You don’t need to hit the coast to do some surfing this summer.

CouchSurfers all over the world can vouch that a sofa is all you need to ‘surf.’

CouchSurfing International, Inc. is a non-profit organization dedicated to making the world a better place by allowing users to offer and receive lodging and hospitality.

According to the social networking Web site’s official mission statement, ‘CouchSurfing seeks to internationally network people and places, create educational exchanges, raise collective consciousness, spread tolerance and facilitate cultural understanding.’

CouchSurfing.com was created specifically so that everyone could have an opportunity to travel. ‘ ‘ ‘

The United States is not the only place to couch surf.

‘The fact is we have 231 unique countries represented, (Antarctica too!), and more couches in Europe than in any other area,’ according to the Web site.

Staying with a host is always free, and the Web site allows a CouchSurfer to find hosts all over the world, making the travel possibilities almost endless. Recent college graduate Zack Benner is a CouchSurfing enthusiast.

He first utilized CouchSurfing.com in April while taking a road trip with a friend. The two stayed with a host in Memphis.

‘I was a little nervous at first,’ he said. ‘But after we got talking to the guy, he was really nice and hospitable. We were taken back by how generous he was.’

Benner and a friend stayed for two nights, and said, ‘We really enjoyed our time in Memphis.’ Sophomore Paul Hemminger has also used CouchSurfing.com to travel around the United States, and plans to take his travels abroad in the near future.

‘Last spring I couch surfed in Milwaukee, and Madison, Wis., and Chicago,’ he said. ‘It’s awesome. It’s a huge, great network. It’s kind of like the CouchSurfing family, and we all came across this cool Web site and want to meet everyone.’

CouchSurfing is not simply about enhancing travel opportunities.

As its mission says, ‘CouchSurfing isn’t about the furniture – it’s not just about finding free accommodations around the world- it’s about participating in creating a better world.’

The online community strives to not only change the way people travel, but also to change the way people relate to each other and the world.

Hemminger agrees, and believes that CouchSurfing is not just a way to travel, but also a philosophy for life.

‘If you can go and stay with someone at their home it’s kind of like this unconditional love for humanity when you want to meet everyone,’ he said.

CouchSurfing gives Hemminger the opportunity to get to know people from different backgrounds and paths of life.

‘CouchSurfing gives you a chance to show someone your world,’ he said.

To him, the Web site serves as a community for people who share this ideal.

CouchSurfing.com, Hemminger said, is a place where other people really want to meet you, stay on your couch and learn about who you are.

‘Generally these people care about the world and care about people,’ Hemminger said.

Benner also enjoys the philosophical aspect of CouchSurfing.

‘The idea is that we all want to trust people,’ he said. ‘I think that people are inherently good, and I try to give everyone the benefit of the doubt. I like to meet new people who have different philosophies on life.’

Benner also likes CouchSurfing.com because it allows him an inside look at local lifestyles.

There is normally an ambassador in different cities, he said, whose job is to bring area CouchSurfers together to meet and hang out.

Benner and a friend attended a CouchSurfer gathering.

‘We went to a bar and met about 15 people, and it was really good because we got insights from the locals about things to see and what not to see,’ he said. ‘It’s really good to get to find things out by word of mouth.’

Both Benner and Hemminger plan on using CouchSurfing.com in the future.

‘I already have places and people I want to see this summer,’ Hemminger said. ‘Who knows where we’ll end up. That’s the cool thing about it.’