It's really easy to start an EWH chapter. The first thing to do is to get the "New Chapter Guidelines" from the EWH headquarters. You can get a copy electronically by writing to info@ewh.org

With the guidelines in hand, you're ready to start.

Step 1 – Find the Core Members

The first step is to find a few core people to become members of EWH. These are people who are willing to become the leaders of something new on campus while having some fun. You only need a few people at this point, perhaps three to five. Ask the faculty if they know of any students that might be interested or if they will announce an organizing meeting in their classes. Talk to the leaders of the student organizations like BMES and IEEE. Once you have your core members gathered, move on to step 2.

If you are having trouble getting the core membership together, then you may want to run a trial activity. Often the best way to get people interested in your organization is to let them get a taste of it. A typical first meeting would include a short presentation about biomedical engineering and the developing world (EWH can help you with prepared presentations, brochures and DVD's), a short explanation of the activity and a one hour activity. Chose something which is easy, fun and really ties into the mission, like a build. With a handful of flyers posted around the university you will usually get enough attendance to find four or five others who share your enthusiasm for making a difference in the developing world.

Step 2 – Find a Faculty Advisor

It is very important that you gain the complete support of a faculty adviser. An active, involved faculty advisor can be the difference between a successful and a failed EWH chapter. You must have a faculty advisor to apply for EWH affiliation. The faculty advisor can help you secure space, solve problems, and interface to the administration. Try to select an adviser with whom you have had contact and who you believe will be interested in helping the developing world. If you aren’t sure what faculty member to approach, contact EWH headquarters. We maintain a list of faculty interested in the developing world.

Step 3 – Become Members and Complete an Application Form

Your chapter must complete the application form in order to become affiliated with EWH. Also, your members must submit their membership applications and membership fees. It is often easiest to complete all of this paperwork at your first meeting. Once you’ve completed your paperwork and sent it to EWH, we will hold your application as we work with you to finalize your chapter status.

You will typically receive notification about your application in a few weeks. We receive many applications for chapters. If we reject your application, don’t panic! Call the main office immediately to discuss why your application was rejected. Find out what you can do to rectify the situation. It may just be a matter of finding more interested members or completing a form. Or perhaps there is another chapter near by that you didn’t know about!

Step 4 – Select a Character for Your Chapter

While you are waiting for notice, you and your core members can begin to plan activities. Activities are the most important part of your chapter. It is the activities that you undertake that define what character your chapter will have. Look through the activities section of this book. Then decide what you think your group wants to focus on. Are your members really interested in the summer program? Then fellowship-raising might be your chapter’s main focus. Maybe your members are more interested in hands-on activities and electronics. Then you will want to be thinking about design projects, repair sessions and builds. If you are interested in repair sessions, then consider partnering with a local non-profit corporation that donates equipment overseas. They are likely to welcome your members' assistance.

Step 5 - Hold Your First Meetings

Once you have received notice, its time to hold the first, very critical meeting. You will need to 1) adapt by-laws, 2) vote for a president, vice president and treasurer, 3) sign your charter agreement and begin to plan your semester. You can find sample forms in the back of the New Chapter Guidelines. Make sure to make copies of all of the documents and send the copies to EWH headquarters.

Your first meeting does not have to be an activity meeting! You can have a meeting which focuses only on business. In fact, since you have so much business to accomplish at the first meeting, it generally, this isn’t a good meeting to widely advertise. The members might get bored going over the documents, and you don’t want to rush through these important decisions and steps, just to get to your activity. Consider running your first meeting with just the core members.

After you get all the paperwork sent off, and the officers elected, you can begin to plan your next meetings. These are the meetings that you will want to advertise to the rest of campus. This part of the program is typically run by the vice-president. By the end of your first meeting he/she will want to have planned at least two more meetings for that semester and the activities that you will undertake during those meetings. It will be the vice president’s job to make sure that these meetings come off, and he/she is going to need help!

After the first meeting, the president is not off the hook either! You need to register your chapter with your university as a student organization. There are almost always forms to fill out. In some cases, it is worth contacting your student organization office before your first meeting. In some cases, after is fine. Ask your advisor.

Now for the treasurer. You need to start a bank account and apply for funding from your university. The student government and other offices on campus should be able to give you help. For some activities, you may be able to obtain sufficient funds (typically a couple of hundred dollars) from your department chairman or student government.

If your chapter is going to focus on Fellowship raising, the treasurer is going to need a lot of help. Consider forming a committee to focus exclusively on this activity. One of the most fruitful sources for fellowships are local organizations like the Rotary Club. Even distant organizations, like those your parents belong may be interested. There is a section later in the New Chapter Guidelines on fellowship-raising.

Step 6 – Finally, a Real Meeting

Now it’s time to get the word out. This is your first activity meeting. Make it as exciting and interesting as possible. You don’t have to cover any business at all, if you don’t want to. Try advertising at the IEEE or BMES chapter meetings, the freshman intro classes, as well as on walls and posters. Have fun!

Step 7 – Enjoy!

You’ve finished the paperwork, pulled off the first activity and are now an official EWH chapter. Now what?

Well, you will need to meet again! Most groups meet once per week for two hours. However, your group might want to meet every other week at first. The once-per-week chapters are trying to deliver about 60 hours per year of activities to their members. With this amount of training your student members will be in a good position to travel oversees and participate in the EWH summer program. But, that may not be a good place for your chapter to start. Even meeting once a month is fine, at first. You will probably meet in the early evenings; most of your members will be students and professionals, both of whom are occupied with classes, work or labs throughout the day.

 

 

This is just an excerpt from the "EWH New Chapter Guidelines." Before starting your chapter, be sure to request the entire set of guidelines from info@ewh.org.