the next chapter meeting take 5 minutes and read the list of nominations, and ask the nominator to spend one minute explaining why the person they nominated the person for “Brother of the Week”. You may wish to call on your brotherhood committee to select a winner or have a brotherhood vote by applause. Give that brother some kind of reward or inexpensive gift then make some kind of plaque with pictures of all the winners.

The following are additional Brotherhood activities that can be organized to promote building “Brotherhood” within your FarmHouse Chapter.

Paintball

Ropes Course

Softball tournament/game

Basketball tournament/game

Euchre/Pitch tournament (cards)

Bowling

Volunteer work at community agencies

Etiquette Dinner

Serenade sororities

Play bingo at a nearby nursing home

Intramurals (Pizza after the game)

Tailgate before football game

Host Study Breaks during finals week

Wiffle Ball

Weekend retreats (at nearby state park)

Gavel Pass at end of meeting

Chapter Dinner

Road trip to nearby chapter

Ski weekend

Pro/semi-pro sporting events

White water rafting

Fishing

Karaoke Night

Flag Football

University Athletic/Special event

Alternative Spring Break at a youth camp

Laser Tag

Sponsor a little league team

Host sports camp for kids

Golf Outing (with Alumni)

Host Alumni Cookout

Parents Weekend

Host an open house and invite University Administrators/Staff and Parents

House fix-up day (men that work together, appreciate one another)

Host study groups for specified majors/classes

Casino Night

Host dinner for University President/Greek Advisor

Open discussion time before or after chapter meetings(to discuss current events)

Host a Habitat for Humanity house

Neighborhood snow shoveling/grass cutting/gutter cleaning/car washing

Host an Easter/Christmas Party for nearby child care/day care center

Volleyball tournament

Lock-in (at campus gym)

Horseshoe tournament

Visit a nearby Museum

Coffee breaks before and in between classes in the morning

Attend a nearby church as a chapter

Host a speaker (athletic coach, mayor, Congresswoman, Local Leader, etc) Take the time to facilitate a discussion at chapter meeting about something important (Talk about the current situation going on in Iraq. How do members feel?)

End every chapter meeting with everyone finishing the sentence “I am proud to be a FarmHouse member because…”

Sing FarmHouse songs

Mini golf

Play capture the flag in local neighborhood

Dodgeball

Darts

Foosball

Mom's/Dad's/Little Sibling's Weekend

Theme Dinner Nights

Hiking

Rent a bus for away games

Canoe Expedition

Golf Outings

Monday Night Football

Campus Athletic Events

Chapter Mission trips (over summer, spring break or Christmas break)

Additional discussion or workshop topics that your FarmHouse Chapter may want to consider to understand and promote brotherhood more are the following.

Moral dilemma discussions (differentiating right from wrong)

Underage drinking

Hazing

Illegal drug use

Sexual assault

Discussing when it is okay to lie/if it is okay to lie

To a brother

To a non-member

In a relationship

At work

Moral/Ethical workshop during officer training

Responsibilities

Working with friends

Accountability

Honesty

Diversity programming/Respecting Others

Ethics in FarmHouse

Etiquette and Social Skills Training