Connecting Maple Leaf through the decades
Some traditions in Maple Leaf go back so far that none of us on today’s committees can say exactly when they started.
The Leaflet is one of them.
For many neighbors, it’s their very first experience with the Maple Leaf Community Council. It shows up on their doorstep, introduces them to what’s happening nearby, and quietly connects them to the people doing the work behind the scenes. In fact, most of our current board members and volunteers first learned about the council through the Leaflet.
That makes sense. It reaches a large portion of the neighborhood, and it does so in a way that feels personal.
The Leaflet is written and designed by volunteers. Then, more than 50 of your neighbors help make sure it gets delivered door to door across Maple Leaf. It’s a huge effort, and one that has grown stronger over time. We’ve been able to move to full color printing. It’s now the last printed neighborhood newsletter in Seattle. And even as we’ve considered going fully digital, surveys and feedback have been clear. When we miss an issue, people notice. This is something neighbors want us to keep doing.
We’ve also been intentional about how it’s made. The Maple Leaf Community Council continues to support a local printer, with a big thank-you to Prestige Copy & Print for helping bring each issue to life. Our volunteer base has expanded too, with more regular writers and photographers contributing. At the same time, we’ve started moving more stories onto our website so they can live beyond the printed page and reach neighbors year-round.
Delivering the Leaflet hasn’t always been easy. In the past, we sometimes struggled to cover every route. That’s improved. Today, we reach more than 90% of single-family homes in the neighborhood. But we know that still doesn’t mean everyone.
Many Maple Leaf neighbors live in assisted living facilities, condos, and apartment buildings. Because of access restrictions, those places are harder for us to reach. In some cases, neighbors who live in those buildings have stepped up to distribute Leaflets themselves, sharing them with people just down the hall or next door. Expanding that kind of coverage is something we want to focus on this year.
If you live in one of these buildings and would be willing to help distribute the Leaflet a few times a year, we’d love to hear from you. It’s a simple way to make a real difference, and it can be a great way to get to know the people around you.
So much goes into making the Leaflet happen. Writing, planning, photography, layout, printing, and distribution all rely on neighbors giving their time. If you’re interested in any part of that process, we invite you to join us and learn more.
Learn how you can help write, plan, or distribute the Leaflet at our outreach event on January 11 at Eagles Lounge.
Did you know?
Each Leaflet costs several thousand dollars to produce, yet only about 5% of the neighborhood financially supports this work. Your membership dues go directly toward making sure we can keep sharing neighbors’ stories and continue delivering the Leaflet well into the future.