by David Hills

Anne Cordon, David Hills, and Joanne Ferguson-Cavanaugh, will host a Zoom "Open House" on Saturday June 21, 8:30 am PT to help members  with any problem, question or suggestion you might have about the Servas International Host-Traveler website.  Servas members from all countries use the SI website to find hosts or other members, and a variety of other essential functions. It can be slightly confusing at times but we're here to help!

Not sure of how to upload your photo?  Want to know what's up with the new LOI's?  How to find hosts in the new system? Beside answering questions, the hosts will share a few tips for things you might not have noticed. And on top of the utility of this session, we will enjoy each other's company, albeit virtually, in the typical Servas manner. 

For more information and to register for click this Event Registration link. You will receive a meeting Zoom link in your confirmation email.

We hope to see you there!

by David Hills

We continue to see new members only uploading their own photo to the Household section of their Servas Member Profile or requesting an eStamp without any photo on their LOI, so below are some pointers regarding the Household versus the Member Photo and a few extra reminders.

Servas 2.0 now has two places for members to post photos: their Member Profile, and in their Household section. The member photo is required for their LOI (see below). The Household photo is optional. It can be a snapshot of your family, or you with your favorite pet, or a picture of your house!  

In the Members section of your Member Profile, the photo must be a headshot of yourself with your face clearly showing. It should enable a Servas host to recognize you in a crowd at the bus station, or when you appear at their front door. The Member’s section photo is required for your Letter of Introduction (LOI). In fact, in addition to your photo, all the information in the Members section is needed on your LOI.  

The next time you log in to servas.org and review your Member Profile, be sure to check the Members section to see if your information is complete, accurate and up to date and that your picture is a clear headshot. Then, if you haven't already, go to the Profile Confirmation section of your Member Profile and click on the green button that says, "I confirm that my profile is up to date.

by David Hills

Servas International unveiled Version 2 of their website last year, and it included many improvements that make it easier for hosts and travelers to update their information, find other members and hosts, etc. (see SI Launches V2  July 23 OD article). Since then, the development team has continued to enhance features on the site. Here are some of the latest ones:

Servas Group Information: You can access this page from the main menu (your member photo/avatar). It is available to all members and was originally called “Statistics”. It lists the number of members, households, and hosting households for every Servas Group and Area. It also gives a link to the Group’s website or Facebook page. Finally, if the Group has created a Group Page (see below) it gives a link to it (look for a hyperlink in the first (left-most) column.

Servas Group Pages: These are content pages that each Group (country) can create to give Servas travelers basic tips on the country and the Servas group. As of the date of writing, the following Groups have created Pages: Australia, Israel, France, Germany and Turkiye. Access these pages from the Servas Group information page ( see above).

Children in Household: The “Host Search” feature now includes a new search "filter". If you turn this filter on, the Host Search results will show only households with children under 18.

eStamp Renewal Window: To prevent accidentally issuing more than one eStamp in a year, eStamps can only be renewed within a six-month window prior to the current expiration date. For this reason, the Travel Admin screen will not show a green “Renew” button for members whose eStamps are outside that window, i.e. more than six months from expiration.

Phone Icons & Menus: Members using Servas.org on their phone or other small-screen device have often had trouble editing their profiles because they didn’t see the icons at the bottom of the screen that replaced the “Profile Edit” menu. These icons are now larger, and each has a label tying it to a specific part of their profile, i.e. “Members,” “Address and Hosting,” “Travel.”

We on the development team will continue to improve the Servas website. If you have any issues with the website or have ideas that will make it better, please reach out to me at david.hills@usservas.org

by Allison McCann

The Marketing Team of the US Servas Board is currently seeking proposals from experienced digital marketers or marketing firms to support our mission of expanding outreach and growing our membership. We're looking for creative, motivated partners who are passionate about cultural exchange, peace, and sustainability to help us reach new audiences and enhance our online presence.

If you or someone you know has a proven track record in digital marketing—particularly in nonprofit or community-based outreach—we’d love to hear from you.

Interested vendors are invited to reach out to Tys at tys.sniffen@usservas.org or Allison at allison.mccann@usservas.org for more information.

Help us spread the word and build a more connected, peaceful world!

• by Bill Magargal

  We have all gotten so wrapped up in our fast pace of living that we forget to take time to live it in the moment. The new year is traditionally a time to do that, i.e. reflect on the past year and do a refocus. Here are a few ideas you might consider to become a better Servasian.

  Become a Host / Traveler - Friends of US Servas can move on to become H/T members at no additional cost. What better way to start planning for travel or hosting in the new year?! Remember, members of the same household can use one H/T application and joint letters of reference. Interviews are simply a great conversation with an experienced H/T member.

