Brotherhood & Sisterhood Beyond Campus: Staying Connected When We’re Away

Just because we’re away from campus doesn’t mean the growth of our chapter, or the strength of our brotherhood and sisterhood, has to hit pause. In fact, this is where some of the most important work happens.

Growth isn’t just about recruitment—it’s about relationships. It’s not a one-time event or a seasonal push. Growth is a cycle: Attract → Select → Secure → Retain → Repeat. And when members are off campus, whether for summer break, internships, or study abroad, it’s the Retain phase that comes to life.

Retention is growth. Staying connected to your members, even when they’re away, keeps the relational glue strong. It ensures that when the semester restarts, your chapter doesn’t just return to campus. Your members return re-energized, re-committed, and ready to grow again.

Here’s the good news: retaining members from a distance doesn’t require fancy events or constant Zoom calls. It just takes intentionality and consistency. That’s where practical systems come in. Try setting up a weekly “Where in the World?” check-in in your group chat. Ask members to drop a location, a life update, and maybe a quick photo. It keeps the energy up and reminds people they’re part of something bigger, even from miles away.

Celebrating milestones is another easy system to implement. Use a shared calendar to track birthdays, internship starts, grad school acceptances, and other big moments. Assign a “hype person” to give shoutouts or post mini celebrations in the group chat. When people feel seen and celebrated, they stay.

You can also take your connection beyond the screen. Send postcards or care packages to a randomly assigned chapter member. These physical reminders help maintain emotional closeness, and they reinforce that brotherhood and sisterhood don’t go on break just because we’re apart.

For those craving more intentional connection, try hosting a monthly virtual “Connection Night.” Watch a show, share personal development goals, play a fun game or just check in on how people are doing. People join people, and people stay with people who challenge them to grow and prioritize genuine relationships, even from afar. When your chapter supports that kind of growth, you’re not just retaining members, you’re building leaders.

And don’t underestimate the power of one-on-one connection. A random “Hey, how’s your week going?” text can go a long way. Remember: relationships drive results. Your tech, your events, your systems, they only work if they help people feel known, loved, and connected.

When we focus only on attracting new members and forget to retain the ones we have, we’re missing a critical part of the growth cycle. This season, when we’re away from the chapter house or not gathering weekly, isn’t a break from growth. It’s an opportunity to deepen the roots that will make next semester’s growth stronger and more sustainable.

Strong chapters don’t grow by accident, they grow on purpose. And that growth doesn’t stop when the semester ends. It continues in the text you send, the celebration you share, the space you hold, and the systems you build. So keep showing up. Keep choosing connection. Keep being the kind of chapter people are proud to come home to, no matter how far they’ve gone.

 Written by Becca Lahr, Customer Success Training Manager