Ideas for how to set up a Baby Milk Action Student Group Well you have the first step right! Hopefully this will give you some ideas, and if there are things that have worked for you that I haven’t included then please let me know. Getting recruits Set up a stall at your school or university. Preferably in a busy location - maybe your Student Union or outside the main lecture theatres (if it isn’t gonna rain!). Contact me to get some info leaflets and postcards sent off to you. These are all free (although donations are very gratefully received - we can send you a receipt). People are always keener to approach stalls if they are colourful, have lots of stuff for them to take away, and if they have stuff for them to sign. Make sure you are genned-up a bit on the issues so you can answer questions. The best idea for getting yourself into the know is to visit the website archive.babymilkaction.org and to order some of the books that I have included on the resource list. If people have questions that you can’t answer, just offer to find out, and get back to them, or give them my contact details or the Baby Milk Action office email. Ask people if they would be interested in joining a Baby Milk Action Student Group and recieiving more info. and get their email address. Set up a speaker meeting (contact me with possible dates), and advertise it well! Posters are good – you can get templates off of me or create your own, put an ad in your student media publication/s, contact student radio and tv, and hand out leaflets if you are feeling particularly energetic! Then announce the group at the end of the meeting. Write an article on Nestlé and baby milk for your student media publication. For ideas, info or a template article contact me using the details below. Ask within exisiting campaign groups if anyone would be interested in doing some specific Nestlé boycott stuff - make sure you don’t make it sound like a splinter group! Leaflet student hang-outs with details. Do a video showing. The Mark Thomas one or 3D would be good. Maybe in your Student Union, your Uni, at your house (if you can be sure there won’t be many!), or in a local art-house cinema if you wanna be ambitious. See speaker meeting section for advertising ideas. Ask me to send you details of other contacts in your area (students@babymilkaction.org). Finances Find out if your Union has a specific campaigns budget. If you already have a boycott in place there may be a fund for promoting the boycott. And if you have a refurendum coming up there should be a Union campaign budget. Approach you Union manager. You could ask existing campaigning groups if they would mind financing Nestlé boycott stuff - it won’t be much, just some materials and books, tv and video hire (it may be free through your Union), initial merchandise orders (you make the money back through sales - this is a good money raiser near Xmas), and other campaigning costs. Apply for a societies grant through your Union or Uni - approach your finance officer or general manager for details. If you want help with creating a grant application please contact me. Try to affiliate to Baby Milk Action - it costs £50 for a group - to help the wider campaign and to receive members mailings. You can also join as an individual for £7 (waged membership is £18). Hold a merchandise stall. Order through Baby Milk Action at a discounted rate for affiliated student groups. Then set up a stall and keep the profits to help set up your group. Then order the campaign pack (or download it from http://archive.babymilkaction.org/students/), set up an email list (most email providers give you the ability to make lists), and arrange the first meeting! If you are worried about chairing the meeting and want some ideas contact me. Then vote on a committee (if you want to be formal or if the Union requires it) often there is a president, secretary (takes minutes), treasurer and publicity officer as a minimum. Baby Milk Action Student Network, c/o Beth Brockett, 58 Dover St, Norwich NR2 3LQ. 07736937854 email: students@babymilkaction.org http://archive.babymilkaction.org/students/