The week is off to a great start here at Project Lightbulb! As I mentioned in my last post, Muhammed and I are trying to expand the program west and south into neighborhoods like Park Heights, Druid Heights, Emerson Park, HEBCAC, and South Clifton. Now that we have a few pledges in these neighborhoods, it's time to get down to business...and by business, I mean canvassing. On a typical canvassing day we will leave fliers and door hangers on each door in a prospective block. We also knock on each door in the hope of catching a resident at home for a face-to-face explanation of the program. Insofar, we have found this to be relatively ineffective. Don't get me wrong--a few WONDERFUL residents have taken our pledge on the spot--but with the lingering chill and the fact that most folks work during the day, we rarely get hits this way. **Enter new strategy** We ordered our first twenty yard signs this morning and hope to have them by next week at the latest. Our new plan is to canvass once the signs are installed, so that we can reference the neighbors with the signs--our solid participants--to our prospective pledgers. This way they can see the actual sign, and will hopefully be more likely to take the pledge themselves, knowing their neighbors are already involved.

Then there's the catch. Or rather, the fact that there is no catch! Most residents are so wary of scams and fees that they hesitate to take the pledge or open their doors at all. Understandably...there are a lot of squirrely salespeople out there! Before taking this job, I was one of those don't-answer-the-door-pretend-to-be-on-the-phone people myself. Working with PLC has made me see that some canvassers truly are promoting low- or no-cost programs, for good causes. Next time a canvasser approaches me on the street, I'll be much more likely to stop and listen than to deliver my standard automatic dismissal. So overcoming this skepticism is one of our biggest challenges.

A great way to recruit potential blocks in new neighborhoods is attending community organization meetings and networking from there. We had a very successful day on Saturday, largely due to the enthusiastic reception of the PLC at the South Clifton community meeting. I was fortunate enough to meet the president of the organization at the Clifton Branch library about a month ago, and she invited us to speak at the meeting. We gained a few more prospective blocks in South Clifton, which is especially exciting because we are just branching into that neighborhood. Many of the residents who attended the meeting seemed like enthusiastic and proactive neighborhood leaders, and we are excited to partner with them to get the PLC started in South Clifton. Doughnuts, fried chicken, and good company made the experience all the more wonderful.

Tonight we are attending a meeting of community organization presidents operating on Baltimore's west side. Hopefully this will be our chance to connect to more blocks in that region...