Thank you for you interest in #bustup. Below is a quick write up about the event. We expect 100 people to be there if we are completely unsuccessful. 3000+ people will join us if we knock it out of the park. Obviously if an organization like Ford, GM, BCBS or Quicken Loans said to their employees and partners “we should go do this cuz it’s the right thing to do” even the 3000 # looks low.
What: #BUSTUP
When: June 25, 2011 Starts at 9. The busting will go until 4. The party goes…well this IS Detroit so who knows when that stops
Who: Motor City BlightBusters + Motor City Connect + #backchannel + everyone else we can get
Where: Northwest Detroit near Grand River and Lahser
Why: We will transform the energy in our city
More info: Our event Facebook page
What is a #bustup? You may be familiar with the term “tweetup”- when people on twitter get together in real life to meet. A #bustup is a tweetup with a specific purpose.
For the past 3 years, Motor City Connect (large Detroit based networking group) has partnered with Motor City Blight Busters (23 year old non-profit near Brightmoor) to remove negative energy from Northwest Detroit. We do this typically by knocking down a dilapidated house or 3 and cleaning up the area near Grand River and Lahser. It’s been a wonderful experience and 90% of the people who attend can’t wait to come back.
We managed to capture Stephen Clark’s (news anchor on Channel 7) attention in 2010. He was kind enough to run THIS STORY on the news. This year, he reached out to me and said he would like to bring #backchannel (a group of twitter people who interact with him/newstaff during the news cast) down to join Motor City Connect for a day of Blight Busting. He has also indicated that the station manager is intrigued and would like to support this initiative possibly as part of the Detroit 2020. He also mentioned a couple of really cool things that I won’t type 
The more Stephen, John George (Blightbuster’s founder) and I have discussed it, the more we have decided this could be a great party day. Sure there will be work. But why can’t there be fun too? We can easily setup a stage and bring in music. The acts with whom I have spoken are excited. It is very possible that we will be hosting a screening of the new film short: Lemonade Detroit as well.
Right in the area we will be working is the Artists Village and the historic Redford Theater. I truly believe we can turn this into a festival. It’s fitting because the date we are doing this, June 25, is about the same as the 23rd anniversary of Blight Busters and John George’s birthday.
We want to make this day a community building and community bonding experience. With the help and support of the Detroit area corporations, chambers, artists and citizens we can make that happen. It’s great that we have Channel 7 on board. We are also connected to quite a few of the social media elite in town. Are you interested in making this happen?
We are looking for sponsors to help make this a fun, family friendly event and to start a lasting legacy for our Detroit while raising some some much needed funds for Blightbusters. I would be happy to discuss details on sponsorship with the appropriate parties.
Thank you so much for your time and consideration.
