Mayor Quinton Law’s Mayor-athon highlights people, stories and small businesses in town while raising donations for Inspiring Life Together, a nonprofit that supports women undergoing breast cancer treatment and their families.
The Mayor-athon – a week-long, livestream series – continues through Tuesday on Law’s YouTube channel. He describes the project as being about connection and about finding creative and humane ways to make local government more accessible, responsive and supportive of leaders in the community.
“We have a wide lineup of people that are going to come on, talk about who they are, what they do (and) what their connection is to the community so that people can learn about them,” Law explained. “I really wanted to be able to come out of these seven days by saying that we found a new way that we can engage with residents, answer their questions in an innovative way, but also support people here in our community.”
Since becoming mayor in January, Law has hosted town halls in person monthly with other council members. But in September, he hosted a listening session that went live on Facebook and Instagram and saw more engagement than a typical town hall.
That positive reception – along with thinking about how streaming has grown as an engagement tool – was how Law got the idea for the Mayor-athon.
“I believe that we’re in a period of time where a lot of people are losing faith in government, and I, as a local mayor, want to be as accessible and transparent as possible,” he noted. “I believe that the best ability is availability, and I want to be available to residents and show up for them to allow them to get their questions answered, but also learn about the great things that are happening in our community.”
By elevating community voices and spotlighting the township’s small businesses, the Mayor-athon brings residents together in support of a cause – Inspiring Life Together – that strengthens the entire town.
Among guests of the series are the Community House of Moorestown; members of the West End Center Project, an initiative that documents and honors the legacy of the West End Community Center; the Moorestown High School Madrigals; the Historical Society of Moorestown; local gardener Toni Farmer; baker Alex George – also known as Lily P Crumbs – and Cockadoodle Dan’s.
“ … There’s many more people than just the town council that are doing great work here in town, and our town wouldn’t be the special place that it is without some of these people doing that day-to-day work,” Law said.
“The Mayor-athon is a great opportunity to showcase all of the special things that Moorestown has to offer … people are in need of connection,” he added. “One of the best things about Moorestown is our vibrant community. People know each other. People look out for each other. They care for one another.
“The more that we can highlight that, (the) caring culture of our community becomes contagious.”
To watch the Mayor-athon, visit Moorestown Mayor Quinton Law on YouTube. Clips of the series will also be posted to Law’s social media.
