Newsletter

BeWelcome Newsletter - Volunteer, new BoD, 10th Anniversary!

Dear %anonymous%,

In this newsletter

  • Foundations of BeWelcome
  • Local parties
  • In Cod We Trust review
  • Keeping BeWelcome active
  • General Assembly 2016 - new BoD
  • The next 10 years

Did you know that

  • … you can gift yourself or a friend, a host or guest a t-shirt with the BeWelcome logo? $2 / €2 of every purchase goes towards BeWelcome. For European shipping destinations, visit Spreadshirt.net and for other destinations around the world, visit Spreadshirt.com
  • … in Germany many locals joke about the Oktoberfest in Munich as a place to meet Australians and Italians?
  • … in some parts of Latin America you can say yes by flexing your index finger?
  • … it takes six to eight weeks for one of our newsletters is written, translated and released?
  • … only about one out of 2000 members is currently volunteering time and skills for our hospitality network?

Foundations of BeWelcome

You are part of a non-profit project that is breaking down barriers, opening doors and keeps giving and growing. However, as we are totally run by volunteers, BeWelcome relies on your active participation. As well as donating, hosting and looking for hosts, we also rely on your active volunteering to keep the site going. From welcoming new members and answering questions to moderating the forum and translating web pages and newsletters, volunteers are always needed.

For example, a great way to start volunteering for BeWelcome is joining the New Member BeWelcome team, which sends every new member a personal greeting. They are the first friendly contact new members have with BeWelcome and they spread the community feeling! Join today – ask one of our team members.

If you would like to volunteer but are not sure how or where, you can contact our volunteer recruiter sammiekong

I want to do something locally Do you like birthday parties? How about organizing one for BeWelcome in your city? From January 2017 we will be celebrating our 10th anniversary. The Communication Team can provide you with flag, poster/and flyer files and BeWelcome can reimburse certain printing expenses. You can also spread the word in your social circles by typing a tweet #BeWelcome, posting a photo with the BW logo on Instagram or by using Facebook or LinkedIn. If you have other ideas just get in touch with us.

In Cod We Trust – Marseille (October 2016) We will not easily forget the three days of “In Cod we Trust” in Marseille. It was a real success with about 40 BeWelcome members participating. Some great pictures were taken. BeWelcome members organized the event from September 30th to October 2nd as a follow-up to the “Seek The Duck” (Toulouse) and “Seek The Pig” (Lyon) events. They had an amazing programme with aperitifs, hiking, games & quizzes and contests. You can organize your own event/activity via the Activities page.

Keeping BeWelcome Active To increase everyone's confidence in BeWelcome and to promote your active participation, we regularly set profiles to “inactive” when they have not been logged in to for 12 months. These inactive profiles will not show up in the default search results until they log in again, though they can still be found using the advanced member search. The ‘clean-up’ of our member database is a necessary and proactive step to hosting information relevant and BeWelcome vital. For those members who have not logged in within the past 12 months, your account will re-activate automatically as soon as you access it again.

General Assembly Every year BeVolunteer, the association behind BeWelcome, holds its General Assembly (GA). This year the GA was held in Venice, Italy. There were lively discussions about the celebration of BeWelcome’s 10th anniversary in 2017 and the way that volunteering tasks are organized. After a weekend full of discussion, 28 active volunteer members of the association had the opportunity to vote on several topics:

During the General Assembly a new Board of Directors (BoD) is chosen. This year the BoD will consist of:

Imagine Something Different BeWelcome is different. Over the past ten years since the BeWelcome project started, we have seen the meltdown of financial capitalism, Couchsurfing going for-profit, the rise of AirBnB, and commercial hospitality in places never considered before. We imagined a different future back in 2007, and, in 2016, we still do. We celebrate our 10th anniversary in 2017. From thinking of us to sharing us with others who you think might benefit, January 2017 kicks off a year of activities, events and discussions, about what the next 10 years might bring for BeWelcome. Please join us as we look forward to 2027.

Going Forward We thank our members for their support by hosting and traveling with BeWelcome and spreading the word. We wish everyone a joyful and fulfilling 2017!

Open your door to the world!

  • 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 filling out your profile.
  • Invite friends to BeWelcome. Write a comment for them, so they can be trusted by other members of the community.
  • Social Media: you can like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.
  • 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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