Little Africa and On The Green Line gather community’s insights
Monday January 11th Little Africa and the On the Green Line Marketing Collaborative hosted a community listening and outreach session at Sabrina’s Café in St. Paul. The purpose of the session was to collect information on how residents, business owners, and other key community stakeholders use the On The Green Line Marketing resources.
Since the launch of the Green Line, the collaborative has organized a number of initiatives to provide marketing resources (directories, websites, bus-stop ads, etc) for local businesses and residents. The collaborative teamed up with the Midway Chamber of Commerce to explore ways to improve those efforts by organizing a series of community outreach sessions. The outreach sessions are taking place during the month of January at different St. Paul and Minneapolis locations along or near the Green Line.
In addition to residents and community members, Little Africa’s outreach session drew folks from the Minnesota Department of Transportation, Metro Transit, and State Senator Foung Hawj.
Sabrina’s Café owner Karima Omer, who recently re-opened her quaint coffee shop after being closed for nearly a month for re-modeling, provided participants with food and traditional Ethiopian coffee throughout the meeting. During the outreach sessions participants discussed current neighborhood and district brand presences, identified other community partners and collaborative efforts, and brainstormed potential marketing strategies that could benefit the community.
Things like re-launching a coupon book with deals from local businesses and creating an app to help people better locate small businesses and community happenings along the green line were some of many suggestions made.
“Making it easier to find things to do is a great idea.” Said Fatima Omar, who works as College Navigator for the International Institute of Minnesota, a St.Paul based non-profit.
“I really enjoyed the discussion. I’m glad I found out about this!” Omar said she saw the event posted on Facebook and was curious to learn more.
The information gathered during the outreach sessions will be complied by the On the Green Line Collaborative.To participate in this initiative, take the below survey or attend an upcoming On the Green Line outreach session:
- Downtown Minneapolis
Tues, Jan 19, 12pm-1pm
The Open Book
1011 S Washington Ave
Minneapolis, MN 55415
- Historic Rondo
Weds Jan 20, 12pm-1pm
Kings Crossing
500 Dale St N
St Paul, MN 55103
- Stadium Village
Weds Jan 20, 2:30pm-3:30pm
Bar Luchador
825 SE Washington Ave
Minneapolis, MN 55414
- Lowertown
Thurs Jan 21, 12pm-1pm
Black Dog Cafe
308 E. Prince StSt Paul, MN 55101
- Frogtown & Little Mekong
Tues Jan 26, 6:30pm-8pm
St. Paul City School – 643 Virginia St
St Paul, MN 55103
(part of Frogtown Neighbohood Mtg)
Do you use the Green Line for work or play? We’re also conducting a survey of rider habits and district marketing preferences. Take the survey and you’ll be eligible to win one of ten gift certificates to a Green Line restaurant! https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/339KM9L
The survey will close Friday January 29th, 2016 at 5:00pm.