The Treasures of Your Community by Chaundra Zelinski

The Treasures of Your Community

by Chaundra Zelinski, ΤΒΣ ΤΒΣ ΤΒΣ ΤΒΣ ΤΒΣ National Chapter Field Representative

Whether you live in a thriving metropolis or a “blinkand-you’ll-miss-it” dot on the map, your community is an often overlooked treasure chest just waiting to be discovered. Publicity, money, and more ways to promote the existence and welfare of bands are at your fingertips.

Exploring your local businesses is the first place to start. Every chapter has sought prize donations at one point or another, but have you ever searched out ways to serve your local establishments for a monetary donation? The start-up cost is nonexistent, and the outcome can be incredible. One of the most creative band-oriented examples was at Bowling Green State University. The chapters put together a band to play at the opening ceremonies for a new grocery store. The chapters at the University of Louisiana at Monroe often play for local high school football games, where a high school band program may not exist. This is both a service as well as a financial opportunity for the chapters!

But sometimes, your community business just may need a little extra staffing. For example, often times department stores will hire additional people to work the dressing rooms during Christmas. Your local florist may need some assistance delivering flowers on a few select holidays like Valentine’s Day or Mother’s Day. Of course, the phone book companies would love to hire a few good organizations to deliver phone books once a year. Then of course, there is the dreaded but relatively successful car wash. Many fast food restaurants are willing to offer a place to set up and free water in exchange for the potential customers you may draw in.

Restaurants can be a potential gold mine for a chapter. The Sonic Drive-in, Cici’s Pizza, and several others have been known to offer financial opportunities for nonprofit organizations. The company may ask you to carhop or serve customers for a day. They may offer a return on any coupon handed out by your chapter, or they may provide your organization a percentage on the profits at a certain time every week, such as after football games! The options are plentiful.

Now, if your chapter is willing to dedicate a day or even a week of each members life, you may be able to tackle the fundraising monster with one fund-raiser a year. The Epsilon Kappa Chapter of Kappa Kappa Psi at Angelo State University raises several thousand dollars a year in a matter of one week with absolutely no start-up cost. What’s the catch? They get down and dirty cleaning up after a hootin’ and hollerin’ bunch of cowboys at the San Angelo Rodeo each year. But the remainder of the year, they can sit back, serve the band, and enjoy themselves with little other fund-raising efforts. You may check with your city’s Chamber of Commerce or even the university for opportunities to get involved with yearly concerts or events. They may need runners, valet service people, or concession stand workers for the event to fly.

But don’t overlook the other treasures in your community. It is often very fulfilling for college students to return to the high school band world and offer assistance. Just by showing up at a football game and cheering for the band, you can make a difference. Remember all the excitement of the band competitions you participated in. Your band may have had a silly tradition, like kissing an orange before the competition. Nevertheless, it was always encouraging to hang some pep banners on the wall as well. Find out when the competitions are and prepare banners or even goodie bags for the students. Not only will they appreciate it, but they will also be exposed to the organizations before they even start college. Many chapters of Tau Beta Sigma have found themselves assisting Girl Scouts Troops who are working on obtaining their Music Badges. The Beta Chapter at Texas Tech even put together an entire Girl Scout Band!

Does your band have a big performance coming up, or is your chapter sponsoring an event for the community or university students? If so, check with your local radio and television channels about placing a public service announcement on their stations. This is a free service, and one of your members may be able to record the announcement personally. Your band director would love the added publicity!

These are just a few of the ways your community can benefit your chapter. When beginning the search, put together a brochure about the fraternity or sorority first. Then, you will have a visual aid to leave with the business after your visit. Companies will love to assist once they see the many ways your chapters benefit the community through benefiting the University Bands. You may find yourself with a chest full of gold or several other possibilities!