A look at the past year and how Fresh Light and First Friday will work together
First of all we hope you have had a great Christmas time with friends and family and are able to look forward to a New Year with new opportunity. We want to let you know of some of the up-coming changes coming in the New Year for First Friday and celebrate some of the successes over the past year.
Just over a year ago, a group of us took on the mantel of First Friday from Tim and Liza who headed up a team, who had been running the group faithfully for the last four years. Rather than let the monthly meetup group cease to exist, we want to expand and grow the network so that we can bring more people together to; meet, chat and connect. The events are run by a team of volunteers and have provided opportunities for people to introduce others to the community which has been created.
This time last year, we re-branded First Friday and tried a couple of new venues, although our aim is to ensure the meetups are generally around central London where possible. We had our first event under the new team last February and it was amazing to experience the community that is evident within the group.
What always surprises me about First Friday, is the diversity of the people that attend the events. Everyone is so friendly and the team of "hosts" on the evening, make it easy for others to be introduced to many new people in an evening, in an natural and un-forced manner.
Although First Friday has been very successful, it has had limitations, particularly with it's name, which means that it only makes sense if the events are held on the First Friday of every month. This is one of the main reasons that we decided to have Fresh Light as the overarching brand and First Friday as one of the regular events which we put on.
It is really exciting to hear stories of people like Kate, who came along to First Friday and although she did not initially know anybody at the event, she was introduced to someone at the event and they got on well and have now become good friends. "It sometimes takes a little confidence to step out and chat to people, but it is fascinating to meet and chat with really interesting and friendly people."
As part of moving Fresh Light and First Friday forward in the New Year, we are looking to put on extra events, which means we will be looking to expand the team we currently have. We are looking to do more collaborations with different event teams, but to do this we also require more people who believe in our vision of creating a Community Experience through the events we put on.
We are particularly looking for more volunteers int the following areas:
Hosts (If you are naturally a people person, we'd love to chat)
Administration (If you are naturally an organised person)
Social media (If you have worked in social media or are keen to learn more)
Photographer (If you are able take photos on an evening)
Event organiser (If you have ideas and would like to help organise events and small breaks)
If you are interested or know others who may be interested in any of the above, please email hello@freshlightevents.com to find out more.
