Last month we came to your block, clipboards in hand to introduce ourselves, inform you on what is happening in you neighborhood and to invite you to attend our meeting. We canvassed portions of the MorningSide area and was able to invite over 140 people to join us in “Bringing Our Community Back”.

It was so enlightening to meet everyone and hear their stories. Some did not know who or what MorningSide was; some were looking for a way to get help with problems on their block; and others were very interested in getting help to get their block / street organized. All were left with information on how to contact us for help and an invitation to get involved with the community that they live in. This lead to us having a great turn out at our July General meeting at which the attendees had the opportunity to learn about WARM Training Center and how they are doing free energy installations in homes in our community. They were able to meet and ask questions of some of the candidates in our upcoming primary election. We also had a Detroit City Council member who answered some hard questions from our residents.

All in all it was a very informative meeting and all left with the feeling that they may not have received the answers that they were looking for but they did receive guidance on where they can go to get answers. They left knowing that the MorningSide General Meeting was a place where they were able to make their voices heard.

Today, Saturday, July 17, 2010, we will continue Phase I and start Phase II of our MorningSide Block Club Blitz initiative. We will have representatives from the MorningSide Board, Detroit City Council and other volunteers who will be continuing Phase I by canvassing the MorningSide areas that we did not go to last month. We will also start Phase II, mentoring those residents who stated that they wanted to get help organizing their blocks and streets.

In order to begin to “Bring Our Community Back” and solve some of the issues in MorningSide communication and participation is required. Today we are coming to you, the residents of MorningSide, to encourage your participation in helping to begin to solve some of the issues that affect your safety, your property values and so much more. Today we are giving you the tools that you will need to organize your block, your street, your neighborhood into efficient, effective and organized cells that can get results when there are issues on your block.

Someone will come to your residence and ask you to fill out a short form that will ask for basic information (name, phone, address and email). With this information we can begin to build a network to communicate things that are important for you to know as a resident, property owner or business of MorningSide. We ask that you please answer the door and spend 3 minutes of your time to complete our form. After completing our form we will leave you some information about MorningSide.

For those who have registered with us as block captains / street leaders we are conducting a mentoring session to help you get started organizing your group. These groups are essential to having your voice heard and action taken when you need assistance with issues in your neighborhood.

To identify us as we are walking the streets, we will be carrying clipboards that will have a form with our logo on it (a black & white version of the logo shown above). We will never ask for any personal information such as social security number, bank information, etc. Also, we will not ask to enter your home. If you have any questions or concerns please fell free to contact us via our phone number or email listed above.

We need you to help us help MorningSide, the area in which you live, own property, run a business and care about, to go back to the safe, beautiful and vibrant community it once was.

Thank you for participating and look for more communication in the future!