Community relations event
From AFSWiki
The purpose of a community relations event is to connect members of a local AFS community with each other, even though they may not be currently involved as volunteers or participants. Attendees are anyone with an interest in AFS, including current, former and future participants, host families, volunteers, friends of the above, and anyone interested in the AFS mission. The benefits to AFS include
- identifying and possibly recruiting future volunteers and participants
- maintaining personal and institutional contact with alumni who may eventually help AFS or other AFSers
- reminding those not actively involved with AFS about the AFS mission
There are a lot of people in the world with a fondness for AFS but without the time or desire to become an active volunteer. These people will eagerly attend community relations events and may even help organize them.
How to Organize an Event
See event organizer.
Examples of Successful Events
- Dinner and a Speech
In the Seattle area, we sent an invitation to about 300 people on the AFS mailing list. About 60 people replied to the email, and 20 people RSVPed "yes" and showed up. About half the attendees were the "usual suspects" and half were folks who haven't had much contact with AFS in recent years. We had dinner at a German brewpub in downtown Seattle, then most of us walked over to a local community center where we heard a speech by Paul Bremer, who has no direct connection to AFS but was talking about a subject related to world peace. Everyone paid for their own dinners and tickets to the speech. The major downside of this program: we never got a chance to chat with each other after the speech.
- Add your experience here!
