HomeMy WebLinkAbout04-17-2007 5 th Annual Adopt-a-Block Kick-off Near Northwest
Neighborhood
IN C0R !' ORAI E dAhl
News Release
Tuesday April 17, 2007
Contact: Karen Ainsley, Executive Director Near Northwest Neighborhood, Inc., 232-
9182
Celebrating New Life in the Neighborhood
51" Annual Adopt-a-Block Kick-off
The Near Northwest Neighborhood Inc. (NNN) will kick-off the Annual Adopt-a-
Block program this Saturday, April 21, 2007 at 8:00 a.m. at the NNN offices, located at
1005 Portage Avenue. This event brings neighbors together and allows them to show
their dedication to making the near northwest a great place to live.
Spring is the time to renew your spirit and your commitment to keeping our
neighborhood clean. This year's Adopt-a-Block, "Celebrating New Life in the
Neighborhood" will provide us a time to come together to nurture and renew our spirit
with words of inspiration and allow neighbors and friends to show their commitment to
the neighborhood. But mainly, Adopt-A-Block is a time to clean areas in our
neighborhood that need tender loving care.
In its 51' year, organizers are excited to see Adopt-a-Block continuing to grow.
Since the first year, the number of adopted blocks has increased from 14 to 54! "It is
wonderful to see neighbors embrace their neighborhood and work together to make a
difference, " said Karen Ainsley, Executive Director of the NNN. "Neighbors in the near
northwest love living here and prove their commitment to improving the neighborhood by
helping to pick up litter and keeping the area clean. " The event has been so successful in
the near northwest that it has inspired other South Bend residents to work to implement
Adopt-A-Block in their neighborhood.
As in past years we will meet the NNN offices (corner of California and Portage)
at 8:00 a.m. to eat a light breakfast, receive safety instructions and take the annual Adopt-
a-Block picture. Yet this year there will be a wonderful addition to the Adopt-a-Block
event, the brief gathering entitled "Celebrating New Life in the Neighborhood" This
will be a more deliberate way of sending everyone to their blocks after reflecting on what
we cherish about our neighborhood. It is easy to feel weighed down by undesirable
challenges like litter in the streets, graffiti, and vacant properties, but when we come
together as a community we remember the small acts of kindness, the gift of
neighborliness and the physical signs of new life that have appeared.
The Adopt-A-Block program was developed by near northwest neighbors in
collaboration with the City of South Bend's Department of Code Enforcement, and has
proven to be very successful over the past 4 years. The program gained national
recognition last year, after the City's Department of Code Enforcement received the
award for Outstanding Achievement in Code Enforcement Techniques from the
American Association of Code Enforcement. The development and success of this
program proves that neighbor involvement can make a difference.
Please plan on joining us at "Celebrating New Life in the Neighborhood" and the
Adopt-a-Block Kick-off, where in addition to sharing good food, songs and words of
inspiration, we plan to announce the winner of the "Most New Captains Contest." This
community gathering is about remembering why we chose to live in the near northwest
area and resurrecting the joy we felt making that commitment. It is also about
surrounding ourselves with a clean beautiful neighborhood to convey the beauty in our
spirit