Finding friends: New group designed to help foster connections

Rachel Spinks’ story likely is a relatable one.

An Omaha native, she graduated from the University of South Dakota in 2024 and moved to Sioux Falls for her first marketing job.

Like many her age, “I think that it’s really hard to make friends, especially in your 20s,” she said.

“There’s this unnecessary pressure that comes with it. You never want to be the first one to reach out or come on too strong. You can meet people at the bar or at church, but I felt like it never took a step further informing actual organic connection. It’s just really hard to make friends, and it shouldn’t be.”

To help fill the gap, she and her partner, Trevor Sinclair, launched Club Social 605 about six months ago.

“It’s kind of a passion project,” she said. “I think life is the people you meet along the way.”

Already, she has met a lot of people. As Club 605’s weekly events have gained traction, “I really try to make it approachable,” she said.

Recently, the group held a Downtown Burger Battle tasting night. Other events have including tubing at Great Bear Ski Valley, attending a Sioux Falls Canaries game and trivia at Remedy Brewing Co.

Other smaller events are held at members’ homes — dinners or game nights, for instance. Attendance typically ranges between 15 and as many as 50 people. An email list has grown to 300 people.

Most are in their 20s, Spink said.

“We have people in their early 20s who just moved to Sioux Falls for their first job and know literally no one, and we have people who are married, going into their early 30s, so we’re focused on young adults.”

For Liam Stubbe, who graduated from Northwestern College in 2022 and moved to Sioux Falls when the accounting firm he works for opened an office in the city about a year ago, Club Social 605 offered a chance to begin meeting more people.

“I didn’t know a ton of people, so it was a little out of my comfort zone making the move,” he said. “It’s been extremely welcoming.”

He became friends with Sinclair through the Sioux Falls Young Professionals Network and quickly agreed to check out his friend’s new social take on community-building.

For him, Club Social 605 fills a void — it’s not a place to network for business or focus on career development but rather a place to meet people you’d enjoy spending time with outside of work.

“I went to a couple events, and it didn’t take long to get familiarity with some of the regular people showing up,” he said. “They keep setting the bar higher and higher.”

Grace Rogers discovered the group after meeting Spink shortly after she moved to Sioux Falls in 2024. The University of Missouri graduate and Kansas City-area native found her first job in Sioux Falls at Midco.

“Having experienced the success of a similar community model in the Kansas City area, I was excited about the possibility of something like that being created here,” she said. “I attended the Club Social 605 kickoff event in August 2025 and immediately knew this group was going to be something special.”

Her first trip to South Dakota was to tour her apartment after she already had accepted her job.

“I didn’t know a single person,” she said. “Because of that, I was hoping to meet new people, build genuine connections and find a welcoming, intentional community. When Rachel told me about Club Social, I was immediately excited because it was exactly the kind of group I had been looking for when I first moved. I also knew so many other young adults were searching for the same thing, and Club Social has truly delivered on that.”

The group shares a collective desire to build community, she added.

“I’ve met both like-minded individuals and people from entirely different backgrounds — connections I wouldn’t have made otherwise,” Rogers said. “I’ve met two girls I now call two of my best friends — friendships I likely wouldn’t have formed without Club Social.”

Events are fun, easygoing and welcoming, she added.

“I am so thankful for Club Social 605. I truly believe this group is so important for the Sioux Falls community,” Rogers said.

“Many people who live here grew up here, so friend groups are often already established and rooted in years of shared history, which can make it intimidating to break in. From what I’ve experienced and heard from others, most existing groups tend to center around faith, fitness or business networking — all made up of a wider age range of people who are in very different stages of life. Club Social is addressing this gap by creating a space specifically for young adults to meet peers in a relaxed, low-pressure way.”

The benefits of friendship are big, Spink added.

“Given research on mental health and loneliness, finding connection is more important than ever,” she said. “My whole hope is to create a space where we alleviate the pressure of making plans, and it’s just show up and meet people who want to meet you and have friends. It’s so lonely to sit at home on a Friday night when I want to go out and have fun, but I don’t know anyone.”

Importantly, connections formed at Club Social 605 are leading to friendships that carry on outside of club events, she said.

“They’re going out and making plans on their own, so it’s been really great,” Spink said. “My whole hope was people would feel like they have someone in their corner.”

Look for Club Social 605 on social media, including here on its Instagram page.