Hi there. Our NYC Pit Bull / Pit Mix / Rescue Meetup Group has already posted a listing of why we think we should be considered for your NYC campaign. However, I just wanted to reiterate that if you chose our group for the campaign, it would literally SAVE LIVES. Not only would it be great exposure for meetup.com, but it would be unbelievable, terrific exposure for all of the neglected, abused, and wonderful animals that are sitting in shelters waiting to be adopted. I believe that nearly every single pit bill and pit bull mixed breed in our group has been rescued from a shelter or from the ASPCA or from a pit bull rescue group. Some were sick, some were battered, some were even burned, but they all now have the life that they should have had to begin with. By showing that these pit bulls make wonderful companions, are therapy dogs, are children's playmates, are people's best friend, you are showing people that they do not have to be fearful of the breed of dog - only be fearful of the kind of people who get their hands on these dogs and turn them into something that they are not - vicious killing machines, and dogfighters.



The "owners" of the dogs in our group come from all walks of life...surgeons, nurses, lawyers, students, construction workers, landlords, businessmen,music producers, police officers, bus drivers, dentists, directors, screenwriters, actors, etc. They are not what most people think about the owners of pit bulls - gang members, drug dealers, and dogfighters. Our dogs go to the same daycare and boarding facilities as the jack russell terriers and yorkshires. We dress our dogs up in the same fleece and down jackets as the dauschaunds. And our dogs are buddies with all of these mixes of dog breeds.



There are other great NYC groups and dog groups, and i think it's wonderful that they meet. It's good for the dogs, and it's good for the people. Particularly in NYC, where it seems pretty difficult to meet people. But if you depict schnauzers or pugs in your ad, it will do nothing other than portray dogs with their owners. If you depict our meetup group in your ads, it will actually help people and animals. And I think that ultimately, the shelters and rescue organizations around the country will appreciate your support. They know, just as we know, that pit bulls make amazing pets and buddies. At the NYCACC, all dogs go through stringent temperament testing. If they so much as growl, they are immediately euthanized. But over and over again, thousands of pit bulls pass these temperament tests, and are only given mere hours to get adopted. Because in another 3 or 4 or 8 hours, a whole new group of pit bulls need homes. And the ones who passed the temperament test, who stick their paws out through the cage bars to touch your hand, who stick their tongues out to lick your face, are killed.



Our group is trying to make people aware of the true nature of these dogs. And we have fun doing so! We laugh, we sometimes bring lunch, we throw birthday parties for a dog or a human...it's a great way to meet people and come up with better ideas, to brainstorm about ways to stop the overcrowding of shelters and negative stereotype of the breed. We discuss recent articles that have been published about pit bulls or shelter animals. We write articles and responses to magazines and newspapers, making them more aware of their mistakes when they have stereotyped a breed, and congratulating and thanking them when they write about the great aspects of the breed. Also, the pit bull and pit bull MIX group will appeal to the people of NYC because our city is one of the largest, if not the largest, owners of rescued and mixed breed dogs in the country. Many of the dogs who have "lab mix" as their breed name are actually labs mixed with pit bulls. And many 'pit mix" dogs are actually pit bulls mixed with labs. There are also pit bulls mixed with retrievers, terriers, and any breed of dog you can think of. My reputable veterinarian at Gramercy Park Vet says that Patti may very well be a pit bull mixed with a JACK RUSSEL TERRIER!!



Our group also serves as a conduit for other rescue groups. When someone comes across an abandoned pit bull, they write our group to find out what can be done to save the life of the dog. Often times, it is not even a pit bull that they are writing about. Sometimes these rescuers come across our group online somehow, notice the pictures of our dogs, realize that we care a great deal for our animals, so they write asking for help with the abandoned dog. And we write back every time, giving them the names of foster parents who might be availalbe, shelters that do not euthanize dogs, and how to care for the dog until it can be taken in by a rescue group. We also post the picture of the dog on our website and send out an email to all our group members asking for help with the situation. I strongly feel that our meetup group is making a difference in New York City.



PLUS...the winner of the Westminster Dog Show that was held in Madison Square Garden in NEW YORK CITY last week was...the BULL TERRIER...a relative of the Pit bull terrier. That was great news. Rufus, the bull terrier, even appeared on the cover of the NY Post!

NYC Wine Club is willing to participate to this campaign. Just don't put us next to Captain Morgan :-))

Our best pix http://wine.meetup.co...

Our link : http://wine.meetup.co...

Our Intro : NYC Wine Club meet every last Wednesday of the month to discover new wine varietals, new 'terroirs' and meet new wine enthusiasts. We even make wines...

