Several years ago a few friends and I started a singles dinner group. Our goal was to get together each week and go out to dinner at a local restaurant.
I eventually started sending out emails notifying the others where the dinner would be held each week. Over time this small dinner group became a huge social network reaching hundreds of people. The unique thing about the dinner club I started was that it was specifically for LDS singles. Some people would attend every week; often these regular attenders would bring new people with them. Due to the continual growth of the Dinner Club, it literally became a feast of food and friendship. The largest dinner club dinner we ever had was held at P.F. Changs; we had nearly 50 singles come to dinner that evening.
Early on I also began to include notifications in my email list of parties, local events and other news that would be of interest to LDS singles. The email list became very popular and was used by many singles from Spanish Fork to Salt Lake City.
The real benefit of all this popularity however was the way it brought so many singles together and gave them great opportunities to meet one another, socialize, and develop lasting friendships and relationships. Many people who came to the dinner club, parties and events increased the breadth of their social circles and had opportunites to meet and date several LDS singles they otherwise may never have met.
My email list still exists and is currently run by a friend; there are also several other great email lists available for LDS Singles. The dinner clubs are no longer being held, we stopped doing them a few years ago. Many people have fond memories of the dinner club and email list and several have started smaller clubs since that time. In Early August 2007 some old friends who had attended the dinner clubs and been on the email list and I had a Dinner Club Reunion. This was a wonderful time to catch up with everyone and socialize with old friends and some of their new family members. We decided that the reunions will be an ongoing tradition; since it is a fun way to keep in touch with one another.
The goal of my dinner club was to get LDS Singles together at a new restaurant every week. However if you wish to start your own dinner club, this is not the only option available to you - especially if you and your friends are on a tight budget. You may wish to have an appetizer, desert or smoothie club. Some other ideas include getting a group together for potluck dinners and game nights. There are many other inexpensive alternatives that can be lots of fun; the real key to a succesful social group however, is doing something fun together, consistency and always reaching out to new people.
