these ideas aren't fully formed yet, but I'm just putting them here to see if we can do something with them.

• I really like the idea of the buddy system as this gives new volunteers a sense of belonging immediately they join the team. It would be great if someone on their own team reached out to them, maybe apart from a coordinator to help identify where they can contribute. I am also thinking about a system for mentoring, if possible. generally, we're all joining FP at different levels of skills and experience. some may be more able to immediately start contributing independently and taking the lead on tasks than others. can we have a system for mentoring and learning, as part of the community program, the more experienced volunteers here can take on the 'Mentor' role? Mentors would have the responsibility to guide/teach younger volunteers or those who are looking to learn something new in a particular new field. as a community we're helping to build each other up as we build FP and this might be a way to create and add value within the community and grow a community of more competent volunteers? it will also help with keeping volunteers who may not immediately find a place to fit in within FP involved. the mentor role can be less exclusive than the coordinator role, and can be open to anyone who has been in FP for over a minimum duration of time and is willing to share their knowledge and skill, and work with others on specific tasks they are responsible for.
• I was also thinking about having an open space for free flowing conversations, where community members are encouraged to share, ask and answer questions, meet other people who have common interests and possibly make friends. it would create an avenue for us to support people and give them a chance to get more comfortable writing on the internet, giving presentations and making friends online. we could use #random for this. the challenge i feel we might have is that a lot of people here are quite busy, so when they are here it is mostly about getting the work done. so how would we encourage casual conversations 🤔?