Dear Members:
Please know that after over two years of discussion, research, and testing, the SJWG Board of Directors has finally found a new platform to host group events and communication. By the end of December 2025, we will close down our operations on Meetup.com and continue all events and activities on Heylo.
Quick Facts:
- You may join the new group here. After you have joined, you can leave the Meetup group. (You don’t have to leave the Meetup group, but you may receive duplicate notifications about events!)
- No dues will be due on Heylo for some time as we transition over. If you have already paid dues for the year, thank you!
- If your membership is coming due soon, Meetup will remind you that payment is due. DO NOT pay Meetup! Generally, payments are automatically deducted from a payment method you set up previously.
- Eden, SJWG Membership Director, or I will reach out shortly before dues payment to let you know that we have waived your dues on Meetup and it’s time to join Heylo.
- We will link all events on both Meetup and Heylo through at least June 2025. We will send a follow up message with further instructions around that time as we monitor the activity and membership of the groups.
It is also important to note that 2025-2026 may bring about some other changes to our group.
- My second term as Board Chair (Trustee) will expire in December 2025. This position is essential to maintaining the non-profit group, so a replacement will need to be found if we are to continue as a non-profit organization.
- Supporting Board Members Eden Mabee, Membership, and Lyss Em, Communications, will also not be renewing their terms. These positions are supporting, and help the group grow; however they are not essential to non-profit operations.
- The Barrington VFW Senior Center, where we have met on the Third Thursday for the past 10 years, is for sale by Barrington Borough, leaving our future there uncertain. We have received no official notice yet. However, we expect we could lose our meeting space at any time.
Vice President (Trustee)/Programming Director Susan Rosenbluth, and Secretary/Treasurer (Trustee) Tom Jenkins have agreed to renew their terms as Board Members and Trustees for the next two-year Board Term (2026-2027). Amy, Lyss, and Eden, are all interested in assisting and leading the group in other ways, to support the group as the Board sees fit.
Our remaining Board Meetings for 2025 will be open to members to discuss and learn more about Board positions, group leadership, and/or other directions the group can take. The next one will take place on Wednesday, May 7 at 8 PM on Zoom. All members are invited to join us. We will also meet on a Wednesday in August, October, and November (dates will be available soon.)
We have chosen to move to Heylo to help facilitate this transition, as communication on this platform is much more inclusive and accessible. Plus, Heylo has an option for groups to operate for free, so in the event we are unable to fill the open Board Chair position, the non-profit can close but members can still communicate and connect and host events with each other.
At this time, our transition plan to Heylo tentatively assumes that a new Board Chair will assume leadership and the non-profit will continue. If this is the case, the dues structure of the group may change. There are many factors involved in this decision, and we will provide more updates as the transition progresses. (Note we do not plan to increase dues, only change our membership structure.) A new chair will need to be identified by October 2025, or we will begin the process of closing the non-profit.
If you have questions about this, please click here for some FAQ regarding why we are moving, as well more about operating without non-profit designation.
Thank you for being a member of the South Jersey Writers’ Group!
