SP residents cooked the Tonkatsu in Japanese interest group event
Have you ever wanted to update or share your rock music library but find no one around you is a rock fan, or wanted to go to a football game but couldn’t find anyone interested? If so, it is time to try out the SP interest group mailing list!
An interest group is a collection of SP residents who share a particular interest and use the group’s email list to update one another on events related to their common interest. One can also create events and find people who may be interested via the interest group. There are more than 200 interest groups in SP, providing you a good opportunity to make new friends and enjoy the things you love to do!
Taiwanese-style BBQ in SP courtyard
We have had several incredible events hosted through the interest group. For instance, there was the hiking trip every season organized by the hiking interest group, Japanese Tonkatsu night (a Japanese dish, consists of a breaded, deep-fried pork cutlet and fresh shredded cabbage) and karaoke night by the Japanese interest group and Taiwanese BBQ hosted by the Taiwanese interest group. Residents have also used the food interest group to go to festivals together, such as the New England Dessert Showcase and the Phantom Food Festival. You like drawing? No problem! This year, the drawing/art interest group hosted drawing sessions for SP residents to try out some different drawing skills. They are also plenty of interest groups with outdoor activities. Bike trips plus ice cream outing were hosted through the biking interest group. They have been to Walden Pond, Kimball farm, and more places waited to be explored.
Hiking trip hosted by hiking interest group
The best of all, you can get subsidy for interest group events from SP. If you have a group of 3-5 people, everyone can get $5 subsidy; $8 per person for a group of 6-8 people, and $10 per person for a group more than 8 people. The more people attending the event, the more subsidies you can get! Moreover, extra subsidy will be provided to people who create the events, so do not hesitate to host events using the interest group!
You may wonder how can you join different interest groups and be part of those wonderful events. Here are some tips: Go to SP website and click “My account” on the upper left corner, and check the interest groups that you would like to participate in. Once you are part of an interest group, you can email its members to create events and contact Michelle Chen (Interest group chair) for subsidy (Note: you have to advertise your event through the interest group mailing list in order to request for subsidy).
Hope to see you utilizing the SP interest groups!
By Michelle Chen, SP Interest Group Manager