Diversity & Outreach NAT is Formed
Our neighborhood council includes many different neighbors, but we notice the lack of diversity in meetings. How can we reach out to members of the community who do not want to attend monthly meetings? How do we get our council to reflect the diversity of our community?
Shirley Burton offered the use of her house for the first meeting of the Diversity & Outreach Neighborhood Action Team (D&O NAT). Jose Dorado, Barbara Taylor, and neighbors of different ethnicities, genders, ages, sexual identities, and community interests met to plan ways to increase the diversity of neighbors involved in our Neighborhood Council. Jennifer Crawford expressed Jean Quan's support of this NAT's work. The group has met twice so far. They worked on increased area contact, welcoming newcomers, and having more fun.
Diversity = Ownership and Pride
A member proposed the following objective for the new NAT: "Diversity is best achieved through extended outreach to as many members of the community as possible to increase involvement. The more people become involved in the neighborhood, the more they feel a sense of ownership, pride, and desire to be a part of the larger whole. Through this increased involvement, this Committee/NAT sees the opportunity to facilitate a better understanding of one another and what makes our neighborhood so diverse."
Increased Maxwell Park Contact
We will increase the contact we have with all Maxwell Park residents. Current outreach is made via our 740-member e-mail group and twice-yearly distributions of information. A newsletter to area residents may be developed for those without e-mail or computers.
Neighbors will be needed to distribute materials to specific houses/blocks/sectors in Maxwell Park.
Welcoming Newcomers
We will welcome newcomers to council meetings. Designated greeters will welcome newcomers, orient them to our group, and make them feel comfortable. We will make periodic appeals to people to volunteer, perhaps making this a regular agenda item. We will wear nametags, showing our names and the street on which we live to facilitate getting acquainted.
Just Plain Fun
We need more neighborhood social activities. Possibilities include MPNC activities on the weekends, at the local schools, and at our Maxwell Park. We will foster connections between neighborhood musicians, bicyclists, artisans, gardeners, knitters, dog lovers, gourmets, etc. We will emphasize organizing around disaster preparedness/CORE. A great example of this is the wonderful Party-in-the-Park that took place in September, organized by the Community Building and Outreach NAT.
The December MPNC meeting will be a holiday celebration and social event. The meeting in January will feature a shortened agenda and NAT workshops to inform neighbors about the council's activities outside of the monthly meeting.'
The D&O NAT Needs You!
If you want to get involved with the Diversity & Outreach NAT, contact Jose Dorado, jdorado\@sbcglobal.net. We welcome your participation.
And Another Thing
Contact information was inadvertently left off last month's native gardening column. Steven Cochrane, steveecochrane\@yahoo.com, 531-0615, and Pete Veilleux, pete\@eastbaywilds.com.
Sarah Hipolito can be reached at shipolito\@sbcglobal.net.
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