We have been working diligently for the past 2 1/2 years to bring our community together, where everyone is included and made to feel like a partner. Since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, we have seen an increase in daily use of this public space which has given us the opportunity to get to know more and more of our neighbors and include them in our efforts and activities. Obviously many of our plans for this summer had to be sidelined, but that has not stopped us from working together on shared goals for the community. Earlier in the spring, we asked our neighbors what they most wanted to see at the playground and the resounding response was 'a slide'. While it may seem trivial on the surface, it speaks to the influx of new families with younger children, and it helps us connect and involve them.  In addition to providing this tangible piece of equipment, it also helps us build trust and direct connection with the community as they see us responding to their concerns.  Our neighborhood building has helped us enormously in engaging an ever-growing number of neighbors in advocacy work around preserving this green space that is so crucial to our neighborhood. Starting with a group of 6 - 10 neighbors, we have grown to over 100 members actively engaged in these efforts. 

It has also prompted a greater sense of helping during these difficult and trying times. Neighbors have organized food pick-up and delivery, we are working to put together a community-funded effort to provide school supplies to our neighbors as they start a new school year unlike any other, and we are exploring ways to implement a mural project using artwork provided by our local high school students.  Our efforts are clearly working as we see our neighbors acting more like a community and working together.