Ballardeer posted a link to a photo of this flyer in the forum wondering if anyone knew anything about the event. “Three people just came to the door handing out flyers for a “meet your neighbor night” next Monday, March 15 at Leif Erickson Hall. They said it was a chance to meet your neighbors and hear about local service organizations, like Habitat For Humanity,” Ballardeer writes, “The flyer has no Web site and no information about who’s organizing the event. It has a picture of a lighthouse and the tagline: “meet. greet. know. love.”
Cliff Ellis with Mars Hill Church confirms that the church members are sponsoring the event. Here is information on the event. Organizations that are listed as participating are: Ballard Food Bank, East Ballard Neighborhood Association, Volunteer Chore Services, Groundswell NW, YoungLife and YouthWise.
Updated: According to Nick Bogardus, the Media Relations Director for Mars Hill church, this is apparently not a Mars Hill Church-hosted event. “The event is being paid for and hosted by people who live in Ballard, who go to the church, and who simply want to help partner with other Ballardites and respected organizations to help make Ballard an even better place to live.” In regards to the flyer: “The flyers were a mistake and we’re taking measures to make sure something like that doesn’t happen again. Mars Hill attendance is the size of Snoqualmie or Snohomish. We encourage our members to be involved and active in their local communities but we can’t, nor do we want to, monitor everything that is done. We hope your readers can see through that mistake to the real underlying heart of the effort; people who love Ballard and who want to help make it better.”
Updated #2: From Nancy McKinney, the Executive Director of the Ballard Food Bank in comments, “Ballard Food Bank will not be present at the forum this evening. The reason is solely because of the lack of transparency in advertising of this event. We were very interested in show casing our volunteer opportunities – just not in this fashion. As a point of interest, our policy is to provide for client’s need in a manner sensitive to the dignity of the individuals. Services are provided to all persons in need regardless of race, color, age, sex, creed, national origin or sexual orientation. The same goes for our volunteers.”