The Official Meetup HQ Blog

In the News: Meatless Meetup in Maryland!

by Tegan

The Herald-Mail did a lovely profile of the Western Maryland Vegetarian Meetup, joining up with them at their recent Autumn Vegan Potluck.

Tara Petite founded the Western Maryland Vegetarian Society a few years back, and started the Meetup Group in April of last year.

Dozens of happy vegetarians and vegans have participated in the potlucks since then.

For folks who often are limited by their dietary convictions to one or two dishes on a menu, the potlucks are a chance to share recipes, food, and friendship with like-minded veggie aficionados.

The Herald-Mail article even included some recipes from the Meetup. I think might try the sweet curried lentils myself. :)

Tegan is on Meetup's Community team.

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In the News: Discovering your own city -- and some new friends!

by Kate

Duluth News Tribune recently featured Brian Tasky and the "Awesome People" in his Meetup Group Life in Duluth.

Brian noticed lots of exciting Meetups popping up on his friends' Facebook feed, but he didn't see a Meetup in his neighborhood that he wanted to join -- so he started his own!

The focus has been on creating a fun way for local people to get to know one another while "discovering a lot more about the town" they live in but don't necessarily explore on their own.

"Some people might be sort of freaked out about meeting people on the internet then going out,” he explains.  But take one look at Life in Duluth's calendar, and you'll see an incredibly active Meetup Group! 

I love Brian's note in their description too, that "anyone who is an active, involved member can become an Assistant Organizer & schedule events of their own interest. Just ask."

Brian beautifully sums up his vision for their Meetups when he says, “It all comes down to just having a good time."

Kate is on Meetup's Community team.

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In the News: Oceanside Moms make some waves!

by Erica

What makes a Meetup Group take off right away?

Just ask Kait Burgan, who started the Oceanside Moms Group!

Kait got started at the end of August, and now has close to a hundred members! The Oceanside Star ran a great piece on how the Group has grown, and the keys to its success.

Kait's secret? Asking for help from members right away. 

"I realized pretty quickly that I wouldn't be able to facilitate the group on my own," Burgan says. "In order for the group to appeal to all sorts of people, there needed to be more than just me running it."

So Kait enlisted some Assistant Organizers from among the new members, and rounded up sponsors from the local business community.

So far, getting help seems to be paying off. The Oceanside Moms have had 69 Meetups in less than three months! And they've only just begun. 

"The group is enthusiastic and fun and the members come up with most of the ideas, so it really is driven by the group and not any one individual."

Way to go, Kait and the rest of the Oceanside Moms!

Erica is on Meetup's Community team.

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In the News: Rev. Myokei, Nicheren Shu Buddhism Meetup Organizer

by Tegan

Meetup Organizers are remarkable people.

They come from all walks of life, are passionate about all sorts of things, and make the world a better place by connecting those around them in many different ways.

This weekend the Houston Chronicle ran a great profile of Myokei Caine-Barrett, the first woman to be ordained as an Nichiren Buddhist priest in North America.

It turns out, Rev. Myokei is the Organizer of two Meetup Groups -- the Nichiren ShuTampa Bay Buddhism Meetup Group in Tampa, and the Houston Nichiren Shu Buddhism Meetup Group in her hometown.

And when she's not hopping back and forth between Organizing Meetup Groups, she leads weekly chanting, meditation, and study sessions with prisoners at the nearby detention facility.

Like so many Meetup Organizers, Rev. Myokei is committed to bringing people together and sharing joy and understanding. 

Congratulations to Rev. Myokei and all the members of the Nicheren Shu Buddhism Meetup Groups! 

Tegan is on Meetup's Community team.

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In the News: NYC Dads Meetup on the morning news

by Tegan

It's been a fine week for hearing from superstar Organizers we've featured on the blog before. Earlier this week we caught up with Andy the Chicken Whisperer. And this morning, there was a great piece on the New York City (NYC) Dads Meetup Group on WPIX.

You can watch the two parts of the news story below:

 

 

In the first, reporters catch up with the NYC Dads at a recent Meetup. The Dads walked over the Brooklyn Bridge together and then headed to the park with the kiddos. There was pizza involved. By all accounts, they had a great time.

In the second part, the NYC Dads Organizer Lance answers questions about his life as a stay at home Dad. With all the press this Meetup gets, Lance is probably getting used to all these interviews. :)

Congratulations as always to Lance and the rest of the Dads!

Tegan is on Meetup's Community team.

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In the News: DC Trashrunners in the Washington Post

by Tegan

The Washington Post recently ran a piece on new green initiatives in the fitness and health industry. And it should come as no surprise that a Meetup Group founder was among the industry game-changers and leaders they interviewed.

