Parent Involvement

Parent involvement is crucial for the success of DeMolay International. Too often we see the decline in membership due to the fact that many parents are not getting involved in their son’s lives while they are in DeMolay. Many times members will not be able to attend an event because their parent was not informed and had made other plans. Other times it is because the parent is unsure of what DeMolay is about and does not want their son to participate in an organization they know little about. Every single parent of each member should be active in their son’s chapter in some aspect, whether they are involved with the Parents Club, or if they take an active role on the advisory council, or if they simply attend a meeting or an installation. Parent involvement is one factor that is often overlooked in DeMolay. Some parents believe that since there are other advisors that will watch out for their sons, DeMolay is free daycare.

The most important thing we can do as advisors is stress how important it is to get the parents involved. This will not only benefit the advisors, but it will benefit the parents as well. The years a DeMolay will spend in this organization are the most important in his life. It is during these years that he will begin to shape himself into the kind of person he wants to be. He will make friends that he will keep with him his whole life, and he will experience many events and tasks that will prepare him for the real world. These years are when the parent and son can make a stronger bond and the parent will be able to help shape their son into someone they know they can be proud of. There is nothing more rewarding than watching your son grow and take on leadership roles that he may not have been able to before he was in DeMolay.

We strongly encourage each chapter to support its parents club. The parents club is designed specifically to keep parents involved in the chapter and involved with their sons. The parents club has meetings and fundraisers to help the young men, and it serves as a bridge between the social gap between parents and sons that is so often found in today’s society. The best thing we can do for the members is to bring them closer to their parents and make DeMolay stronger.