It’s hard to believe that World Next Door’s third birthday is just around the corner.  God has been working in some powerful ways through our ministry and now it’s time to celebrate!

You are invited to the third annual World Next Door Celebration and Fundraiser on January 26, 2012.  Join us for a night of stories, great photography and, of course, lots of laughter!

Here are a few things you can expect at the event:

• Delicious soup and desserts
• Live music
• A photography gallery of some of WND’s best shots (all of them finally for sale!)
• A chance to win awesome stuff in our raffle
• First-hand accounts of how WND has changed lives this year
• Hilarious stories of some of the crazy places we’ve found ourselves abroad
• Exciting and concrete ways to get even more involved
• A few glimpses at what lies ahead

The event will take place at the Levey Mansion (2902 N Meridian St), just one block south of the Children’s Museum.  We will begin with an open house at 6pm with a formal program starting at 7:30pm.

Feel free to dress casually for the event.

Please RSVP on the event’s Evite by clicking the button below:

We really look forward to seeing you there!

We on the World Next Door team are excited to announce that we are officially hiring our next full-time position: Communications Coordinator.

This person will become the Senior Editor of our online magazine, they’ll help us significantly increase our readership and they’ll take over a lot of our general day-to-day communications.

Our team is growing!

We need someone who is super creative and passionate about social justice, but also diligent, organized and awesome at writing and editing. He/she won’t need to travel internationally very much, but will need to live in Indianapolis.

All the details are at www.worldnextdoor.org/jobs.

If you or someone you know would be perfect for that job, please don’t hesitate to get in touch!  Please send all inquiries and resumes to jobs@worldnextdoor.org.

I just realized that World Next Door is two and a half years old. Crazy!  Can you believe we’ve been at this already for one fortieth of a century? 

It’s an exciting time for our ministry.  We have an office.  We have a growing staff team (our second year-long fellow, Laura, is moving to Indianapolis next weekend!).  Our operating budget is close to 5 times what it was when we started.

Things are really taking off for World Next Door.

It's been an amazing journey so far...

But in the midst of all this growth and excitement, there is one thing that hasn’t changed at all since we began… our website.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I love our site.  It’s slick. It’s eye catching. It’s awesome.  But after doing this for two and a half years, I’m realizing that it’s time to tweak a few things “under the hood.”

We could make this site a lot more functional.  We could make it much easier to find and read past articles.  We could make our design more interactive.

We could do all of these things, but we need your input to know where to start.

Your input please…

How would you like to see the WND site grow and develop?  What would you like to see changed?

Below is a short survey focused on potential changes to our site.  Would you take a moment to share your thoughts with us?

If you do, guess what?  You will receive a $10 off coupon for Barry Rodriguez Photography, where you can buy high-quality prints of World Next Door photos!  Cool, huh?

Thank you so much for being a part of our ministry’s journey!

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Thanks again!

By now you have probably seen all the really cool people with pictures that show up next to their comments.  And I’m sure you are insanely jealous.  Well now you can have your pictures show up every time you comment!

The best part is, it’s the easiest thing in the world (even if computers scare you!).

Just follow this simple guide and you will be recognized by everyone in no time!

Step 1 – Create a Free Gravatar Account

Head over to gravatar.com and sign up for a new account.  It’s free, and only takes a few seconds.

*Note: Be sure to use the email you plan on using when you comment on World Next Door.  Don’t worry.  It won’t be shared!

Step 2 – Confirm Your Account

Once you’ve created your account, Gravatar will send you an email to confirm that you aren’t just a robot or something.  Click the link in the email and your account will be confirmed!

Step 3 – Upload a Picture of Yourself

Finally, head back to gravatar.com and log in to your account (you’ll find the log-in link at the upper left side of the page).

Once you’re logged in, click on “My Account,” and then on “Add an Image.”  Choose a picture on your computer that you like, upload it and crop it.

And then, presto!  You’re all done.

Step 4 – Comment on World Next Door Articles!

Now that you’ve set up your Gravatar, your picture will always show up next to your comments.  Just be sure to always use the same email address when commenting.

Any problems?  Questions?  Feel free to write us at info@worldnextdoor.org and we’d be glad to help you out!