[Mpls] RE: Critique of Neighborhood Association priorities

[Jay Clark]

I was at a Standish Ericsson meeting on LRT parking and traffic issues 
on September 28.  I counted 55 people.  I don't know how they got the 
word out.

I live in Longfellow, with 22,000 people living in 7,000 households. 
Getting the word out in big neighborhoods like Standish Ericsson and 
Longfellow is a daunting task.  There is no way staff can go out and 
flyer 7.000 addresses.  Doing a mailing to 7.000 addresses is 
prohibitively expensive.

I have a couple of suggestions on how to get large areas flyered, 
strategies that we have been using in Longfellow.

         FLYER DISTRIBUION NETWORK

At every meeting, we have been asking people to volunteer to pass out 
flyers on two blocks four times a year.

People like doing this, and at some meetings half the people there sign up.

At last count, we had about 150 flyer distributors.

When we have a big meeting coming up, we identify the area we need 
flyered, and (ideally) about a week before we need the flyers out we 
send a letter to the distributors living in that area to watch for the 
flyer packet and to please get the flyers out by xxx day.

We bundle about 70 flyers with a map showing the blocks we want them to 
cover.  A volunteer then takes all the bundles and drops them off.

We have been building this network for two years.  We still have a few 
weak spots, but in an emergency we can flyer 6,000 households within 72 
hours.

Getting flyers out the the entire neighborhood is still not easy, but 
with this flyer distribution network it is doable.  And it is a great 
way to involve new people without overtaxing them.

And we have had meetings with hundreds of people, most of whom learned 
about the meeting through the flyer distribution network

                  YOUTH FLYERING BRIGADE

If we have, say, a development meeting coming up, another option we use 
to get flyers out is to put together a kids flyering brigade.

First, we have built relationships with staff at local parks by meeting 
with them.

Then we ask if  park staff if some kids would like to help us pass out 
some flyers for the upcoming meeting.

We pick a time, and park staff will find say a dozen youth who want to 
help.  Usually both a park staff person and some LCC volunteers go out 
with the youth.

A dozen youth can easily get over 400 flyers out in an hour. Generally 
we only have the youth out there for an hour, or an hour and a half at most.

Then afterwards we have a pizza party or a chips party back at the park 
building.

The kids love to do this, and every time they see me now they ask when 
can they pass out flyers next.

At Longfellow we have generally done this with the the parks, but at 
Jordan it was informal, with just kids and their friends coming over. 
You probably know one or two kids in your neighborhood or on your block. 
  Go out flyering with them for an hour, and have a little pizza and pop 
afterwards.  They will like doing it, they will tell all their friends, 
and next time you will have not two kids but a dozen kids helping.  One 
time in Jordan we had 22 youth pass out close to 2000 flyers in an hour 
and a half. And we had kids coming over almost every day asking if we 
had something for them to do.

In Longfellow, youth helped pass out flyers for a meeting on the 
Brackett Park Rocket.  They were so interested that several are now 
involved in the campaign.

Gina, next time I talk with Standish volunteers I will be glad to pass 
on that you are interested in helping build SENA's capacity to 
distribute flyers and get the word out. You are also welcome to cross 
Hiawatha Ave. and drink Longfellow coffee any time you want.

Jay Clark
Cooper




Gina Palandri wrote:

> 
> Recently I received a flyer on my door from SENA in regards to a public
> meeting on a variance for a coffeehouse right here in SENA.  Standish
> Ericsson where we have "NO" coffee.  Here since the LRT started all of
> us neighbors have been dealing the parking issues without even a "bean"
> of support from the SENA staff.   From a development standpoint: we
> absolutely need "Tillies Bean". As a matter of fact after getting my
> critical parking petition signed and sent in monthes ago-I kid you not;
> monthes ago; they sent me another one, as the first one is null and void
> as 97% of my street wanted 24 hour parking by permit only.  Now I have
> to go door to door again and have all the neighbors sign this again only
> this time we all have to agree upon a "time window" for permitting.  As
> for some reason we did not qualify for 24 hour permits.  Would have been
> nice to know that before.  Now do you think since they(the SENA Staff)
> obviously have the manpower to flyer an array of streets in regards to a
> coffeehouse which we so need, as we have nothing to drink on this side
> of Hiawatha; that they will help me with my critical parking petition??
> I doubt it.  Can you "recall" neighborhood associations?
> Gina Palandri
> Standish
> 
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