By David Schwartz

We have formed a group to help US Servas members who have been displaced from their homes by natural disasters. We are calling our group Emergency Servas. At this time, we’re initiating an informal pilot program in which you may wish to participate.

First a little background:

Three of us live in the Los Angeles area. When the fires struck last January, we wondered if there was anything we might do to help those affected. Deirdre reached out to members to see if they might be able to offer temporary housing, basic household goods or other forms of support. We put together a list of people who could help in our area, and we created a master list of where people affected by the fires could go for assistance. Although no one who responded needed assistance, we received encouragement to continue and expand the project.

We then reached out to the US Servas Board to see if they would approve this initiative. We have the go-ahead for the next exploratory stage.

Now we are entering hurricane season. Before a full-scale disaster strikes, we are trying to put together a list of people willing to assist other Servas members in the event of an emergency. Specifically, we would like to know if you wish to fill either or both roles so we can put together a database. We hope to find volunteers who will:

• serve as point people in your state or portion of your state (for example, Gulf Coast of Florida or South Carolina). The point people will serve as contacts for those needing and offering help and will try to put them in touch with each other.

• offer housing or other forms of assistance to members in need. The details would be worked out between the parties. Normal Servas hosting procedures such as two-night limit for regular Servas travel would not necessarily be followed but it the hosting is still meant to be short-term.

We are also looking for additional ideas as to how Emergency Servas might best serve our members. Please respond to emergency.servas@usservas.org

Virtual Open House: July 27, 2025 4:00 PM, PDT

Are you curious about our wonderful international peace-through-travel and hosting organization known as Servas? Are you a Servas Friend who has yet to become a Host/Traveler? Are you a current or former Servas member with family or friends who are intrigued by the idea of hosting or traveling through Servas? If so, consider attending this virtual open house on Sunday, July 27th. 4:00 PM PDT. It will be monitored by Teresa Crockett and Anne Cordon, both are long-term Servas members and volunteers.

If you don't plan to attend but have friends who might wish to, please forward the confirmation email that you will receive immediately upon registration. It will include the virtual meeting link for them to add to their calendar. Already an active Servas host or traveler? Please feel free to join the meeting to share your experiences.

Experienced Servas members will answer questions about the organization and describe the many ways that we can create meaningful cross-cultural connections through hosting and traveling.

Click this link to Register for the event and follow the simple instructions. You will receive a link to join the meeting in the confirmation email, and also in reminder emails prior to the meeting. Please add this to your personal calendar!

Please RSVP by clicking the Register link above.

Hosting a National US Servas Conference is a great way to develop Servas connections in your local area. The team effort pulls people together and creates a lasting energy for all attendees, but especially for the hosting region.

Could the 2026 US National Conference be held in your city? You don't have to reinvent the wheel to do so. We have planning documents, budgeting spreadsheets, and most importantly we can assemble an advisory team of previous conference hosts to meet with you and assist in the effort.

The most recent conferences were held in NY (2023), UT (2022), and NC (2021); see map for others. Generally, we like to move the location around so everyone eventually gets a chance to have it near them. If you have a suggestion where we should hold our 2026 conference or if your SERVAS community would like to host our 2026 conference in your state or city, please contact Tim Sullivan at  tim.sullivan@usservas.org

by Anne Cordon 

Several Servas members in the San Diego area and visiting Servas travelers from Tucson, AZ came together on Saturday, Sept. 14^th to enjoy a late-afternoon potluck and conversation in the home of Jorge and Anne Cordon. It was a beautiful, sunny and mild afternoon and the talk around the table focused on memorable Servas traveler and host experiences, the border, migration and the situation in Cuba.  It was pre-election, so members were feeling hopeful. This was the first Servas San Diego area get-together since Covid-19 so it was, in a sense, a restart of regional connections.. Plans are to gather again after the new year. 

Photo L to R: Carol Trible and Mike Byer, (from AZ) Miguel (a friend from Cuba), Susan Rothman, Jorge and Anne Cordon (holding their dog Winston) and Richard Weaver (current Servas president). 

by Vicky Wason, Volunteer Interviewer

This summer, I traveled to Colorado for a cohousing conference with one of my children who recently joined Servas as an adult. We stayed with Servas people in the Denver area. We stayed with two different hosts. Susan Ludwig (who also happens to live in cohousing) hosted my daughter Grae and me and drove us back and forth to the cohousing conference. We had many things in common and enjoyed our stay. And our second hosts, Kathy and Lorenz, hosted us after the conference and drove us to Denver's annual Servas picnic. The picnic was hosted by Lani Vigil.

We were also pleased when we learned that three of those in attendance were from Mountain View, California (also attending the cohousing conference). Lani Vigil hosted Ann Marie Teegardin, Elisabeth Seaman and Geoff Ainscow..

Another surprise was that all the people from out of state came to Denver by train!  That gave me an idea. I would like to suggest we plan a PEACE TRAIN on the Amtrak Zephyr in 2025. Contact me Vicky Wason if you are interested in planning a Servas train trip for next summer. vickywason@gmail.com

Attendees at front table counterclockwise from left: Vicky Wason(UT) in Servas purple, Kathy Dolan (CO) in light plaid shirt, a man from CA, Lani, our host (Denver). Other members are from California.

