NeighborWorks Week: Learning new ways to make a difference

It helps, when you work at a nonprofit, to have a father who is a carpenter. At least according to Maybeth Morales-Davis, director of development and public relations for Neighborhood Housing Services of Waterbury. That way, if you need to get something done quickly, you know who to call. 

 

When COVID-19 hit, along with stay-at-home orders, NeighborWorks Week changed – first to encourage social distancing, and then again to focus on resiliency as communities responded to the death of George Floyd with demands for racial justice.

 

In Waterbury, Connecticut, the week is normally spent with in-person events. "You feel more communal when you're in the presence of your neighbors," Morales-Davis says. She says the organization decided not to cancel or postpone NeighborWorks Week, but to instead find a way to provide camaraderie, "a celebration of neighbors and community."

 

In part, that meant figuring out what would work online – a couponing class and a homebuying class. She says the organization was comfortable making the switch, because they'd already been offering online coaching and counseling. 

 

Another way to observe NeighborWorks Week was by calling her dad into service to make a Little Free Pantry. Like the Little Free Library, the pantry movement calls for miniature houses to be set on posts in areas where people may need food or other supplies. If you have something to offer – like hand sanitizer or beans – you can stock the pantry. If the pantry has something you need, you can take it.

 

During COVID, having these emergency supplies is especially important. Morales-Davis says she looked at prices for kits before asking her dad, Jose Morales, what he could do. He immediately set out to make three pantries that will be installed on June 13 to culminate NeighborWorks Week. Neighbors are participating by collecting supplies, Morales-Davis says. And they will be on hand for the installation – at a proper social distance. 

 

"Having just a virtual event is not ideal," Morales-Davis says. At times like this, "you want to see your neighbors." The three pantries will be placed in the area where NHS of Waterbury does most of its real estate development work. 
 

Building bridges in Houston 
 

At Avenue CDC in Houston, the plan had been to host a community festival and resource fair. That's what they've done in years past, reaching 2,000 people. "We were ready for that," says Maria Aguirre-Borrero, director of community initiatives. "Then, we finally realized it wasn't going to happen. But the team really stepped up. We found two projects that we thought could bring a lot of energy and positivity to the community."

The projects included a mural, dedicated to frontline workers who were helping the community through COVID. And it included a bridge for a community garden.
 

"A lot of people have seen it and are excited about it, because it's about this community in these weird times and how we've come together," Aguirre-Borrero says. People remained distanced during the painting, which involved kids and some of the community's homeless. "We were still social distancing, but it brought us together in a way that really allowed us to celebrate our community." 

 

The community also worked on a wooden bridge, which made it easier to reach a community garden. They also had a short celebration at the garden, which is community led. "We'll be back together there when everyone is allowed to go out." Youth in the community are working on a film about the story of the garden, she says. 

 

A ditch between the street and the garden made it difficult for people, especially older residents, to reach their destination. "I thought we would need more time, to be honest with you," Aguirre-Borrero says. "But we just love the community so much, we decided we would give it a shot. We started coming up with these ideas and it all came together beautifully. But if you told me we'd be able to get this plan together in three weeks, I wouldn't have believed you ... It was a way to do something small that will be really big."

 

 

In Columbus, Georgia, NeighborWorks Columbus staff have been working from home since March. "We had already made the pivot from normal face-to-face interaction," says Cathy Williams, CEO. "We realized we would have to incorporate some of those lessons into NeighborWorks Week."

 

That meant moving activities to a virtual environment. Williams says they developed a social media strategy that they put into raising funds via Facebook. A team of board members, customers and the communications team put up different messages during the week. In the end, she says, they raised $10,000.

 

"Usually we don't raise a lot during NeighborWorks Week," she says. "This is something we're going to have to really dissect, moving forward."

 

Williams says she also got a request from a customer who had bought a home that was being built in the North Highland neighborhood, part of the Mill District. The customer wanted to bury her first bible in the foundation of the house. Because of COVID, Williams says, she had some concerns. 

But with social distancing, NeighborWorks staff, neighbors and friends surrounded the foundation of the house and helped the resident bury the bible. "She wrote a note and we sealed it in there, so if someone finds it 100 years from now, they'll have context," Williams says. "It was very emotional. She was the first in three generations – her mother and her grandmother's generation – to own a home."

 

 

At Beyond Housing in St. Louis, Missouri, there were lots of ideas floating around for NeighborWorks Week, says Mary Kate Hoerr, who began working as a development assistant there in March to Becky Moss, co-lead for the events. But with recent events, "Becky and I wanted it to be about the community coming together. We decided to come down to a few key events."

 

Hoerr says her favorite event was "Let's Chalk," where they gave bags of chalk to 80 residents of the Pine Lawn community, along with a flyer about food distribution and about what to do with the chalk. "Everybody is thinking and feeling so many different things right now; it's important to talk it out as a community," Hoerr says. With COVID, it was hard to meet in person, "so we decided to talk it out with chalk."

 

Residents will send photos of their art work and thoughts and have the chance to win grocery gift cards. Hoerr says they'll continue through the month.

The organization is also doing food distribution, dropping off boxes of fresh produce and ground pork to those who don't have transportation or can't leave their homes, and hosting a drive-through for those who can. "There are pounds of produce," Hoerr says. "They can share with family or neighbors and encourage more community and unity during these tough times."

 

 

In Chattanooga, Tennessee, Martina Guilfoil, president and CEO of Chattanooga Neighborhood Enterprise, says her organization had planned to do an open house at Missing Middle, a new complex. But with COVID, they had to make the switch to a virtual open house. 

 

Guilfoil says the move will enable more people to see the development. It will have a shelf life that extends past this one event and past this week, she adds. 

 

NeighborWorks organizations offer these lessons learned from the changes they had to make: