Hi Ellie,<br>Here are a few techniques to use for recruitment:<br><ul><li>Announce workshops as part of a broader theme i.e. Women&#39;s Month, Bike Month, Mother&#39;s Day, Earth Day<br></li><li>Targeted outreach i.e. firewomen, policewomen, female teachers in the school that you may support, mothers of the students, local bike club<br>
</li><li>Word of mouth - encourage female customers to attend</li></ul><br>Once you get a lady through the door, it is important to:<br><ul><li>create a supportive, empowering environment; </li><li>vary projects so people can repeat lessons or move to a new lesson; </li>
<li>ask regular volunteers to adopt a newcomer and mentor her through a lesson;</li><li>invite people to learn about and get involved in other aspects of your work (i.e be a judge of a children&#39;s essay contest; participate as a ride club chaperone; help do a mailing, etc.)</li>
<li>encourage interesting dialogue - bike advocacy was a popular topic at ours, but never dominated an evening. Other environmentalists or teachers would talk about their work too<br></li><li>organize a social gathering after the lesson (we used to go for a beer after we closed the shop)</li>
<li>create a volunteer recognition event, honoring regular participants or organize a weekend ride</li></ul>These are some of the things that immediately come to mind. <br>Karen<br><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Fri, Sep 16, 2011 at 12:01 PM, MoBo Bicycle Co-op <span dir="ltr">&lt;<a href="mailto:mobobicyclecoop@gmail.com">mobobicyclecoop@gmail.com</a>&gt;</span> wrote:<br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex;"><div>Hello Think Tank Collective!</div>
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<div>We at Mobo are working on trying to get more women to participate in our women&#39;s open shop night. We normally have 1 or 2 women or those who gender identify as female come in. Women&#39;s night is held once a month, although we are piloting a 2nd day on a weekend to see if we can get more women in. Some of this is a response to request from members to have more weekend shop and a desire to see another women&#39;s night. </div>


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<div>Do you have a lot of attendance at women&#39;s open shop (if you have one?) What are some ways that you&#39;ve reached out to the women riders in your communities? </div>
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<div>Thank you!</div>
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<div>Ellie Jones</div>
<div>MoBo Board Member <br clear="all"><font color="#888888"><br>-- <br>MoBo Bicycle Cooperative<br>a project of The Village Green Foundation<br>1415 Knowlton St.<br>Cincinnati, OH<br><a href="http://www.mobobicyclecoop.org/" target="_blank">www.mobobicyclecoop.org</a><br>

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