Who Is Involved

"Building Inclusive Communities in Seattle"

Lois, Thomas and Ballard Rising: Reaching Out can be Fun

Ballard Rising began when Laurie from Northwest Center, an organization that finds community volunteer opportunities for people with disabilities, contacted neighborhood leaders in Ballard to see if there were opportunities there. She met Thomas from the Ballard Neighborhood District Council, and Lois and Karen from the local chapter of People First, a self-advocacy organization for people with disabilities. The four began to plan an event to get new people involved in Ballard activities.

They came up with an event idea they called 'Ballard Rising.' They received a small Neighborhood Matching Fund grant, and divided up the work of creating a small sidewalk festival in the neighborhood business district that would feature booths about the neighborhood P-Patch community garden, Block Watch, Arts Ballard, and other organizations.

They held Ballard Rising on a day in May, after weeks of Seattle rain. Laurie, Thomas, Lois, and Karen placed helium balloons, flowers, a table, and chairs in front of designated storefronts along Market Street. Their idea was simple: go where people already gather, welcome them with friendly greetings and conversation, offer a little food and coffee, and have fun. Their intent was to get new people involved in the neighborhood and, particularly, to reach out to neighbors with developmental disabilities.

As Ballard residents strolled down Market Street on that Saturday morning, Thomas, Lois, Laurie, and Karen could see that it was working. People were stopping at tables strategically placed at favorite neighborhood gathering spots: two bakeries, a bookstore, and the Ballard Family Center. Each table had representatives from different neighborhood groups who greeted the passersby, and offered free coffee and baked goods donated by local businesses.

At these tables, visitors found out about activities and volunteer opportunities at an elementary school, a community association, the local historical society, Block Watch, Ballard P-Patch, the Ballard District Council's Rail Committee, Ballard People First, Arts Ballard, and the Ballard branch library, to name a few. Thomas or Laurie directed passersby to the tables that related to their particular interests, whether that was organic gardening, public art, books, children, transportation, safety, history, you name it. By the end of the day, hundreds of people had walked by, many had signed up to find out more about a particular neighborhood group or activity, and 100 folders of neighborhood information had been picked up. It was a success. If they didn't know it before, the people who were in downtown Ballard that day found out their neighborhood had a way for everyone to be involved.

One of the people who came to Ballard Rising, Kristin, had lived in Ballard for ten years, but had never felt included in the neighborhood. As she described Ballard Rising, she said, "I felt welcome. Ballard Rising made me feel more a part of the community."

Lois, Thomas, Laurie and Ken plan to make Ballard Rising an annual event.

Learn more about the strategies used for Ballard Rising.