In the spirit of Thanksgiving, I want to express sincere gratitude to our entire Meetup Community: organizers, members, and employees. With each event an organizer hosts, each Meetup event a member attends, and each new product feature our employees create, you are all doing what you can to make the world a better place.
I am grateful to the Meetup Community this year more than any other. What you have been able to accomplish—together—since the pandemic began is no small feat. Despite great uncertainty and personal challenges, you stayed connected through Meetup. You have continued to prioritize the mission of bringing people together amidst a pandemic that caused deep isolation and loneliness–perhaps we became stronger in spite of it.
1.5 Million Reasons to Say Thank You
Meetup surpassed over 1 million online events on our platform earlier this year (now over 1.5 million). When I think back to the work that every single one of you put in to make that happen, I am simply blown away. So, thank you to:
- Our employees, who put in long hours to launch this online feature as rapidly and cleanly as possible. They continue to work tirelessly to introduce new features that help enable our community to come together—all while facing their own challenges during the pandemic.
- Our organizers, who embraced new tools and event formats so that their communities could stay together, and worked tirelessly to find novel and creative ways to transition their events to online.
- Our members, who have committed to staying engaged and connected, and continue to explore new ways of finding and attending online events. This milestone wouldn’t have been possible without every single one of you, and for this, I am grateful.
Meetup Matters
I am full of gratitude for the diversity of our Meetup groups and events. What we do matters, and our communities have come together for so many new reasons. From filling their time by exploring new pandemic hobbies to finding balance through yoga, meditation, or fitness groups.
I am grateful to everyone who attends our Meetup Live events or reads our Community Matters blog, two new initiatives that help us help you.
I am grateful to those who have trusted Meetup in their time of need, such as looking for support and comfort after the loss of a loved one. Others have turned to Meetup to network towards a new job or discover a different career path after a layoff. Meetup is a safe space for insightful conversations and to listen to different perspectives from around the globe, and that has never been more valuable.
When I look back to the start of this pandemic, and all the challenges we faced as a company and a community, I am in awe of all that we’ve been able to accomplish together. I have always had great faith in the power of the Meetup Community, but this year that faith has grown into ironclad trust, immense gratitude, and deep reverence.
At Meetup, we know—and see—that great things happen when passionate people come together. We are fortunate to bear witness to the best of humanity, and for that, I am forever thankful.
Last modified on June 23, 2021
