Ignite Your School’s Potential: Increasing Club Membership Sevenfold

As a Junior, Diego Sandoval realized he was the only non-graduating member of Youth 4 a Sustainable Future at Eastlake High School in Chula Vista, California. He was presented with a challenge: increasing membership. With only four consistent members in a school of 2,700, the task seemed daunting. Diego knew the importance of sustainability. He recognized that his generation would bear the brunt of the impact of our daily choices on the planet. He saw Y4SF, a climate change club focused on diverting lunchtime food waste from landfills and rescuing and redistributing edible food to food-insecure families, as a beacon of hope for anyone eager to make a tangible difference. Diego offers the following insights from Eastlake’s experience to demonstrate techniques that helped their Y4SF club expand, with the hope of empowering you to cultivate similar growth in your own cafeteria sustainability clubs. 

“I began by initiating conversations about outreach,” says Sandoval. The club made a strategic decision to present to 15 different classes in the spring before his senior year. Up to four board members coordinated their schedules to present as a group to some classrooms, a testament to the value they place on teamwork and individual contributions. They believed that this unity would attract more members. Diego also emphasized the importance of the presenters coming across as exciting and confident.

The 6-minute presentation invited underclassmen to seize convenient, on-campus opportunities to volunteer for a good cause and step into leadership roles that would shine on college applications. They highlighted that students have 180 lunchtimes each year, and that volunteering for one shift per week was a small sacrifice with a big impact. The team framed volunteering as simply another way to hang out with friends. The prospect of forging additional meaningful friendships within a community of like-minded individuals, making a quantifiable difference, and networking with professionals in the field was presented as an enticing package.  

The content was compelling, and the technique for engaging potential members was spot on. At the end of their presentation, a QR code was displayed, inviting students to join the club’s WhatsApp chat. This provided an easy gateway for students to access information and decide when they were ready to step forward. Diego made a point of personally messaging each new member to the WhatsApp group, asking whether they could attend the next club meeting. This personal touch, although time-consuming, was crucial in making each of the twenty-plus students feel seen and valued by an upperclassman. The WhatsApp group, coupled with the club's Instagram handle (@ehsgreeny4sf), offered potential members a glimpse into the club's successful events, even if they weren’t ready to become active immediately.

The club’s outreach efforts were well worth it. Eastlake’s Youth 4 a Sustainable Future now proudly engages 28 active members who work throughout the week to reduce food waste and redistribute edible food. Diego is confident that with only three seniors graduating at the end of the school year, club members will continue to carry the torch. 

Sandoval’s final words of encouragement to help you amplify your message: “You aren’t alone in this kind of initiative. You can feel kind of singled out, like ‘Why are you into picking up food?’ It’s a lot deeper than that. There are students across San Diego, in other high schools, that are really passionate about this type of thing. Once you find that group of people at your school, it can truly be a beautiful thing… It’s really rewarding once you have that community. Just do not give up, they are out there.”

Each of you also carries within you inspiring stories, innovative ideas, and the invaluable experience to offer practical advice to one another. You are the most effective ambassadors for encouraging more students to take an active role in environmental conservation. Why? Because you are their peers, navigating the same systems, and facing the same challenges. Which of Eastlake’s ideas is your school currently implementing? Which ones would you like to explore? What results have you achieved with other methods? By setting examples or highlighting strategies for overcoming challenges, you elevate other school green teams and contribute to a community of best practices. 

We invite you to join the discussion in our Instagram chat https://www.instagram.com/p/DSD6ojsksrW/  and Spotlight Your School here at CafeteriaVictories.com. 

Your voice matters. Your actions make a difference. Together, we create a more sustainable future.

*Want to bring Y4SF to your San Diego South Bay school? Find out more at southbaysustainablecommunities.org