In January of this year we decided to raise funds to pay for a part-time intern, and one of our wonderful donors decided to fund the position! Then we just had to find an intern. AJ came immediately to my mind. She had been in 2 of my classes at Friends University, so I knew she was a great writer, a person of depth, and very well organized. As you might guess, a person with that list of gifts is in high demand, so I wasn't very optimistic that she would be available, but I contacted her anyway and she agreed to join our team! 

About the same time that AJ started working with us, we were developing the idea of the "52 Weeks of Neighboring." We explained the idea to AJ and gave her a random list of 52 ways people could get to know their neighbors or strengthen their community. It wasn't much to work with, but AJ rose to the challenge and created one of our most valuable on-line resources. And really, the 52 Weeks of Neighboring blog is just one example of the fantastic work she has done for the Neighboring Movement (I could go on and on and on).

Well, in September AJ was offered a job that is in line with her graduate work and she knew she needed to end her "internship" with SoCe Life. We are happy for her, but sad for ourselves. But I did make her promise that when she is famous and doing important work somewhere in the world that she will still contribute a blog to our site periodically...and she agreed! 

Thanks AJ, for all you've done!