In Today’s Edition
Founder Reflection
Upcoming Events
Member Spotlight
Value in, value out
Founder Reflection
Photo credit: Julian K (@jfkformat)
Last Saturday we had our Shoulder to Shoulder summer party. 140 of us, including partners, plus ones and friends of the community.
Now I’m very aware that as founders, our experience of the event might be slightly…biased. But what we saw was a room of people living and breathing our values.
Respecting each other and holding space for different opinions, welcoming new members as if they’d been around for ages, and most importantly, creating a warm, positive and inclusive environment for all of us. There was such a buzz around the place and it was really special to be a part of it.
We’re now 18 months old. It takes a long time for real relationships to form. But it felt like a tipping point for us. We’re now at a point where a lot of our members feel like they truly belong to this community, and that has a knock on effect on the impact we have on newer joiners. By living and breathing everything we stand for, we create a culture which spreads like wildfire.
So thank you. To all who attended. To our wider members who make such an effort to show-up for others. We appreciate you all.
And a big thank you to the Craft Beer Co for the venue and Elijah Craig for the gifts for our incredible Connector team.
Tom
Upcoming events for your calendar
Cycle club kicked off a few weeks ago!
July 16: Curry Club
July 18: Paintball Extravaganza
July 18: Ultimate Frisbee Session
July 18: Dating and New Relationship Meet-up
July 18: Circle of Crust
July 19: Hyde Park Walk and Share
July 21: Community Drop-In Call with Dan & Tom
July 23: Sauna and Cold Plunge
July 25: Victoria Park Walk
July 25: Hampstead Heath Walk
July 26: Maritime Museum Visit
July 26: Book Club #8
A reminder all of these events are hosted on our dedicated S2S platform: shoulder.mn.co
Member Spotlight
Hugh
We have a lot of members who put a huge amount into this community, many of whom are now part of the Connector group.
But there’s one man in particular whose efforts go a little…unnoticed. And he probably likes it that way, which is ironic given he’s being given a shout-out here.
Hugh Seymour has been with us since the tail end of last year and immediately embedded himself into the group. He’s set-up pottery classes, jiu-jitsu taster sessions, gotten involved in the retreat and the Yorkshire Three Peaks, and there are rumours he’s looking into some slightly bigger ideas in the future.
He’s someone who shows up authentically at every meet-up, wears his heart on his sleeve, and sets an example to all of our members.
Thanks Hugh for your contribution.
And Finally…
We wanted to highlight one of the principles we have as a community - which is all around creating value for other members / Shoulders in exchange for receiving value. It’s a key principle of any relationship.
Alongside our values, this principle is how we believe the community has grown to this size whilst still maintaining the incredible culture we have.
If you’re someone who’s developed better connections through the group, or someone who’s felt less isolated or lonely because of the events and meet-ups we put on, and you want to create value for the community, there are a few ways you can give back:
Shoulder membership
We don’t charge membership fees so we can jet off on nice holidays, we charge them because this is a full-time job for me and Dan, these fees allow us to cover our time and costs (which rise every month - things like platform fees, insurance).
Shoulders get a lot of perks including early access to events, discounted/free tickets, access to dedicated chats. Those who are really integrated into the community find Shoulder membership pays off significantly as it gives you more opportunities to connect with other members and build real friendships.
It costs £11.95 a month and you can sign-up here: S2S Shoulder Membership
Talking about S2S
Word of mouth advocacy is the most powerful way we can grow this community and get access to opportunities which can benefit our members.
If you like S2S, or you think it’ll benefit someone you know, talk about it. Plaster it on socials. Do an announcement on the tube.
Dan and I do a lot of work with corporates where we go in and talk to their employees about the benefit of connection and how it links to employee wellbeing - drop us a line if that’s something your workplace might be interested in.
Likewise with brands - if you work at a brand who might want to partner with a community doing great work (and with significant social reach) drop us a line.
Technical skills
There are lots of things we need as the group grows. Photography. Social media expertise. Design skills. Video creation. Merch.
If you’re someone who has these skills and wants to invest a small amount of time into helping out, drop us a line on MN.
Becoming a Connector
For those of you who don’t know, our Connectors are the guys that organise our events and meet-ups.
The Connectors are the lifeblood of this community. It simply would not exist without them. We do as much as we can to recognise them and the fact they do so much for all of us, and they help us navigate the big decisions that come with the growth of the community.
Being a Connector requires a time commitment - most of them put on at least one event per month, things like Curry Club, Book Club, Cinema night.
If you’re interested in becoming a Connector, you can fill out this form and we’ll get back to you if it’s a good fit: Connector application form
Thanks