Oops, bad link! Click HERE to see Joanne Ferguson Cavanaugh's  August OD article about the Africa assembly.

by Susan Ovington

As travelers we get to stay with people in places we visit and as hosts we accept visitors from all over the world.  Sometimes we forget that there's a third way of participating in Servas:  making friends with other Servas members who live near us and collaborating with them.  

At regular gatherings of Servas members, we have the opportunity to meet other nearby people who have similar interests especially those who have traveled a great deal, and who are generally willing to share information and recommendations. Moreover, sometimes it is helpful to know other hosts who might be available to visit with your Servas guest if you don't have much time to spend with visitors.

SETTING UP A SERVAS GATHERING  

BETWEEN THE GATHERINGS

Encourage those who attended to help plan for future gatherings. If you are in an area where members are spread out, try to find a meeting place accessible to most of the members. In areas where Servas members live far apart, a host may consider also becoming an active Servas traveler in order to stay overnight with one of the hosts at the time of a gathering. This can all be a lot of fun, and well worth the effort.

by Kristine Martin

Together Again in Chicago! Ten Servas hosts (two not pictured) enjoyed a summer evening at Kristine Martin's apt. We discussed our traveler visits as well as the up-and-coming requests we've received. Seasoned hosts offered advice to new members about the importance of a clear, helpful host listing (location, expectations, interests). It had been a long time without a gathering, and it felt great to catch up with each other and share Servas stories. If you are a host and don't know nearby members, reach out and organize. We are a people-to-people organization!

The 2023 National US Servas conference was held at Frost Valley YMCA Camp in Claryville, NY from October 6 to 8th. Here is a link to more than sixty of the best photos taken by several members. Each photo is captioned with the names of people in it and other pertinent information.  Photo thumbnails are presented in an array of sixty per page. Hover our photo over any thumbnail to see the caption. Click on any photo to see a full sized view. You can navigate your way through the photos clicking the Previous or Next choices near the top left of your screen, or by clicking All Album Photos.

Photos were submitted by Julie Emory, Tech Team; Bill Magargal, Conference Chair; Jim Leask, Servas Canada; Teresa Crockett, SLC Conference Chair; Marguerite Hills, SI Development Team; and others.

Letter from Céline Boute - Servas France 

In early October, I had the chance to attend the US SERVAS 2023 Conference in the Catskill Mountains of New York State. It was a fabulous event. I am very happy that I attended it.  (photo by Céline Boute - Céline with US Members Dave Lippman and David Levingston)

Servas is an international network of travelers and hosts with 16,000 members in 120 countries on five continents with a mission of "Peace and Understanding through Hosting and Traveling.” Servas is a Non-Governmental Organization created in 1949 to promote peace and help people displaced by the war to return to their villages and homes. It has had consultative status at the United Nations Economic and Social Council since 1973, as well as 14 representatives in New York, Geneva, and Vienna. It is a community of people sharing the same core values and DNA-- #travel #peace #exchange #diversity#culturaldifferences #curiosity #understanding.  

Being a Servas traveler is an invitation to slow down your travel pace, take the time to really meet new people in new places and share local experiences off the beaten path. Servas is affordable and available to anyone sharing the organization’s philosophy. As a Servas traveler you have an opportunity to stay with a Servas host for two nights and days and enjoy the richness of sharing their lives. 

As a 10-year Servas member, I am very grateful to have been able to join the annual US conference. I met new people and renewed my acquaintance with some Americans I had welcomed in Bordeaux a few years ago. There were so many things to enjoy! Early morning yoga sessions, workshops, protest songs with Dave Lippman, and overall, three days of harmony and understanding.  A huge bravo to Bill Magargal for organizing a most amazing conference and a thank you to him and Marie Spodek for the invitation. When the impact of world travel is highly, and legitimately questioned, Servas is an organization that can mitigate the impact of travel... travel small, visit villages, skip the mob scenes at major tourist destinations. Anyone can join! If you would like more information, go to usservas.org. Come visit us in France!  

Longue vie à la France! Vive les EtatsUnis ! 

Céline Boute, Lormont, France 

by Bill Magargal

Keynote Speaker Chief Mann was a real inspiration to our conference attendees. He began his talk by describing life growing up in a socially and economically disadvantaged community, the daily indignities other students at school inflicted, and how difficult life was for him as a boy and young man. He shared some of the history of his people, "Keepers of the Pass," one of the few Munsee Lenape Eastern indigenous peoples remaining on their ancestral land.  

Chief Mann described the tribe's recent struggles with rare cancers and birth defects caused by the toxic land ceded to them about 20 years ago on what has since been labeled by the EPA as the Ringwood Mines Superfund site. It turns out that a contractor for Ford Motor Company dumped huge amounts of highly toxic paint sludge there during the 60s and 70s. Ford and the EPA have taken some steps to remove the contaminated soil, but the larger problem is that the entire regional aquifer is now contaminated with toxins. 

Clearly, the Ramapough and other indigenous peoples in the area have gotten a raw deal for centuries. What was amazing to our attendees was how Chief Mann has been able to get past the poverty, indignities, and daily struggles in his life to become an effective leader of his community. His words to us showed no malice, and in fact he reminded us that we "all need to embrace our humility, our humanness, our desire to live in peace." 

After his presentation, Chief Mann and his delightful life partner and wife, Mikie Picaro, met with people in the hallway answering questions for more than an hour. Anyone interested in learning more about the Lunaape (or better yet who would like to make a donation) can visit the Ramapough Culture and Land Foundation website.