  Spiff Up Your Profile - One easy resolution is to make sure that your International H/T profile is complete and up to date. Many hosts say they want more travelers, yet their profile has no photo, nor descriptive write-up about their interests, travels, or accommodations. Likewise, many traveler profiles are in similar condition, and yet they wonder why no hosts respond to their requests.

  Is Your Home In the Middle of a Lake? - Probably not! However, the old SI system (v-1) had a bug that would not recognize certain addresses and would set it's GPS position to a random location in the middle of nowhere. Here is how you can check and correct (if necessary) the map location of your hosting location. Log in to your Servas International account at servas.org then follow the steps below (refer to graphic below).

1.  Click on "Edit Profile" at the top left of the screen
2.  Click on "Address & Hosting" Click on "Edit Address & Hosting" - Make sure your street address, or at least your city and state, are set correctly.
3.  Click on "Pull from Address" (this is odd verbiage, but it loads the correct GPS position into your hosting location)
   
4.  Click "Save" to save the changes (Button is at the very bottom left of the screen ... you may need to scroll down to see it)

Have you had a chance to look at the new Servas International website? Why not do so and verify that your basic information is correct after the upgrades. Here is how to do this. Log in to https://servas.org. If you have not already logged in, you will need to reset your password using the Forgot Password link since the passwords on the old system were encrypted and could not be transferred to the new system. You can set it to your previous password provided it meets the security requirements. 

1. The new system will take you to your "Dashboard" page which includes summary profiles of you, your "Household" (which includes other members in your household.
2. If you have not previously logged into the new system, you will also see the words Profile Unconfirmed. Once you click on the    Edit Profile    link in the gray band above your profile, your complete profile will open and be available for you to review and update.
3. Double check to ensure that all your information is correct, and that your profile has a photo. If you are a traveler, make sure your emergency contact is up to date and that your Letter of Introduction (LOI) includes something about you that will help potential hosts have some idea about what you like, where you've traveled, why you are traveling now, etc. 
4. When you have completed this, click the green   I confirm my profile is up to date   button at the top of your profile. That's it!

Since the information was imported from your previous profile, it could be several years old and perhaps incorrect. It also confirms to hosts and travelers that your information is up to date. And finally, the annual (at renewal) confirmation helps Servas get some idea of how many members are currently active hosts and travelers. Thanks for your efforts to make this happen.

Many people find it confusing that US Servas uses two websites, so we thought it might be useful to explain why. Things would be much simpler if we only had one platform, but for the time being the complications of multiple languages, countless currencies, and a plethora of procedures and policies make this very difficult to program, especially for an all-volunteer, non-profit organization like ours. We all look forward to the day when we have only one site, but in the interim, here are the functions and features of each system.

USservas.org - Membership Admin

The primary function of the US website is to administer membership records, provide a vehicle for volunteers to help members, and keep track of all financial transactions, i.e. donations and membership fees, etc. As of 2021 we are an all-volunteer group, so the US website is the only way for us to do this. Here are some of the functions handled by the US website and benefits to our members:

• Join and Renew Memberships - the website automatically handles these functions and records all financial information.

• Member Help - Various pages on the US site allow members to request Host/Traveler status, get answers to common questions, and request individual help using the "Contact Us" form.

• Communications - the database provides a way to send customized emails to members re questions and membership updates. It also provides a way to send out the Open Doors newsletter and other important notices to all members at once.

• Events - members can announce and request assistance with setting up local events.

• News & Blogs - Menus on the website direct members to our blogs, news stories, newsletters, and board meeting minutes.

• Member Profiles - Members can (and should) update their profiles and contact information whenever changes are needed.

Servas.org - International Travel & Events

The international website is the place to go for anything related to hosting and traveling, and international news. US Servas volunteers create Host/Traveler accounts and issue member certification "eStamps" for US members. Members use the international site to do the following:

• Request Hosting - The servas.org website has an excellent search engine to find hosts throughout the world and display their locations on a map.

• Letters of Introduction - Members can easily update and print their LOIs, even tailoring them to a specific trip and including other travelers on one LOI.

• Host/Traveler Profiles - The site allows hosts and travelers to easily update their photo, "About Me" information, their hosting status, etc. Find Members - Members can look up travelers who might request hosting, or even US members in their local area (or elsewhere).

