Lend Your Ideas and Talent to Help AAFSW Raise Funds

Lend Your Ideas, Your Talent, and Share Your Expertise with AAFSW While Helping AAFSW Raise Funds with Online Virtual Tours and Seminars

As many of you know, the Associates of the American Foreign Service Worldwide is an incredible organization that is comprised of members with unique talents and distinctive expertise in a variety of fields. Recently, some of our volunteers suggested a variety of virtual activities for AAFSW members to keep connected during this time.

For instance, Sandra Stabler suggested the possibility of a virtual exercise club, a book club and poetry reading, wine tasting, as well as extraordinary international recipe exchange demonstrations and cooking parties, etc., or the virtual participation in an online tour of the Diplomatic Reception Rooms of the Dept. of State, as well as various online AAFSW Embassy Tours. Another AAFSW long time member and volunteer, Katarina Hamilton, suggested that as we all have recently become very inventive in using the internet, many of our AAFSW members may possibly like to share their expertise and talents via the internet. Yet another AAFSW member suggested that AAFSW offer an online fundraising auction of donated items of higher value that AAFSW receives. All these would be great ways to help AAFSW raise some funds while all of us can virtually buy wonderful items or memorable experiences, attend exceptional presentations and acquire brand-new knowledge as well as amazing new skills.

The “Fun For Funds” Fundraising Events Committee, launched in December 2016, was actually established with this very premise in mind: To “harness” the rare talents and uncommon experiences of AAFSW members to help raise funds for AAFSW while holding fun events for the AAFSW members and guests. It is obvious that AAFSW and the AAFSW Fun For Funds Fundraising Events Committee can now carry this idea ONLINE. Therefore, we invite all our AAFSW members with unique backgrounds, invaluable expertise, and outstanding experiences to offer their technical support for virtual auctions as well as online seminars and workshops for the AAFSW members and guests. Some or all the funds raised from these volunteer “Fun For Funds” online events can benefit AAFSW during this time of financial hardship and unexpected large operating shortfall for our organization.

Please, consider how each one of you can volunteer and create a fun online event and let us know at: office@aafsw.org. We will help you set up your online event and follow up with all the registration and fundraising logistics as well as reimbursement for expenses.

Once again, AAFSW would like to thank all its members and volunteers for your support and remind you all to renew your AAFSW Membership. We are grateful for all your efforts and for cheering AAFSW on!

Thank you,

Dr. Joanna Athanasopoulos Owen, AAFSW President
& AAFSW Fun For Funds Fundraising Events Committee Chair

Sheila Switzer
AAFSW Program Chair