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By Barbara Payne
I decided that I wanted to hold the first block party in my own neighborhood
so I could experiment and make adjustments if I needed to make them. Since
everyone was close by, it would be easy for me to do follow-up for future block
parties.
Our first "I Love My Neighborhood" block party was Sunday afternoon, 12:30 to
3:30, April 10,2005,. held at Silver Pine Ct. in the Sterling Homes Addition.
How we did it!
I made arrangements with the police department, fire department, and parks
&recs. department to have representatives attend.
Save Mart gave us the hot dogs and buns. We gave them "I Love My Town"
buttons. That was great to walk into the store and see all the employees
advertising the “I Love Galt” campaign.
McDonald's donated two playhouses to be raffled off with suggestions on "What
Would Make My Town Better."
One week prior to the block party.--Hand out flyers inviting neighbors to
meet and greet on Silver Pine Ct. They were asked to bring a covered dish and we
would furnish the hot dogs, drinks, and plates.
Sunday, 11:45. Set up table to direct everybody.
Here’s what happened!
To keep the kids safe, the fire truck set up towards the rear of the cul de
sac so the kids wouldn’t run out into the intersection. They passed out fun
coloring books and literature.
A registration table was set up at the front of the street where people put
on name tags, registered for Neighborhood Watch, got an I LOVE GALT t-shirt and
viewed the different exhibits.
The McDonald's Playhouse that will be raffled off June 1st was a popular
place. To enter, all it took was a suggestion on "How to make Galt better". All
ages were welcome. It was won by lucky Anthony Ochoa.
McGruff , the "Take a Bite out of Crime " police mascot also looked at taking
a bite out of a hot dog! Crime stoppers cadets were also popular.
An exhibit on the cost to the city of vandalism in the parks was manned by
the parks and recreation superintendent. He also showed off our new serveillance
cameras to be used at our parks. Information on teen drug, alcohol,and gang
intervention was available to foster interest in our youth program, "I Love
Myself". All and all, the city came out in force to show their support. Now it
is time for the citizens to step forward.
Next week, we will add an "I Love My Park" activity when we have our next "I
Love My Neighborhood" block party. Kids will do their own tiles about Fumasi
Park to replace the damage that has vandalized the park.
The follow up on the block parties will be to form smaller groups of
Neighborhood Watch. The goal is to create caring communities that will not only
watch out for potential crime, but will also be a conduit for 2-way
communication between the city and its citizens. The block maintainer will get
info out of what’s going on in the city, especially crime. They can also report
street maintenance needs or just who needs a helping hand.
At the first meeting, packets will be given out that have info on code
enforcement, Crime Stoppers, and all the latest happenings.
"I LOVE MYSELF" is a work in progress.
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