by Anne Cordon

You must confirm your Servas member profile annually (verify that it is correct and complete).  Profile confirmation is necessary to keep our records accurate and is especially important for providing accurate and current information for travelers.  Travelers may be less likely to contact you if your profile is unconfirmed.

After entering your Servas member information or reviewing it for completeness, find the Confirm Profile tab at the top of your screen on a computer or at the bottom of your phone screen. Click on the [Confirm profile] button.  

 After 12 months, your Servas profile status will revert to Profile Unconfirmed. 

You can confirm your Servas profile at any time.  It will always remain confirmed for 12 months following the last confirmation. 

Important: US Servas requires a confirmed Servas member profile before issuing an eStamp for your Letter of Introduction (LOI). Please remember to check your Profile Confirmation before requesting an eStamp.

Every Servas member needs to create their Servas profile at www.Servas.org. The main section of the Servas profile is created in the Members section of your Servas profile. To create the profile, click on Members and then Edit Member.

Picture: Select a photo with a headshot of yourself only and adjust the photo which will be used in your Letter of Introduction. Click “? Help” on the Edit picture tool for more information.

Occupation: List your occupation(s). If you are retired, list the occupation you retired from. This field may be used by members to search for people with similar backgrounds.

About me: Provide a brief description of yourself (not your household) that includes information you would like other people to know about you. It is recommended to limit this to a couple of paragraphs. Remember that you'll be able to provide more details about yourself when you meet in person. Important: If you are traveling, this is essential, as it will appear on your LOI. Introduce yourself to your hosts; give them a reason to want to host you!

Spoken Languages: List all the languages you speak, including your mother tongue. Definitions:

Contacts: List any contact methods by which members can reach you. Select a network, then add details, listing the best means of contact at the top. To rearrange, drag the cross up or down.

Local ID: US Servas does not have an official ID, leave it blank. Only a few countries have this.

Remember to save before exiting or moving to the next section.

A complete profile opens more doors!

by Ann Cordon

Is your Map Pin in the right location in your Servas profile in the Address & Hosting section? Follow these step-by-step instructions to find out. 

1)  Log into your account at servas.org. 

2)  Navigate to the Address & Hosting section of your Servas profile. 

3)  Look at the Google map displayed there and check whether the red PIN is in the correct location, i.e. not in the middle of a lake, etc. 

4)  If the PIN is incorrect, click the orange button labeled Edit address & hosting. 

5)  On the Edit address & hosting page, click the blue button Pull from Address. 

6)  Click the green Save button to update your information. 

Your PIN will now be positioned correctly on the map. 

by Anne Cordon

The Member Help team still gets requests for eStamps from members who have not uploaded a passport-style photo, nor or any information themselves to their Member Profile. If you have not uploaded a photo to your profile, (see instructions), your likeness defaults to a blue, generic icon (Bubblehead). Unless you are an alien, in which case you must apply for a Servas membership on your own planet, you still need a photo.

If you are planning to travel you need an eStamp for your Letter of Introduction (LOI). Before we can issue an eStamp, your member profile must include the following:

The photo and information about yourself will appear in your Letter of Introduction which is found in the Travel section of your Servas profile. Also, there is a place in the Travel section of your Servas profile to describe your upcoming trip and your travel interests and goals.

Remember that any time you edit/update or change information in your Servas profile, you need to click on the Save button to make sure your changes are saved. Following these steps will ensure that you receive the eStamp for your LOI.

New step-by-step videos

Our website has several new resources available to help you navigate the US and the International websites. The most recent are a series of short "How-To" videos narrated by Teresa Crockett and  Seri Gomberg.

•  US Servas (USServas.org) where we manage our membership and learn about domestic issues and events; and,

•  Servas International (Servas.org) where we connect with other members whether within or outside the US.

*Note the two websites are independent of each other so the logins are separate and if you change your password or contact information in one, it doesn’t automatically change it for the other one.

Simply click on the green graphic box to access the videos.

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)