Gogobot GogoGives! | Interview with Audrey Lo
1. Can you tell me what you do for Gogobot?
I am the Gogobot Community Manager of West Los Angeles ( Check out West LA Gogobot HERE). I represent Gogobot to our devoted user base and develop relationships with hotels, restaurants, social venues, and travel-related businesses. This helps me bring awareness to the Gogobot brand and promote the experience of travelling. I do this by organizing different types of events every month based on the target markets that I am trying to reach. They range from events that are open to the general public and are aimed to educate the local community of what Gogobot does to events that are exclusively tailored to Gogobot’s most prolific members—the pro members. I also manage the Gogobot online community within the West LA.
2. How long have you been doing Gogobot and how many events have you organized?
I have been with Gogobot since March 2012. I launched the brand in West LA Gogobot region last May. Since then I have thrown about two events a month with more than ten events to date.
3. After organizing a few events, you created Gogogives. What inspired you to create the Gogogives program?
I have always had fun fulfilling my dual passions of throwing awesome events and talking about travelling. I wanted to add on something else that I am passionate about: helping a good cause. During Gogobot West LA events, a lot of money gets spent on food or drinks. So, I thought to myself that it would be much more meaningful to throw an event for a cause. I think it has a positive effect on how people feel when they go to these events in addition to tasting new food, mingling, sharing travel stories and tips, and learning about Gogobot. That’s the reason why I started Gogogives. I felt that it would give my guests and my events a deeper sense of purpose with the ability to combine our passions with helping others.
4. What is Gogogives?
I just started Gogogives in November 2012 and the first dinner was held at Anatolia Mediterranean Restaurant in Westwood, near UCLA. The idea of Gogogives is to collaborate with different venues and restaurants, then donate a portion of the profits to a good cause. More specifically, I am collaborating with restaurants to create a prix fixe menu where a percentage of the profits generated from people ordering is given to a non-profit.
As it is relatively new, I am currently in the process of experimenting and adjusting the program. Eventually, I would like to expand the program to all of the events I organize for Gogobot, whether it is a big-scale party or a more relaxed activity. This program was designed to be a win-win situation to all parties involved. It brings business to our partnered venues, helps a good cause, and adds to the quality of the Gogogives events for the new and Pro Gogobot users that join in. Finally, Gogobot benefits as the attendees are learning about Gogobot and what the company does.
5. Are there specific venues or restaurants that you are looking into for this specific program?
Since Gogobot is about traveling, I wanted to tie back the meals and events that I am organizing to the cultures that they represent. The first Gogogives dinner was at a Turkish restaurant. The difference between this and my regular Gogobot events is that I added the cultural experience to a casual and social meal. For example, the sous-chef came out and explained the significance of each dish to the guests, read our fortunes from coffee grindings, and taught us belly dancing. It is a completely different experience than just getting people together around a meal to chat. I’m aiming to partner with restaurants that share cultural experiences in addition to amazing food.
6. For the donations that you are making, how are you going to choose the causes?
Right now, I am the person deciding on the causes that Gogogives will donate to. Ideally, if the program goes well, I would love to propose it to all the geographical regions and expand the program to outside of West LA for Gogobot. I think this would be a great way to give to the global community. For this month though, I was originally thinking of giving to a non-profit organization that relates to the theme of the event. As I thought about it a bit more, I decided to give the donations to the causes that needed the most at the moment. For the month of November, I chose to give all the donations to the American Red Cross to aid Sandy Relief Efforts. I might alter it eventually since we are still trying out this program.
7. Final word
I have traveled to 35 countries over 5 continents. I am blessed to have had the opportunity to see so much and meet so many amazing people. The biggest lesson I’ve learned is that the world is so much bigger than the bubbles we live in. This is one of many reasons why giving back to your own community and those in need is so incredibly important to me. As the West LA community manager for Gogobot, I have used our resources, Gogobot’s network of fantastic users, and the compassion of our travelholics to launch Gogogives and make it a success. I want to thank everyone who has helped me along the way–and everyone who attends one of these events—for giving back by sharing with others. Thank you.
If you want to check out one of Audrey’s Gogobot events, it’s not too late. The last event of the year, Gogoball: A Nightmare Before Christmas Charity Masquerade at Pour Vous in Hollywood on Sunday, December 9th.
