Ideas to Promote Neighborhood Involvement
It is well known that communities that have a strong sense of neighborhood and involvement have lower levels of crime and higher property values. The following suggestions have been used with success in a number of communities.Create activities within the neighborhood that cause people to be involved
• Build a Rain Garden as a neighborhood community event
• Plan a "Bay and Beautification" event - planting trees
• Organize a cleanup day
Use activities like neighborhood picnics, travel events (bus trips, etc.) to garner active members
• Have picnics where everyone brings a covered dish
• Have an ice cream social one evening in the summer (Don't forget the chocolate - happy endorphins)
• Consider a neighborhood progressive dinner; first home visited serves an appetizer, second home serves soup, third home serves salad, fourth home serves light entrée, fifth home serves desert and so on.
• wine & cheese tasting party
• Community yard sales
• Have an Easter Egg hunt / Halloween Party
Have Community or Homeowners Meetings
• Have a social hour prior to your meeting
• Engage local politicians or persons of interest to speak during your meeting
• Create committees such as landscaping committee, architectural review board, and social event committee
• Create a neighborhood newsletter
• E-mail your newsletters for those who use computers
• Develop a plan that meets the needs of most members of your neighborhood
• Consider a community/neighborhood crime watch program
