MAD Society Voices (for safe clubs)

I firmly believe that any group of people worth trusting should have some kind of safe, obvious and structured way to give its participants a voice.  This must also include a well defined “checks & balances” process for the leaders.  Plan for the worst, then head full steam ahead to the best!

If you are a leader of any kind of club, team or group you can’t afford to be leading your club without some way for all the people in your gathering to safely express concerns, feel like their voices and needs are valued and will be addressed, and provide a simple accountability structure so people don’t get hurt.

This video will include each step in the process I use to make sure my club doesn’t hurt people so you can do the same.

My family has first hand experience of what it’s like to be part of an organization that did not provide safe ways to express or deal with an abusive situation we endured.  This video and these documents I’m sharing are very important to me.

The largest group I am in charge of is my Music, Art & Drama MAD society which (show) this is a print out of our MAD Society Voices form.  I’ll take you through each section and explain them a bit, and you can copy what I have created or go to MADsocietyInc.com and you can download it for free in the MAD Society Store under “Free Coach’s Resources.” 

Placing a child or yourself under somebody else’s authority always comes with a risk that the leader will not handle situations appropriately. Ask your leader if they have a safe way for participants to handle difficult issues within the organization.  Look over the paperwork they gave you about the organization and ask yourself if it has a controlling overtone.  If you frequently see disgruntled people leaving, or members seem to just disappear with anyone knowing why they left, pause or proceed with caution before you commit to the club.    

I have 2 other ideas for you to make sure you are an amazing leader…create an honorable way for communicating when people leave your group. I created a standard 

“Thank You For Participating in MAD” * letter which I will be making a video for soon.

And also make sure you have a document clearly describing the goals and standards for your club so you can point people back to an actual document when needed.  I have my “What is MAD Society?*” document so everyone who joins MAD knows exactly what they are signing up for. 

Your club should be a place of learning and fun, and should also be a safe place for those who make mistakes to gently be brought out of the place they have found themselves.

~Coach Baldwin :)