The cover charge of every event refunds only the cost of the tasting, nothing more. We are tasting and serving wine for the benefit of our members because we share the same passion.

The Brag: The largest wine club in New York happens to be the most interesting one and also the most affordable of the City. With 900 members, we are rated 4.5 and did 51 events for an average cost of $30. UNBEATABLE.

LINK TO PHOTO:

http://yoga.meetup.co...

MEETUP NAME:

The NYC Hatha Yoga Meetup

LINK:

http://yoga.meetup.co...

MEETUP DAY:

Official meetup is first Tuesday of every month which includes a full yoga class plus a tea outing afterwards.
However, we meet every week at the yoga studio to practice traditional Hatha Yoga (optional donation of only $5).

WE SHOULD BE FEATURED BECAUSE:

Traditional yoga practice is rarely found in the West. Most styles of yoga have been commercialized or brand-named. The true aspirant who is searching to find a classical style of yoga that is not owned by an individual or profit-making organization is often left with little choice but to visit ashrams in India or learn by studying authentic texts.

Not only that, yoga is costly in the city. A single class can cost $15-$20. Most yoga classes cater to upper middle-class, generally fit, 20-30 something. Many are not suitable for people who are suffering from an ailment, who could seriously benefit from a yoga practice.

My meetup group offers traditional hatha yoga classes every week free of charge. I have over 8 years of teaching experience and studied in India at a world-renowned yoga institution. I encourage people who are suffering from ailments such as anxiety, sleeping problems, back pain, digestive disorders, shoulder/neck pain, high stress, fatigue, diabetes, depression, and inability to relax or be calm to attend my classes and improve their mental and physical health, grow spiritually and bring a sense of calmness to their lives.

In less than six months, this groups has grown to more than 150 members and is growing daily. I regularly have 10-15 students per class. Our lovely studio in Park Slope, Brooklyn was generously donated to us by one of our meetup members. I have specifically 3 students who have expressed relief from digestive trouble, nervous disorder and addiction. They are now taking up yoga regularly and attend class every week.

I started this meetup group as a service to my community - to offer yoga classes free of charge to those who are serious about learning it and who want to improve the quality of their lives and gain a more positive outlook in life. By helping others, I hope to make just a small contribution to make NYC a better, more happier place to live. Positive energy does spread.

* http://chihuahua.meet...
* NYC Chihuahua Meetup
* http://chihuahua.meet...
* on the 2nd saturday of the month
.
ok...hope is not too late....


Chihuahua meetups is the first toy dog group to officially formed in the
city....probably one of the first anything meetups in the city....

Our group deserves to be mention all around because we have been
instrumental on the development and grow of other groups. Been use many
times as an
example of how meetups can be run or be started...

and not only we get toguether to enjoy our common love which are the
chihuahuas, but all the 530 something members cares about our city and our

communities. Last year every single meetup had fees that were forwarded to
rescue
groups and disasters such as katrina.
..and we participated in other events through out the city.....been the
latest one the chinesse lunar new year, were chihauhau meetups marched
along
dragons and drums in the chinese parade , making them the favorite among
participants and attendees

NYC Chihuahua Meetups is a group worth mention for their contribution to
the
dog world all around the USA as well, helped showing the need of
businesses
to cater our special needs, laws that need to be enforce, etc...

it all started with a couple of chis wanted to have fun.....and we have
now
members and friends from all over the world to share our common love and
help
us make this a better world!

AAYYEEE CCHHIIHHUUAAHUUAA!!!

Hi all,

Thanks for all your posts. They were super inspiring and fun to read. It's clear that you are building real communities and making a difference in people lives. And, based on the photos, it looks like you’re having some fun too!

From here, Meetup’s marketing team is going to work with our designer to create an ad that showcases a wide variety of Meetups (it’s our turn to brag about you). We won’t be able to include every Meetup submitted, but we’ll try to represent numerous different types of Meetups. We’ll be sure to give you a sneak peak before it goes live.

As Mary mentioned, the goal of this campaign is to highlight some of the great Meetups around NYC to make it easier for you to spread the word about the great things happening at yours. How else can we help you and your members get involved to get the most out of the campaign (maybe through electronic copies of the campaign, your Meetups promote tools, campaign fliers/postcards, …) ?

Andres
Director of Marketing - Meeutp.com

Hello!

To answer your question: Yes to all your suggestions. :)

I participate in Meetup's New York City Schnauzer playgroup and we'd love to increase our membership and right now we could use any type of help or suggestions from meetup folks.

