Newsletter

BeWelcome January Newsletter 2015

Dear %anonymous%,

It's 2015 and a fresh start at BeWelcome. There is a new Board of Directors and we have seen a significant increase in the number of members over the last few months. However, rest assured: the values of BeWelcome will never change - they are our foundation.

We remain a non-profit and open source based travel and hospitality exchange network. Our non-commercial nature and diverse members who exchange hospitality are our main strengths. At the same time we rely on dedicated volunteers to help BeWelcome with all the background work to ensure that our community has everything needed to exchange, meet and enjoy. We depend on your motivation, skills and actions for developing and testing new features, translating our website in as many languages as possible, and organising activities. Last but not least, we depend on your valuable donations to cover expenses.

We wish you lots of enriching hospitality opportunities in 2015.

Site updates

There were a number of software updates since our last newsletter. The releases were packed with elements, ranging from improved signing up to better email notification. Development is a major volunteer task - from notifications in HTML to background bugs removal. If you are a developer and are willing to volunteer your skills and time, please visit the developer's corner.

Activities

  • Have you tried organizing or joining an activity and/or event using the BeWelcome Activities Tool? It is easy to use, interactive, flexible and functional. Why don't you create an activity in your home town? Cooking together is lots of fun - as is geocaching, movie-nights, hiking or simply meeting up...it's your choice!
  • In case your local community is inactive you can send out a regular local newsletter with the focus on local events - maybe one of your own? You can also point people to join existing city groups and thus encourage local exchange. Local newsletters can be sent to cities (e.g. Barcelona) as well as to regions (e.g. Bavaria). If you want to send a local newsletter please get in contact with wind or write in the BeWelcome communications Group.

Community News

  • BeWelcome Tour: During the last couple of months we have seen a distinctive increase in the number of members, rising from 60,000 registered members in April 2014 to more than 70,000 in December. If you are one of those new members you might enjoy the BeWelcome Tour, a great place to explore how diverse BeWelcome is.
  • Stickers: subaculture - his friends call him "Michael" - has some BeWelcome stickers to give away. To receive ten stickers, send Michael your name and address through the BeWelcome messaging system. Please be patient since they might take some weeks to arrive :) In return Michael would like you to mail him back a picture of those stickers in action. On a wall in your home, on a gift to a host, on a road traffic sign or stuck somewhere overlooking a tourist attraction in your home area - you choose. We would love to use these photos on BeWelcome, so please use your imagination. By submitting a picture you will grant BeVolunteer/BeWelcome a royalty-free/non-exclusive license to publish and use the submitted picture. Of course the copyright will always be yours.

Donation campaigns

  • Successful Campaign: The annual donations drive that asked members like you to contribute succeeded in reaching its funding target for 2014. We collected 3,410 Euro which are vital to keep the website going. See more information about donations and a big thank you to all those who contributed.
  • Funding: BeVolunteer/ BeWelcome runs on a very small budget and keeps detailed financial accounts. Find more information on all past accounts and the current budget in the wiki library.

General Assembly

During the General Assembly which took place November 8th and 9th in Grimbergen, Belgium, a new Board of Directors was elected to BeVolunteer, the legal organization behind BeWelcome. The new Board of Directors are:

If you are looking for more responsibility and a challenge you are welcome to join BeVolunteer, the non-profit organization which administrates BeWelcome. Find out more on the BeVolunteer website.

Get active and update your profile

  • Complete and update your profile: Would you like to meet other BeWelcome members? If so, you should provide them with a first impression by adding a profile picture and fleshing out your profile.
  • Invite friends to BeWelcome. Write a comment for them, so that they can be trusted by other members of the community.
  • Social Media: you can like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.
  • Chatroom: we also have an IRC chatroom where you can talk to volunteers and other members. Please use your BeWelcome anonymous as nickname.
  • Join or start a BeWelcome group: If no group for your region or interests currently exist on BeWelcome, you can create one.

Wishing you happy travels and enriching encounters,
The BeWelcome Volunteers

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