TENAFLY NATIVE TURNS SOCIAL CONNECTER
The Record (Bergen County, NJ) September 6, 2011 | TERECILLE BASA-ONG
TERECILLE BASA-ONG The Record (Bergen County, NJ) 09-06-2011 TENAFLY NATIVE TURNS SOCIAL CONNECTER Byline: TERECILLE BASA-ONG Section: BETTER LIVING Type: News
It’s tough to find friends in the big city — unless you’re Amanda Goldfine Hofman.
The Tenafly native, who’d moved to Manhattan to attend Barnard College, had a strong network of female friends but kept meeting women who’d come to the city and didn’t know anyone.
“I started creating informal events where women could meet each other, explore the city and create new friendships,” said Hofman, now 30, who originally worked in data analysis. “I was always [arranging events] on the side, besides my full-time job, so I decided to try to make it into more of a formal entity.”
Urban Girl Squad, which she founded in 2008, now caters to her own demographic of women in their 20s and 30s who are “out of college, but not necessarily married with kids; in the in-between stage. We attract a very particular kind of women: women who want to be active and go out, have a good time and learn.”
Events are diverse and include pampering, karaoke, baking, dancing, two-hour shindigs and daylong trips. One event that generates the most buzz, said Hofman, is the rifle-shooting lesson and shooting range practice at the Westside Rifle and Pistol Range – – “because it’s an out-there, crazy way to try something new in the city in the comfort of other women who are also trying it out for the first time.” website athleta coupon code
Another signature event is the Friend-of-a-Friend Singles Party, in which each woman brings a single male friend for a trivia-themed evening. Unlike a speed dating event, there is an equal ratio of men and women, and the men have their female friends there to vouch for them. “They’re good guys being dragged by their trustworthy girl friends, so there’s a sweet crop of guys in there,” Hofman said.
A free UGS Running Group is launching this month in partnership with the newly opened Athleta store on the Upper West Side. Women of all running levels can leave their belongings at Athleta, go on a coached group run in Central Park, then return to the store for a reception. All of the slots have been filled through September, but the runs, every other Monday night, will be offered through November.
Other popular events include spa and beauty nights, as well as the group’s Free Volunteer Series, offered through partnerships with nonprofit organizations. Participants network while putting together gift bags for benefits or preparing meals for the less fortunate.
All ages welcome
Nor is there an age cutoff. “The 20s and 30s is a frame of mind, I think,” said Hofman. “There are certainly women in their 40s who party harder, and women in their 20s who live like they’re 40 or 50. We trust that when people come, they see if it’s a good fit for them.”
And since most UGS events are held in the evening or on weekends, commuters can attend as well as New Yorkers. “There’s a good chunk of women who come from Jersey because there’s not a lot going on in Bergen County or Long Island, and they want opportunities to hang out in the city,” Hofman explained.
Not that Hofman doesn’t travel the other way once in a while. She frequently returns to Tenafly to spend time with her widowed father. “I’m very close with my best friend from high school, and around the holidays when we’re all in town, we meet up at Cafe Angelique, which wasn’t there when I was growing up,” says Hofman, whose mother would cut out articles from The Record about her school plays to put on the fridge. “It’s really funny to me how popular it is, that it’s a hot spot, as it was a hair salon [when I was growing up], though I never got my hair done there.” go to website athleta coupon code
Sidebar:
Join the party
Here are some upcoming Manhattan events from Urban Girl Squad (see urbangirlsquad.com for more information):
* Bake the Perfect Cupcake, Sept. 14, 21 and 22, Butter Lane Cupcakes, 123 E. Seventh St., $50
* Spa Night! Massage and Facials at Aveda, Sept. 20, 456 W. Broadway, $35
* Pink Bazooka Cocktail Party, Sept. 21, Co-op Food & Drink, 107 Rivington St., $15
* Drybar Pros Blow Us Away! Blowouts & Hair Styling Night, Sept. 26-27, 4 W. 16th St., $35
— Terecille Basa-Ong
Illustrations/Photos:
Caption: Urban Girl Squad offers a wide variety of activities for women, including hiking and yoga.
2011 TERECILLE BASA-ONG
