Lance - Meetup Organizer of the Week - 4.7.08

We're in Dallas this week to sit a spell with the deepest hearts in Texas, The Meetup Organizer of the Week for April 7, 2008, Lance and The Random Acts of Kindness Volunteer/Non-Profit Meetup Group.

"Few are the giants of the soul who actually feel that the human race is their family circle." --Freya Stark

Lance and a contingent of 14 (and growing) Assistant Organizers (giants!) have created a haven of love and compassion for many deserving residents of the Dallas/Fort Worth area.

This outpouring of kindness has extended to other major cities in the Midwest. Random Acts of Kindness Meetup groups are growing in Denver and Minneapolis as well!

Lance utilizes many of the identification and advertising options available through Meetup.com. His group badges can be found on not only his personal websites, but also the sites belonging to his AO's and members.

They are vigilant about letting people know who they are and the result is a grassroots empire of universal understanding.

From black-tie fund raisers, golf outings and soup kitchens to supporting the troops overseas, animals and caring for the needs of children, seniors, the homeless and abused -- these guys do it ALL!

Read on - within one year this group has grown to perhaps the largest volunteer network on Meetup.com.

Thanks, Lance and all of your members for your selfless strides-- making the world just a little bit easier for those in need!

From black-tie events to baloney sandwich soirées, this Meetup encompasses a full range of volunteer opportunities. What resources do you use to corral such varied events for your members to avail their time and talents?

We really don't have one set formula. Many of our activities include
organizations and causes that either myself or the assistant organizers were involved with prior to joining the Random Acts of Kindness Volunteer Meetup.

Some of the non-profits I have been involved with include The Family Place (domestic violence shelter), SPCA, International Rescue Committee (resettles refugees) and Make-A-Wish (provides wishes to kids with life threatening diseases - AO Kathyrn is also a Wishgranter) and so we added some of their activities to our calendar.

Many of the Assistant Organizers have also been involved with numerous organizations as well and have added events related to those groups. AO’s Tharuma, Angela A. and Eric have all previously volunteered with Habitat for Humanity (builds affordable housing in partnership with people in need, AO Melanie with SoupMobile (prepares and takes food to the homeless), AO Angela with USO, AO Jo with Love For Kids (supports underprivileged and kids with challenges), AO Leanne with the Alzheimer's Association, AO Gloria with Easter Seals and AO Don with the Cowtown Marathon.

Other activities we sought out because we felt there was a real need such as our monthly visits serving meals at the Salvation Army(which I was referred to through the United Way) and visiting residents at Ashford Hall Senior Center (which AO Melanie found out about after contacting Senior Source). AO Dawn also set an event in conjunction with the Metroplex 4F Singles to help soldiers get pre-paid phone cards after member Karen told her how expensive it is for soldiers in Iraq to make long distance calls.
Sometimes we see other groups post events and we join in with them such as when we served the homeless on Christmas Day at the Dallas Life Foundation. We have a very active thread on our message board where members suggest group activities.

We have also been contacted by both non-profits requesting our assistance and venues wishing to host our monthly fund raising happy hours that benefit a different charity each time.

As far as Smiling Baloney Sandwich get-togethers and black tie events, it just shows that we can get messy and we can clean up well. We have fun either way!

You've been a member of Meetup for many years. How has your association with us changed or enhanced your life?

I have made so many friends and met a lot of terrific people through Meetup. Meetup is a great way to find people who share similar interests.

You're also a member of several local chapters of national
charities. Considering your long-time involvement in the non-profit world, do you consider Meetup.com a valuable tool not only to coordinate events but to get the word out about the opportunities available for those interested in giving back to the community?

Definitely. Some of our members now volunteer regularly with non-profits that they were introduced to through the Random Acts Meetup. Our message board is also used by members to post items related to non-profits that they are involved with.

Tell us about your involvement with ArtFest and your own business, CD Source.

Artfest is a festival that is put on by The 500 Inc., a non-profit that supports performing and visual arts organizations in Dallas. I booked most of the entertainment and co-managed the stages for nine years. Much of the entertainment was local and I really enjoyed discovering talented musicians in all types of genres. We also would usually have a couple of national headliners at each festival.