The electronic copies of the campaign would be great. Even better, it'd be great to be featured in the campaign. hehe

Here's my personal thought: Please don't showcase just the most popular groups. They have huge memberships already and the folks who'd REALLY benefit from a meetup campaign would be some of the smaller groups (like mine), so i hope you're planning to carefully choose a mix that represents meetup and new york city. Not to bad mouth any of the larger groups. Kudos for growing them successfully.

I also like your idea about campaign flyers and postcards. In NYC, flyers and postcards are a great way to get our meetups in the hands of the people. I post flyers on streetlamps, bulletin boards, and even my job's fridge on every floor of the building!!

Thanks for putting the ad campaign together for all of us. I'm very excited to hear the outcome.

Btw, how will we hear that we've been chosen or not? via message board? which forum? thanks!

Cheers,
Corris & my pup Roxie
New York City Schnauzers

Hi all,

Thanks for all your posts. They were super inspiring and fun to read. It's clear that you are building real communities and making a difference in people lives. And, based on the photos, it looks like you’re having some fun too!

From here, Meetup’s marketing team is going to work with our designer to create an ad that showcases a wide variety of Meetups (it’s our turn to brag about you). We won’t be able to include every Meetup submitted, but we’ll try to represent numerous different types of Meetups. We’ll be sure to give you a sneak peak before it goes live.

As Mary mentioned, the goal of this campaign is to highlight some of the great Meetups around NYC to make it easier for you to spread the word about the great things happening at yours. How else can we help you and your members get involved to get the most out of the campaign (maybe through electronic copies of the campaign, your Meetups promote tools, campaign fliers/postcards, …) ?

Andres
Director of Marketing - Meeutp.com

Again, I think this campaign is great because it spreads the word about our meetup groups. I think it would really be helpful to New Yorkers to see people with their adopted pit bulls and mixed breeds, all shelter dogs. Everywhere I go around NYC, people always want to hear the story of how, when, and where I adopted my pit bull. They ask me to write down the names of the shelters that they can rescue a dog from. They ask me for the names of rescue groups so that they can help out, volunteer, or foster a dog themselves. I think our membership would greatly expand just by being featured in the ads in the subway cars. People want to know ways in which they can help animals, and become involved. This would be the perfect opportunity for them. We are not the largest group in the competition, but I think we are the group that makes the biggest difference in the lives of people and animals.

Hi all,

Thanks for all your posts. They were super inspiring and fun to read. It's clear that you are building real communities and making a difference in people lives. And, based on the photos, it looks like you’re having some fun too!

From here, Meetup’s marketing team is going to work with our designer to create an ad that showcases a wide variety of Meetups (it’s our turn to brag about you). We won’t be able to include every Meetup submitted, but we’ll try to represent numerous different types of Meetups. We’ll be sure to give you a sneak peak before it goes live.

As Mary mentioned, the goal of this campaign is to highlight some of the great Meetups around NYC to make it easier for you to spread the word about the great things happening at yours. How else can we help you and your members get involved to get the most out of the campaign (maybe through electronic copies of the campaign, your Meetups promote tools, campaign fliers/postcards, …) ?

Andres
Director of Marketing - Meeutp.com

Lenny and I are hosting a charity benefit for Animal Haven shelter on Sunday, April 2, 2006, and would like to allow all of the city's canine meetups to rent booths at the event. Would it be possible for us to receive a Meetup.com banner that all the groups can use to promote their booths?

Pugs & Kisses,
Lin & Lenny the Pug

Hi Corris,

Glad you're into getting electronic versions of the campaign. You've got some neat ideas about how they could be shared (especially office fridges!...Can you imagine teaming up to get Meetups posted on office fridges in the area? How cool would that be?)

We're working with our designer to get lots of Meetups in the subway ad. We're trying to show lots of photos that have a good variety of Meetups. Once we know the final count that will fit and the mix we can get in there, we'll get word out via email. It shouldn't take more than a couple weeks.

In the meantime please keep the ideas coming for other ways to get more out of the campaign.

Lin, cool idea on the banner. I know that the Chihuahua Meetup proudly displayed it in a recent parade in NYC (see a photo of it here). You are free to use it for your event. Please get in touch with Alicia here at Meetup to coordinate picking it up. If anyone else wants to use it in the future, should feel free to get in touch with Alicia too.

Andres

Follow Your Heart



Just follow your heart, for your heart will know
the love that's meant for you;
the love that's going to change your world
and last a lifetime through.

The perfect love that's yours alone
and has been from the start;
the love that you can only find
by following your heart.

As you follow your heart to wherever it leads
I'm hoping you'll find it will be
into the arms of someone who needs you.
I'm hoping it leads you to me!