"Passing the torch" from one group of members to the next serves a number of purposes. It helps the departing group bring closure to their experience and reflect on lessons they've learned that will be valuable to someone else. It gives new members some real-life experience to draw on and hopefully helps them avoid potential mistakes. It also is a way to provide continuity from one year to the next.

There are lots of ways to create opportunities for passing along wisdom:

• One Washington Service Corps group made a series of posters with words of encouragement to hang in their program office.
• Another created a videotape with parting messages of "graduating" members; it was shown to new recruits during orientation.
• Each of the Washington Service Corps programs has a "sustainability binder." In the notebook are personal letters from former members to current members, telling them how the year went and offering advice. See a table of contents for an exit binder in the Orient section of EnCorps.
• Some programs ask members to write the letters on their own time while others incorporate it into an end of year, reflection exercise. Listen to an example of one such letter in the Orient section of EnCorps.
• America Reads-Mississippi (Jackson, MS) gathered advice from supervisors, team leaders, and members into a booklet "so others don't have to learn lessons the hard way." It covers topics such as "One Thing I Wish Someone Had Told Me Early On…" and "It Took Me Awhile to Figure Out…"

Go on to Helping Members Stay Connected