I had to keep some rather exuberant fans from climbing a fence and coming backstage when we had Davy Jones and it was similar with Chris Botti although they were more laid back about it! I also got one of those infamous phone calls from a band manager an hour before
stage time saying that if his performer did not get hummus he wasn't going on! That was the exception though as most of the managers were great people and it was really fun hanging out with the bands.

I opened CD Source back in 1993 so this year will be our 15th Anniversary! We have been named "Best Used CD Store" three times in recent years by the Dallas Observer which is the primary local weekly publication. We carry a vast selection of all types of music and we have a large selection of DVDs as well. We buy hundreds of CDs and DVDs every day so we get a lot of regular customers that come in several times a week just to check out our new arrivals.

Many customers have been coming to us for years and spend hours in the store. In fact the Observer once named us "Best Music Browsing Mecca". You can find out more about us at www.myspace.com/cdsource .

Do you promote this Meetup group via additional on and/or offline advertising?

I send out notices to some friends and contacts that have very large email distribution lists. I also post some of our events with a couple of local groups outside of Meetup (DFW Outdoors and Young Active Professionals). I use Facebook and MySpace to post bulletins, and blog about our activities.

Many of the Assistant Organizers and members invite their friends and also send out notices. I also have the Random Acts link that Meetup provides on both my personal and store's MySpace pages. Many of our members and assistant organizers do the same.

AO Eric prints up badges and signs with our name and logo which really helps promote the group when we are at an event with non-members such as Love For Kids.

Other Meetup groups have graciously cross-posted many of our events and listed them on their message boards. That in particular has helped with attendance at our fundraising events.

A number of members that have recently joined said they heard good things about us from other Meetups.

What role(s) do your Assistant Organizers play to help the events success?

We have the best Assistant Organizers! I really appreciate this honor but consider this to be an award for all of our organizers. They research, make the necessary contacts, plan and host events. They are also great about recruiting members.

Having 14 (and growing!)Assistant organizers with diverse interests allows us to offer both a large number and a wide variety
of volunteer opportunities. The DFW area is large geographically and since our Assistant Organizers live in different areas it allows us to better reach most of the Metroplex.

We get a lot of great suggestions but it takes the AO's planning and hosting events to make them happen. We also take a lot of photos which our members appreciate and helps recruit new members as they can see what we do and how much we enjoy it.

AO's Jo, Dawn, MaryJane and Angela A. post "shouts" to new members welcoming them and follow up shouts after events.

Where do you see this Meetup group headed in the years to come? Any big plans?

Angela, who is currently one of our Assistant Organizers, started Random Acts a year ago this month. It started with a planning meeting of her, myself (I was an AO at the time) and AO Jason.

I became the organizer last summer. We are already up to 752 members in one year's time (fourth largest Meetup in Dallas and, I believe, the largest pure volunteer Meetup in the country) so our membership potential is unlimited. I believe we can become the largest Meetup in Dallas.

More importantly, I see us becoming known for supporting DFW area non-profits as well as continuing to provide "Random Acts of Kindness" to people who can use a helping hand. In the years to come I would like to see us be able to offer more events (at least 3-4 a week) as we continue to grow. Currently, many of our events fill up so we will need more events in order to provide opportunities for a larger membership to participate. We will add on more Assistant Organizers from our membership to put on the events. We will continue to have fun and make friendships!

I would also like to see us support organizations addressing world hunger. According to the U.N., 18,000 kids die every day worldwide due to hunger and malnutrition. I am certain that if those kids were just in the U.S. then it would be solved tomorrow. It shouldn't make any difference that these kids live in other countries.

Angela has also started a Random Acts Meetup in Denver that already has 150 members (she is moving there shortly) and a relative of hers has started one in Minneapolis. I believe there is also one starting in Tampa. So hopefully we'll take over the world with Random Acts of Kindness!

Be sure to share your congrats with Lance in the Organizer's Forum!