What are the needs or concerns of your local Chapter?

• Chapter is dwindling; struggling to meet monthly; need more active members
• Transportation: Seeking a driver with a Commercial Driver’s License (CDL)
• Sharing love and encouragement with the community; upholding others’ dignity
• Were close to disbanding, but have grown:
  2000: 8 members
  2011: 35 members, 20-25 active
• More active phone ministry for personal contact
• Recruitment to increase membership
• Getting more “worker bees”

What ideas do you have to meet these needs?

• Recruitment idea: VA hospitals—veterans with disabilities returning from Iran/Iraq; call
  VA Office
• Integration of young people in events
• Socialization very important; promote family involvement
• Plan VM event and advertise to the public
• Information night at parishes promoting VM event and inviting the public
• Delegate responsibilities
• Pull in community resources, especially other disability organizations
• Importance of empowering people by tapping into their gifts/talents

How do you think the National Office could improve its ministry?

• Expand the Uplift newsletter to include highlighting individual chapters:
  • Chapters could designate a “communications person” to regularly send articles
    about VM Chapter News or a member profile to National Office via computer
    or regular mail
  • Would be helpful if National Office could create a questionnaire as a guideline
  • Use chapters that have their own newsletter as a resource
  • Need to hear more from other chapters; might foster a sense of national cohesiveness and interconnection
  • Would chapters be willing to contribute to expenses of the Uplift?

How can the National Office improve the May Founding Celebration?

• Make it a bigger event; more celebratory
• Involvement of media through the local diocesan paper and through TV stations (local access channels)
• National Office: Send press release about event to chapters for their local media
• VM Events: Be more inviting to those of other faiths and those with no faith connections

What opportunities or ideas do you have for the National Office/VM Chapters?

• Continue these types of meetings/gatherings in the future
• Maybe revive Horizon: Send one to each chapter so they can copy and share with their members
• Have National Office create a marketing/ recruitment template for a small, more personal
  booklet or pamphlet that chapters could fill in and then hand out
• Not limit the promotion of VMs to spiritual support, but let that spirit live out through
  examples of VM activities and VMs supporting and helping each other
• National Office: Continue to provide 3-set Resource Guide for VM Gatherings
• Develop a national focus: Designate “Year of . . .”
• Recruitment strategies:
  • VM members themselves, especially by personal invitation
  • Identify those you want to recruit and invite them to accompany a VM member to event so they do not have to attend alone
  • At annual fundraisers, hand out flyers for VM events for the next 3 months
  • Have events in parishes and invite the community
  • Utilize social media more; create videos for recruiting
  • Important to convey VM attributes: Sense of humor in spite of disabilities; hospitality; joy; delicateness; support; willingness to help each other
    which can aid in stabilizing a person; encouragement to accept each
    dilemma, yet get on with life; eagerness to stay in touch, especially by
    gathering for events; pride in being a VM

What are the challenges and dreams for the future?

• Encouragement to let go of past strategies that have proven non-effective or cost-prohibitive
• Greater use of technology: Facebook possibilities
• VM living facility like Dan Lalone residence in Springfield, MO [Sassafras Apartment Complex]
• News items/ads in diocesan newspapers with local contact names/phone numbers and bulletin announcements of events
• Develop more connections with other disability organizations

... and we are listening

The VM National Office would like to thank all of you for your input. These topics will be addressed at the next VM Advisory Council meeting.