Why create an informal private club?

‘Why create an informal private club?’

© Can Stock Photo / photography33

This is a potential question that I’ll be addressing throughout the course of this blog. It’s a simple and reasonable question.  The quick answer could be ‘to meet and socialize with friends and acquaintances’, but I think the real question is a bit deeper, so the real answer should be as deep.

I suggest going to the roots of British and American men’s clubs, putting aside the misogyny and racism.  At the core of these organizations was the desire to collect people with similar interests, casual or professional. Clubs helped their members have an excuse to meet like-minded people, become acquainted, and develop personal networks that would last years, or a lifetime.

A natural byproduct of friendships through the club is support for members. If someone is having tough time in life, it’s nice to know that folks from the club will help support when it’s needed. Also, clubs tend gather people with similar interests have similar, or even familiar, tastes. This is great if folks want to be exposed to new things, but do not have someone to guide them through the experience A club can do this on a larger scale, allowing a wider literacy on subjects within the broad interest of the club.

Clubs of the past also strove to educate their members by hosting seminars and lectures, as well as celebrate their accomplishments.  Doing this created deep bonds within the club membership. There is no reason that the same cannot be done on a smaller scale. Clubs give people a reason to spread a wealth of knowledge among people who had an intense interest in the subject matter.

A function of some established private clubs is public service.  Some clubs encourage members to give time and resources to favorite charities. Informal private clubs can choose to do this, too. From what I’ve heard from people I know in organizations like the Jaycees, the public service activity is almost addicting. Much like the reason with common interests, it’s nice to do something as a group effort among friends.

A smaller benefit of private informal clubs is the chance to practice finer social skills, including an excuse to dress well. This comes in handy in many areas of life, namely with family, love and career. The more practice one has at social skills, the easier they’re applied to other areas of life.

I’m sure I hit some of the more obvious reasons to consider creating an informal private club, but as we go along, I’ll think of and write about others.