Lots of companies that cater to the sorts of folks who pound the pavement for exercise have pretty heavy carbon footprints.

But some people are trying to change that, including Jeremy Litchfield, creator of a new line of fitness apparel made from recycled materials and founder of the DC Trashrunners Meetup. The Meetup Group gets together about once a month to clean up a local trail or neighborhood. They're making their city a cleaner, bright place, one Meetup at a time! 

Jeremy has since passed the reigns of the Trashrunners Meetup on to Rick, who also Organizes the DC Capital Striders Meetup and its sister Meetup in Northern Virginia. But the work continues, and the Meetup Group's commitment to a healthier planet remains as strong as ever.

Congrats to Rick, Jeremy and all of the Trashrunners on the great things these Meetups have accomplished!

Tegan is on Meetup's Community team.

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In the News: Interview with Organizer Shari Aresta

by Tegan

 I just stumbled across this lovely interview in the Sacramento Press with Shari Aresta, the Organizer of the Over 40, I Don't Want to Grow Up Singles Meetup.

Her Meetup may be for singles, but it's not about finding someone to date.

Or at least, it's not just about that.

Like most of the singles Groups on Meetup, Shari's Meetup is about finding things to do, and having people to do those things with. My favorite quote from the interview:

"Nobody has to sit at home alone without friends."

Congratulations on the interview, Shari!

Has your Meetup made the news? We'd love to hear all about it! :)

Tegan is on Meetup's Community team.

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In the News: Backyard Chickens in USA Today

by Tegan

This morning's issue of USA Today has a great article on a national trend: city folks raising chickens in their backyards.

Of course, thousands of backyard poultry enthusiasts are members of their local chicken communities on Meetup, so we weren't surprised to Meetup Organizer Andy Schneider quoted in the article.

Organizers like Andy (you may know him as the 'Chicken Whisperer' from previous blog posts) have been instrumental in bringing urban chickens home to roost.

At the beginning of this year, there were 4 pet chicken Meetup Groups in the US.

Now, there are dozens!

So even if chickens themselves aren't great flyers, the urban poultry movement is really taking flight.

Tegan is on Meetup's Community team.

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In the News: Yankees Meetup in Boston Celebrates World Series Win Together

by Tegan

Wednesday evening, the folks at the Boston Globe decided to check in on The Boston-Area New York Yankee Fan Meetup.

They picked a great night for it: 175 die hard Yankees fans cheered as their beloved team won the World Series.

Cheering for a baseball team might not seem like a big deal to most of us, but being a Yankees fan in Boston can be tough. (You might remember us posting about this very Meetup Group earlier this year.)

Nikki Fein, a life long Yankees fan and the Assistant Organizer of the Meetup knew that there must be other folks out there rooting for the Bronx Bombers. She just had to find them. And it looks like her hard work Organizing paid off Wednesday night:

"I look around and I think back to the beginning, when there were four or five of us watching the game together,’’ said Fein... “I’m ridiculously happy tonight.’’

And we are are happy for you, too! Congrats everyone!

Of course, for folks that weren't rooting for the Yankees this week, take heart: there are hundreds of Sports Fans Meetups around the world. You might just find one rooting for your team near you  -- no matter how far you find yourself from your team's home turf.

Tegan is on Meetup's Community team.

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In the News: Parents, Singles, and Hikers Meetups!

by Tegan

I'm thrilled to post that this week there have been several great Meetup Groups in the news!

In St. Paul, the Single Parents Friends Network made the local news for being a great way for single parents in the Twin Cities to get together.

Some of the Group's Meetups are family events, where one-parent families can all come together. Other Meetups are for parents-only, so solo parents can chat and connect with one another through some rare kid-free conversation. 

Thanks to Valerie for the heads up on that one!

Down in Florida, Felina and the Tallahassee Singles Mingle Meetup Group caught the eye of a reporter from the Tallahassee Democrat. Felina's the Organizer for the Meeutp, and she had some great advice on how best to meet that special someone:

As for the best way to meet a mate? Martin says it is about staying active. "If a man comes along while I'm at poetry night, so be it. I do things. What better way to meet them?"

And finally, the Sacramento Press began running a 'New Girl' column, where Susan (a self described 'Silicon Valley escapee') writes about how joining the Sacramento TrailMix hiking Meetup helped her find her place in a new community.

I especially loved her closing line, about how Meetup has helped her out:

The cats are nice but not very talkative (unless it's dinnertime), so I have been looking for ways to connect with the rest of the universe. And I found it.

Congratulations to all three of these fantastic Meetups for the recognition!

Tegan is on Meetup's Community team.

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