As I have mentioned in past columns, rather than continue to shrink, AANR must grow in order for us to fulfill our mission to
To advocate nudity and nude recreation in appropriate settings, while educating and informing society of their value and enjoyment.
One way that AANR and many clubs are working to grow is to attract young people to our organizations.
Two years ago, the AANR membership approved two new membership tiers. Young Adult Membership is available to those between the ages of 18 and 28 for $48.00 per year, at a savings of $10 per year. Student Memberships are available to students between the ages of 18-25 that enrolled in an institution of higher learning for $25.50 per year. Perhaps for some young people, this will make membership more affordable. At the least, it sends the message that we welcome young people.
In the last two years, there have been two Nudist Youth Leadership Summits. These summits bring together young adult nudists. Sponsoring organizations include AANR, TNS, and Clothes Free International. The first one held in November, 2013 was at White Tail resort with 9 participants. Last year’s summit was held at Cypress Cove, September 27-29 and it had grown to 50 participants. This year’s summit will be September 19-21 at Laguna del Sol, in California. The purpose of these summits is to give opportunities for young people to get together and to help them develop into the leadership that Nudism will need going forward.
Some clubs have special young adult memberships. Or special rates for young adults.
The question is often poised “What can we do to attract young people to our clubs?” And from talking to young nudists, I believe that the answer is that we can’t attract them. Other young people can attract them. Young people want to hang out with their friends. Let’s open our clubs to groups of young people that like to be naked. Then they can see how great the park is and invite more of their friends. And so on. And so on. I don’t have the answers, but know that we have to ask the questions about how to bring new life to our organizations.
We must be prepared for change. We must be prepared to grow.
Enjoy the sun! Have a great rest of the summer.
Don’t forget to subscribe to the Northwest Nude News. You can join at http://www.aanr-nw.org/?page_id=588016. We won’t spam you and we will guard your privacy.
