Today's DAR
Congratulations – you are now officially ONE IN A MILLION!
Watch this special video message here
In anticipation of next week’s 129th anniversary of our founding, the National Society today accepted 1,237 new members, propelling the total number of women who have joined our organization since 1890 to more than ONE MILLION. What an achievement! What a joyous time to be a Daughter!
In fact, with the new members accepted this month, 1,000,269 women in all have completed the research and made the commitment to join our National Society in order to honor their Patriot ancestor. Thank you for being one of them. We recognize that today’s milestone celebration is a testament to both women who came before us to lay the foundation for our Society and to those who continue to strengthen our organization every day. While it is thrilling to accept our millionth member, this celebration has been intentionally focused on ALL of our DAR members – because we know that each one shines in her own way!
Just as thrilling to me as surpassing one million members? The excitement I feel about our Society’s future as I travel across the country and around the world visiting with our Daughters. There has never been a more exhilarating time to be a part of DAR – and our mission has never been more important. I know that with your inspiring enthusiasm, our membership will continue to grow month after month, as more women continue to seek not only the joys of membership, but also recognize the fulfillment that comes from serving to our nation through their active involvement in our vibrant organization. That’s why we are delighted to announce that we see in this achievement a platform for attracting new members via an innovative social media campaign.
But first, there is a role that you must play.
Now that we have surpassed that milestone number, we need to keep the momentum of the DAR Million Members Celebration going! I ask YOU to share your story and those of the outstanding DAR members in your life – family members, exemplary women in your local community, your charter members or perhaps your chapter was fortunate enough to have new members accepted today as part of this historic milestone vote. Tell the world about them and their service! Share their stories on your social media platforms and make sure to include the hashtags #TodaysDAR and #OneinaMillion. Get coverage with your local media by using the DAR Million Members Template News Release. The more we introduce the public to the women who represent the spirit of the DAR, the more others will learn about our organization (and be inspired to join us).
We will continue to highlight DAR member profiles throughout October. So follow our DAR Headquarters Facebook page and share them on your own social media networks throughout the month. Use the celebration to help encourage other women to consider DAR membership and to teach the public more about the vibrancy of Today’s DAR. You can learn more and direct those who are interested to the DAR website at www.dar.org/million. Please also continue to share your personal membership video testimonials at the DAR Million Members Celebration Facebook page to tell us why you are proud to be “Today’s DAR” and “One in a Million.”
DAR Launches Inaugural Nationwide Social Media Advertising Campaign
I’m very excited to announce that we will also be launching something new to shine a nationwide spotlight on our Society. During October and November, we will stage the Society’s first substantive Facebook advertising campaign to raise awareness of DAR and to attract new women to our mission. So don’t be surprised if you see DAR “sponsored” posts on Facebook related to our DAR Million Members Celebration. We hope use the news value of this achievement and to channel the power of the internet to create a flourish of interest in membership, with lots of new names added to our Prospective Member Database (PMD) referral system.
With the increased attention on the Society, I hope that your chapter will be diligent in quickly responding to women who connect with us. It saddens me to sometimes see comments on social media from women who gave up on joining DAR after they expressed interest in membership but received no reply after initiating contact. We must greet these interested women with a warm, prompt welcome in order to capitalize on this promotional campaign. If you are having difficulty managing this, please reach out to your state leadership for assistance and advice. We are all in this together for the benefit of DAR, and those ladies are there to help you.
The announcement of the name of the woman who received the one millionth national number has been a source of great anticipation amongst our membership, so please check out my next blog post to learn more about National Number 1000000.
Most of all: accept my sincere congratulations and gratitude for being ONE IN A MILLION! And join me in continued devotion to DAR, as we all know that the best is yet to come!
