Kick-Off Ideas

There are several elements to a great kick-off and number one on that list is to set goals! The ultimate goal of every kick-off should always be to fill up the calendar for the next 12 months so that each month has a leader and at least a handful of committed volunteers!

Suggested Kick-Off Power Point: Chicktime Kick-Off Presentation

If you do not have Power Point but would like to view the presentation for ideas: Chicktime Kick-Off Presentation

These tips are a compilation of advice shared by our chapters:

• Hold the kick-off after your first Chicktime event (or at least after Discover Chicktime) so you will have a heart for what you are doing and pictures to go along with your presentation.
• A picture slideshow with great music is a real plus.
• Invite a representative from your children’s home to attend and to speak about the home you have chosen to partner with.
• Wear your chicktime gear to the kick-off.
• Hold the kick-off in someone’s home, it gives a grass roots flavor.
• No men allowed, there is something special about the energy in a room filled with women!
• Serve hot and cold heavy appetizers rather than a meal.
• Serve fancy beverages that give the mood a festive flair.
• Set up a special (lighted and decorated) location for your Monthly Chick Leader Sign Up Sheet! This sheet should have the Chicktime logo at the top and each month of the year listed with a blank line next to the month you NEED a leader (fill in the lines with the committed leaders such as yourself for the coordinating month, and any other women who have already agreed to lead a month). Have a cute pen and a little sign (framed would be a nice touch) asking for your guests to PLEASE sign up to lead, that your goal is to have the sheet full by the end of the kick-off event.
• Make sure you have an ‘ask’ at the closing of your presentation. Don’t be shy about asking those in attendance to sign up for at least one event in the coming months and encourage them to lead if the month they chose does not have a leader (they do not need to know the activity in order to sign up to lead it… just be willing to commit to do it!) During your ‘ask’ make sure to point out that the children in the homes/shelters you serve NEED to know we are out here, ready to go, and that this is real… but without sign ups that can’t happen!! 
• Have Chicktime shirts available at your kick-off!
• Assign a designated person to manage the t-shirt table.
• Invite a leader from another chapter or Chicktime founder Lori Rhodes to speak at your kick-off to share the overall vision of Chicktime. We are not sure this makes a huge difference, we just want to make sure we are invited because we love celebrating YOU! If travel distance is an issue, show the Chicktime video located on this website featuring Lori Rhodes, Kristi Earles, and Lisa Brown. It is located on the front page of the chicktime.com site.
• Fill in your sign-up sheets with as many people as possible prior to the event. Take a few girlfriends out to lunch, share what you are doing and ask them for your help. The fact that some of the sheets are already filled in gives your group a successful feeling from the get-go… and calms your nerves!
• Invite your mothers if you are lucky enough to still have them. It will be worth the travel for them and neither of you will EVER forget this night.