LAKE STEVENS—A group of Lake Stevens residents, and members of the Facebook group Being Neighborly Lake Stevens, organized a unique holiday event this year called Kids Gifting Adults, where local children could shop for gifts for their parents at no cost to them.
This year a total of 34 Lake Stevens children signed up for the event, which took place on Sunday, December 13. All of the gifts were donated by fellow Being Neighborly Lake Stevens members.
“Everyone always collects toys for kids, but this event we gather gifts for adults and let the kids shop for adults, so they can experience gift giving rather than just receiving gifts,” said Kimberly Gildroy, Being Neighborly Lake Stevens member and organizer of the event.
The group also has several lending libraries all throughout the city, puts on monthly photo contests as well as annual baking contests, has a community coat rack for those who need a coat during colder months, leads recycling events for hard-to-recycle items, teaches classes on anything from cooking to crocheting, and puts on many other neighbor-led social events.
Some members meet once a week at a local coffee shop, others meet up once a month to eat out at a local restaurant, and others utilize a shared garden space to grow crops and produce.
It would not be possible without Lea Zengage
When speaking with many Being Neighborly members a common theme that comes up is that the group would not be possible without founder Lea Zengage steering the helm.
“Lea is the absolute key to the success of this group. She is the most giving person I have ever met,” said one Being Neighborly member Melissa P.
Another Being Neighborly member, Terri Tosspon, informed the Lynnwood Times that Zengage is “so interesting and so kind” but prefers to work behind the scenes “hidden in the background.”
“She doesn’t love the limelight, she’s here to make things work, but at the same time everyday she’s really devoted to developing the type of world she wants to live in,” said Tosspon.
Zengage grows most of the food she eats, Tosspon added, and aims to be zero waste. One time she even hosted a foraging event on her land to teach other members how to learn which plants are useful or not.
“She’s just the kind of person you want to be when you grow up,” said Tosspon.
Tosspon reflected on when she first moved to Lake Stevens, by way of California in 2016, and received a ‘Neighborly Acts of Kindness’ gift basket on her doorstep from Zengage full of personalized items like word games for her, Fortnite stuff for her 11-year-old son, and specialized candies that were sensitive of his dietary restrictions. Another Lake Stevens received a gift basket full of lavender soaps, candles, and inspirational cards which Tosspon said was “so ideally her”.
“She really makes an effort to get to know people, and talk to people to really get to know their needs and wants,” said Tosspon.
Last August a Being Neighborly member had a stroke unexpectedly and is now required to sit most of the day so Zengage sent her a Neighborly Acts of Kindness gift basket full of activities that she could do while sitting down.
Zengage assembles and distributes about three to four baskets like this a week.
“She holds a big part of the circle. It’s not hierarchical because that’s not how we organize but she maintains so much of the gel, and the values of the organization, that we have to have her in order to be efficient and run smoothly,” said Being Neighborly member Kari Matau.
Matau informed the Lynnwood Times that it goes without saying that Zengage is empathetic and community driven but said she would take it one step further and add that she is a “fierce advocate for people” because she’s “really good at boundaries.”
“Not everyone who is empathetic and does community work is good with boundaries but [Zengage] is very good with that, she kinda knows what the focus of this work and this group is, and she is very clear about it,” said Matau.
Mataue continued that Zengage is sweet but an “incredibly strong person,” both physically – having had a strict yoga practice most of her life – and emotionally, which she suspects is how she can balance the work of Being Neighborly so well.
“Her [Zengage’s] whole life has been about bridging community and she just does this wherever she is in the world,” said Matau.
Matau has been a member of Being Neighborly since the beginning. Her eventual goal is to see other Being Neighborly groups pop up in every city and town in Snohomish County.
For those interested in starting their own Being Neighborly group Matau encourages reaching out to Zengage, who has put together an entire handbook on the group’s core values, to receive these foundational documents as a great place to start.
About Being Neighborly Lake Stevens
The Being Neighborly idea stemmed from a Facebook-based Buy Nothing Group, which is intentionally kept small to allow members to easily form connections with one another. A Buy Nothing group is a group where members lend, giveaway, and share items for free instead of buying new things to build connections between neighbors and create a more sustainable and joyful community. When the group began to grow in membership, Zengage began a group of her own so that the residents of Lake Stevens could all remain in the same group.
She quickly realized, however, that the best way to connect neighbors and build a stronger community is much deeper than just lending and sharing items; it starts with action.
“The more I thought about it, the most important thing is if a person feels like there’s something that they’re not happy with or they’d like to see changed in our society, in our culture, in our communities, the best way to make that happen is doing things locally and taking action,” said Zengage. “To talk about it is one thing but it’s another thing to take action and encourage others to take action to create a space where the values that you have are being honored.”
The only requirement for joining Being Neighborly Lake Stevens group is to be a resident of Lake Stevens or to live within the Lake Stevens School District—which encompasses addresses in Marysville in Snohomish. Those interested, and meet these requirements, can request to join the group, which Zengage describes as a “springboard into real life connections.”
At that point, Zengage sends each requester a personalized message and confirms their residency. She routinely checks members’ activity for community engagement, aligning with the group’s purpose.
Though Being Neighborly Lake Stevens has approximately 2,000 members, Zengage informed the Lynnwood Times she intentionally keeps membership low to ensure that each member is able to connect with each other on an individual basis.
“Sometimes commercialism and individualism have separated people into groups, including family and other support groups, and there’s seriously a need for a neighbor,” said Zengage. “People’s health and well-being depend upon the health of the community and the relationships that they have within that community. Life is too hard when it’s by yourself, it’s better when you have a community.”
Author: Kienan Briscoe
