Aria, Switchboard’s community manager here with exciting news. Switchboard is going on tour! This fall, I’ll be traveling the midwest and east coast to meet with some of our super Switchboarders, throw you parties and spread the love. We’re calling it the Switchboard Hearts Tour, and it’s our way of showcasing our incredible users, friends and supporters and saying thanks.
Last weekend we kicked it off with a party for the Wheelwomen Switchboard, and it was amazing. Equipped with balloons, crafts, beer and ice cream I showed up at Colonel Summers park and met with the Wheelwomen Switchboard founder, Elly Blue.
Before we even got things set up, women on bicycles began to arrive. Within a few moments of cracking a beer, the ladies were chatting about what they had posted about and how things had turned out. They shared their bike projects enthusiastically, sang the praises of Switchboard, and even exchanged some wonderful real-time asks and offers.
Every part of it was incredible, but I wasn’t at all surprised. In the five months since Wheelwomen Switchboard’s inception it has been a constant outpouring of warmth and generosity. These ladies have helped one another find jobs and places to stay, contributed to each other’s writing, funded kickstarter campaigns and given each other endless advice and help. I couldn’t have asked for a better group of humans to kick off things with.
The magic of Switchboard is in the people who use it - the awesome folks who bravely ask for what they need and offer what they have to one another. As Switchboard’s community manager I have the pleasure of watching this magic happen in multiple communities every day and so it’s with an even greater pleasure that I get to share the stories of these incredible people and show our thanks. Our Switchboard Hearts are always full.
You can follow the tour here on our blog and on twitter. Look for the #SwitchboardHearts tag on twitter and instagram and use it to share your own Switchboard encounters and successes. Check out the tentative itinerary and please reach out if you’re interested in meeting up, sharing your story or helping to organize an event for other Switchboarders in your area. I’m looking forward to meeting you!