• News & Events - The new Servas v-2 website includes easily accessible abstracts for Servas events throughout the world, and stories of interest to members.
• 
  

by Tys Sniffen & Bill Magargal

Yes, we know... marketing a peace and travel group, really? Well, the truth is that in today's world the answer is “yes,” but this doesn't mean crass commercialism or flashing icons on our website. Rather, it means messaging... getting the mission and ethos of Servas to the attention window of similarly minded people. Sharing our stories and visions of peace-minded travel and the joy and energy that brings us.

To make this happen we need your help. We need snippets written by real people (you) to sprinkle throughout our spiffed-up website (in process). These should be like book jacket blurbs... short and appealing to potential readers. So, would you please invest 3 minutes to enter two numbers, click one checkbox, and type in a sentence or two. Here is a link to our super-quick survey.

Note: you must be logged in to the US Servas website and be a Host/Traveler member to take the survey.

• by Bill Magargal

  The most significant change between Servas Online version 1 and 2 is that all members are now associated with at least one "household"... usually their main residence. Frequently other people live in a household, spouses, partners, children, friends, other relatives, etc., each of whom may or may not be a Servas member. Anyone in a household who is a member is automatically "linked" to all other members in that household.

  However, members may have multiple households, i.e., a summer home and winter home, city home and country home, or vacation home, etc. Any or all of these homes may or may not be a hosting location, but in either case, they are a physical location that the system can identify by GPS coordinates.  

  Version 2 does the following: 

1. Eliminates Doubling of Hosts: Previously in version 1, multiple members in a household appeared as multiple hosts. For example, my wife, Marie Spodek, and I have different last names and were previously each listed as a host. In version 2, our home in Philadelphia is listed with two members, i.e. Marie and me.
2. Enables Accurate Map Searches for Hosts: When traveling in another country, travelers may not know the names of small towns in a region where they plan to travel. This is further complicated by unfamiliar address formats, districts, postal codes, etc. For example, travelers may know that they want to visit Mont St. Michelle at some point, but they don't know what towns and villages are near there. Version 2 enables the member to zoom in and out on the map view of the general area, in order to locate hosts that are on the way or close to their desired location.
3. Identifies Housemates: When you search for and find a host, you will also see the names, ages, interests, etc. of other members in the hosting location.

• How to edit your Household 

1. Login to Servas.Org. If you have not logged in previously, follow the steps in the July 2024 issue of Open Doors Confirm Your Profile to set your login password. You can reuse whatever password you have used in the past provided that it meets the current security length and strength requirements.
2. Upon logging in, the system will open your "Dashboard" page. Click on "Edit Profile" (circled in red in the graphic above). This will display your Profile Confirmation page.
3. On the left side of the confirmation page, you will see a list of items you can edit. Click on the "Household" option (circled in red above) to open the household window below.
4. Click on the red, "Edit Household" button shown in the lower left of the window. This will open the household editing window shown below.

• The household edit window allows you to edit the following fields:
• • Title: The default title is the names of the household members. You can change this to whatever you want, such as Winter Home, Beach House, etc. This is especially useful for those who have more than one hosting location.
  • Picture: You can add one photo to each location. To do so, click the "Choose File" button (circled in red above) to select a photo from your phone or computer.
  • Servas Group: You cannot change your country, but if one of your locations is in a different state, you can change that.
  • About: This field is used to describe your hosting location. It might include a description of the area, sleeping accommodations, directions for getting there, etc.
  • Save: Be sure to click the green Save button to save your changes.

Have you had a chance to look at the new Servas International website? This is a good time to do so and to verify that your basic information is correct after the upgrades. Here is how to do that. First Log in to https://servas.org.

You will need reset your password using the Forgot Password link since the passwords on the old system were encrypted and could not be transferred to the new system. You can set it to your previous password as long as it meets the security requirements. The new system (version 2) will log you into your "Dashboard" that includes summary profiles of you, your "Household", and other members in your household.

If you have not previously logged in to the new system, you will also see the words Profile Unconfirmed. Once you click on the    Edit Profile    link in the gray band above your profile, your complete profile will open and is available for you to review and update.

Double check to ensure that all your information is correct, and that your profile has a photo. If you are a traveler, make sure your emergency contact is up to date and that your Letter of Introduction (LOI) includes something about you that will help hosts Have some idea about what you like, where you've traveled, why you are traveling now, etc. When you have completed this, click the green   I confirm my profile is up to date   button at the top of your profile. That's it!

Since the information was imported from your previous profile, it could be several years old and perhaps incorrect. It also confirms to hosts and travelers that your information is up to date. And finally, the annual (at renewal) confirmation helps Servas get some idea of how many members are currently active hosts and travelers. Thanks for your efforts to make this happen.