APRIL NEWSLETTER 2009 Hello and welcome to our April newsletter, our first newsletter of 2009! With an ever−increasing database of members and more tools than ever at our fingertips, this year promises to be our most successful year yet! What’s more, we’re still 100% FREE. Now that’s got to be a good start, hasn’t it? 100% FREE Membership Last year we made several changes to the Who−Remembers−Me.com website and the most popular by far, was our decision to scrap all membership charges. Well you’ll be pleased to know that the site is still completely free of charge − free to register, free to search and free to contact other members − and we intend to keep it that way. All we ask is that you add as many attendances as possible to give us the best chance of finding you a match! BRAND NEW NAME SEARCH ENGINE
A DEFINITE HIT Our latest addition to the site has also proven very popular. The new ‘Name Search’ facility is perhaps our most specific search engine yet, and allows you to look for people by name. Simply type in the first name and surname of the person you’re looking for − the name search engine is on the home page with the rest of the attendances − and we’ll run a search through all names listed on our database to see whether there’s a match. And don’t worry if you can’t remember whether it was Smith with an ‘i’ or Smyth with a ‘y’, we’re able to search partial spellings for you as well. All matches are displayed according to country and in addition to first name and last name; the person’s birth date is given to help you narrow down your search results. You then have the opportunity to click through to the person’s profile and send them a message. You’ll also be able to see what attendances they’ve listed, which should help you to establish whether you have the right Mr or Mrs Smith, and who knows, may enable you to find yet more people from your past. And remember, the person you are looking for may have emigrated so don’t forget to check the search results for the other countries too! ATTENDANCES
AND WHY THEY’RE SO IMPORTANT For those of you who are new to WRM, ‘attendances’ are the names of any ‘search−engine’ institutions such as colleges, schools and clubs you may have attended, or streets you may have lived on. They enable us to make our matches and bring people together, which is why we ask you to add as many as possible. There are 18 different attendance categories to choose from, as well as a new name search box, so there really is no excuse! The more attendances you add, the easier it is for you to be found by old friends. Whenever a new member adds an attendance that matches one of yours, we will email you with a link to their profile. We’ll also send you a weekly activity report with all your matches at a glance. So keep on adding! Attendances are what keep the Who−Remembers−Me community together − without them we can’t match you with anyone. Click here to add attendances. YOUR STORIES Mum & daughter reunited for the first time since birth You never cease to amaze us and in 2008 you sent us some truly amazing stories. However if we had to pick one that really stood out, then without a doubt it has to be Michelle Reidy’s. Separated at birth, Michelle, from New Zealand, spent several years looking for her mother and in October last year, she sent a hesitant email to a lady in Australia, Lynn Pearson, asking if she gave birth to a baby girl all those years ago. Subsequent emails confirmed that Michelle had indeed found her birth Mum and the rest, as they say, is history. Incredibly, just a month later, both ladies were reunited for the first time in 43 years, and in December, Michelle spent her first Christmas with Mum Lynn and three younger siblings she didn’t know she had! Truly amazing! If you haven’t already seen it, read Michelle’s story in full on our Successful Stories page. IS YOURS OUR NEXT STAR STORY? Do you have a success story like Michelle? Write and tell us! Even if yours isn’t a tale of epic proportions, we’re still interested in any successful matches through the site. If you’ve got some news, no matter how big or small, please let us know. We’ll do our best to mention it on our ‘stories’ page and you never know, yours may even qualify for our monthly Star Story and delicious food hamper or magnum of Champagne. So go on, get scribbling! For the very latest gossip from all around the world log onto the ‘Successful Stories’ page. RECOMMENDATIONS & SUGGESTIONS That’s all for now; we’ll be back later in the year with more website news. In the meantime, if you have any recommendations or suggestions that might improve our site, please let us know. If we use any of them we’ll send you a hamper by way of saying thank you.