MEDIA ADVISORY FOR SATURDAY 9/15

SAINT MICHAELS/KUA GRAD BRINGS HIS INTERNATIONAL NAMETAG PROJECT TO VERMONT
NAMETAGS AT TUNBRIDGE WORLDS FAIR TO ENCOURAGE PEOPLE TO GET TO KNOW NEIGHBORS.

WHAT:   

Joseph Porcelli, founder of the Boston, MA based Nametag Project , featured in the Boston Globe , Miami Herald , and on the Halmark Channel will be distributing Nametags to encourage people to talk to each other and get to know their neighbors at the Tunbridge Vermont Worlds Fair.  

Since, January 1st, 2007, 18,000 nametags have been distributed across the USA from Miami, FL to Omaha, NE to Fenway Park in Boston, MA to Melville Saskatchewan CA. Last weekend, nametag were distributed at the Jamaica Plain Worlds Fair in urban setting. This Saturday, nametags will be distributed at rural settings at the Turnbridge VT Worlds Fairs. People will also be interviewed about their thoughts of the importance of getting to know their neighbors and the contrasted to those in an urban setting.

WHO:   

Joseph Porcelli, Founder of the Nametag Project and Executive Director of Neighbors for Neighbors.
Mike Landon, Sharon VT resident and family
Brett Dikeman, Nametag Project Partipant.
Various other volunteers.

WHEN:    

Saturday, September 15, 6:00 – 8:00 PM,

WHERE:   

Tunbridge Fairgrounds, Tunbridge VT

About the Name Tag Project:

The mission of the Nametag Project is to get people to talk to each other and get to know their neighbors!

We accomplish our mission by wearing and distributing name tags which serve a tool to facilitate introductions and conversations between people who would ordinarily sit, stand, or walk by silently to build community. We invite others to join us for a month or year, and document and share our experiences at www.thenametagproject.com .

As a first step to fulfilling this mission, The Name Tag Project's founder Joseph Porcelli began wearing a name tag on New Years Eve, December 31^st, 2006 at the stoke of midnight and after realizing the potential of what he stumbled onto soon starting passing out name tags and recruiting other join him a day, month, and year.

When you visit www.nametagproject.com you'll find the blog posts by those wearing nametags for longer than one month that containing stories, pictures, and video that document and share their experiences with the world. You'll also find a calendar of name tag events and name tag map that where you can wear people are wearing name tags, where you can pick one up to wear for a day, and where people who are participating live. The official nametag template is available for download and coming soon an interactive nametag design application.

The Nametag Project is just one of 65 projects created by Neighbors for Neighbors.

We believe every person is valuable and worth knowing, people who know each other, care for each other, and that actively participating and contribution to your community is satisfying.

Our vision is to have individuals from every race, culture, religion, economic status, and sexual orientation in communities of all sizes will be connected, realize what they have in common, and appreciate each others for the their differences.

Additionally we propose an international nametag day will be recognized and celebrated yearly and further fulfill the mission of the Nametag Project.

About Neighbors for Neighbors:

Mission:

Neighbors for Neighbors brings neighbors together in person to satisfy the human need to connect and care for one another. We do this so neighbors may discover common interests and passions and organize around them, transforming their great ideas into actions that contribute to our community. We socialize. We organize. We make a difference.

Vision:

We envision communities where all neighbors know each other by name, say hello on the street, feel safe, and contribute to each other's quality of life.

Core values:

Neighbors for Neighbors is:

• Community-driven
• Inclusive
• Collaborative
• Fun
• Innovative

How we fulfill our mission:

We socialize: NFN hosts Neighborhood Socials where neighbors connect.

We organize: NFN hosts Community Organizing Expos where neighbors create social groups and community projects with others who share similar interests and passions; engage with local non-profits; and collaborate online at www.neighborsforneighbors.org . All serve as mechanisms that keep neighbors together.

We make a difference:  Thousands of people connect at events; over 70 Social Clubs, Community Projects, and Partner Projects engage local, national, and international neighbors together. We've generated over 5000 hours of engagement, and brought countless volunteers to local organizations and events.

In 2005 and 2006, the readers of the Jamaica Plain Gazette named Neighbors for Neighbors "Best of JP" for Neighborhood Organization. Neighbors for Neighbors currently exist in Jamaica Plain MA.

About Joseph Porcelli:

Joseph Porcelli was born in Trenton, NJ in 1976. He's lived in NJ, Paris, Mexico City, London (for a month), Toronto, NH, and now in Jamaica Plain, MA. He went to too many schools in his elementary years to list but went to Pennington Prep in NJ for 8th and 9th, and graduated from Kimball Union Academy in 1994. In 1998 he received my BS in Business Administration from Saint Michaels College. In august of 2004 he started what became Neighbors for Neighbors after two of neighbors were violently mugged as a part of the Self Expression Leader program he was enrolled in at Landmark Education. Up until February of 2006, he worked full time as the Senior Associate at a CRM Consulting firm On the verge, inc, and currently serve as a Program Coordinator for the Boston Police Department in the Neighborhood Crime Watch Unit.

CONTACT:

Joseph Porcelli
857-222-4420
jporcelli@neighborsforneighbors.org
www.thenametagproject.com