Page 13 - The Decorative Painter Summer 2014

Chapter Snapshots
SECRET SISTERS
RAINDROP CHAPTER
Monthly SDP chapter meetings are an excellent opportunity not only to refine our talents and learn new techniques, but also to get to know our fellow painters. Bonds developed between members have been known to take root and last for decades. Some have even gone so far as to refer to the connection made by many SDP members as a sisterhood.
Raindrop Chapter in Portland, Ore., long ago realized just how special this connection can be and resolved to do its part to nourish it. In the ’70s, the chapter adopted a program called Secret Sisters and continues it to this day.
Each sister who chooses to participate is asked to fill out a form, which will allow other participants to get to know her better. The form includes information such as her birthday, favorite foods, interests, hobbies, etc. Each participant draws a Secret Sister at the Raindrop’s yearly Christmas Brunch and then continues the fun throughout the following year. Gifts are brought and discreetly delivered during chapter meetings, kindnesses are performed without anyone’s knowing by whom, and small tokens of friendship are secretly bestowed in an effort to make each sister feel special.
Raindrops member Susan Maahs describes her first year as part
of the Secret Sisters program with heartfelt warmth. “On the same
day in 1978, another girl and myself joined the chapter. We both decided to take part in Secret Sisters and, unbeknown to me, she drew my name. We lived near each other, and so we rode to the meetings together; during all that time, not once did I suspect that she was my Secret Sister!” At the end of the year, Susan was genuinely surprised to find out that her new friend was also her Secret Sister, and she credits that delight with her continuance in the program.
Members find great joy in choosing small tokens of friendship for their fellow painting friends and, of course, their friends thoroughly enjoy receiving them. As Raindrops member Lupe Vasquez-Lewis states, the gifts don’t need to be expensive, just a little something to show that you are thinking of her. Vasquez-Lewis remarked that she has even received cute cards and anonymous gifts in the mail. She enjoys being able to post pictures of the items, along with her thanks, on her Facebook page. She says, “The gifts and cards make us feel more connected, and that there is someone who truly cares. I truly appreciate the program.” What a wonderful way to welcome new members, build lasting friendships, and possibly even strengthen
chapter numbers.
dEcOratIvEpaINtErS.Org
The Decorative Painter
• ISSUE NO. 2, 2014 11