Hi ladies,

I hope you're all doing well with summer approaching. I look forward to getting out in the nice weather!

First of all, I would like to thank Praveen, Jana and Patricia for helping me, by posting some outings for the group. It is very reassuring to know that, when I travel, the group still goes out and enjoys each others' company.

To summarize Winnipeg Weekday Women - I started the group in July 2022, as I felt that women, in particular, had gone through a lot of extra work, stress and loneliness during the Covid pandemic. I had just completed a 2-year Travel and Tourism college diploma, and wanted to organize great events, bringing women together in our amazing city of Winnipeg.

I hosted one meeting per week (with the help of Ann) for the first year, to get the momentum up for the group.

The last 12 months, I have personally hosted 36 events, and 10 events have been posted by Praveen, Jana and Patricia, for a total of 46 events, which amounts to almost 4 events per month. That is 3 more events than last year!

I do a lot of research into finding engaging activities to post, calling restaurants and tourist facilities for information and then booking us in. I then post an appealing and detailed event description (with links) in order to attract members to sign up.

Once I have an event organized, I have to remember to post reminders to members, answer questions online and call the restaurants, etc back to confirm numbers. I also monitor the Wait List and shuffle names around to make sure that those that want to come to an event have a chance to. It does take work, but I am passionate about planning these events for you ladies.

And, we are now on our 4th Annual Fall Getaway, which I start planning 6 months in advance, trying to find interesting things for us all to do and locking in reservations.

I think we can all agree that many great friendships have been formed through this wonderful women's group.

This will be the second time I am putting this Go Fund Me up in order for me to recoup some of the funds that Meetup charges me in order to run this group.

Meetup raised their annual fees to run a group in 2025. They charge all organizers an annual fee of $450 CAD. The annual fee for the first three years was $300 CAD (which I paid) and I didn't mind paying, but when it went up $150, I thought it was a bit too much to pay all myself.

If you feel that you can donate, please do so (can be anonymously). A recommended amount to donate may be something like this:

$25 if you attend almost every event

$15-$20 if you attend one to two events monthly

$10 - $15 if you attend one event monthly

$5 - $10 if you attend 5 events or so a year

If you've only come out a few times, no worries.

I think you will find that if you add up what you donate, that it will cost you a few dollars per event to be a member of this amazing group. Some Meetup groups charge $5 - $10 per event.

And...I am always looking for co-hosts, so if any of you have any ideas for an outing, please contact me and we can talk.

Thanks so much for attending the events, and I look forward to seeing all of you in the coming months :)

Sherree