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Welcome to our third issue of Neighbor to Neighbor, a newsletter with relevant tips and information for members of Nation of Neighbors - or anyone involved with a Neighborhood Watch program.
It's been an exciting month and the newsletter is already a week behind! Rather than put it off for another week, I think it's best we send out Ron's timely Trick-or-Treat advice. We'll try to get back on schedule with more crime prevention tips in early November.
Happy Reading!
Art Hanson
arth@nationofneighbors.com
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Trick or Treat is Coming Soon!
This year, the favorite goblin holiday falls on a Saturday and is almost certain to be the official Trick or Treat Night in most communities.
Much has been written over the last several years about safety issues for our young folks. I’m sure the parents and most of the kids know these safety rules by heart, but please review them with the youngest ones even though they will certainly be chaperoned.
My community has a formal and long-standing Watch Patrol due to our special needs dictated by size (1500+ families), 80 miles of winding, dark country roads and the heavily-wooded area. Few of the kids that have moved here from the city or suburbs have any concept of safe travel on country roads: Walk Single File FACING Traffic; Wear Light Colored Clothing or Reflector Strips; Always Carry a Flashlight or Glow Stick (glowstick bracelets or necklaces found at you local dollar store are great for trick-or-treat)!
We remind our neighbors of these safety issues on our posters every year and Patrol Members give individual reminders while patrolling and passing out treats. What are the special safety requirements in your Community and what are you doing to ensure a safe and happy experience? Get the word out in your Community Group on Nation of Neighbors, and through posters and leaflets so no one is missed.
We have also encouraged participation in Trick or Treat by teens aged 15 and younger for multiple reasons, but most importantly, to provide additional chaperones for the younger goblins and to provide another social outlet for the teens. The neat by-product of this policy has been ZERO incidents of vandalism or mischief—and less “business” for the Sheriff’s Department on this typically busy night.
Include the teens and help them become the next generation of Good Neighbors in your Community! Let us hear YOUR IDEAS for creative resolution of issues and problem avoidance via the Feedback Form so we can share them with others.
Best wishes, Ron
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Many thanks to all the new members (and new communities) who have joined us over the past month. We heard from one new member who went door to door in her community handing out custom invitations. What a fantastic idea! In fact, we liked the idea so much that we're working on creating some invitations of our own. They'll be available as soon as we get them from the printer.
For those of you who don't already know, we've submitted an application to the Knight Foundation's News Challenge grant asking for funding for 3 years. That funding would help us grow and become self-supporting. It would also allow us to hire a few full-time employees, including a law enforcement liaison.
We'd really appreciate it if you took a few minutes to rate our application on the News Challenge website.
You'll need to sign up before you can rate our application - the process takes less than a minute. Thank you!
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We know you hear it all the time, but we really do want your feedback. We're out to revolutionize the way community members work together to build safer communities. We can't do it without your help.
Please let us know what you like, what you don't and how we can better help you work with your neighbors to keep your community safe and connected.
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That's it for this month. Thanks for reading!
Art Hanson arth@nationofneighbors.com
Ron Sikerica rons@nationofneighbors.com
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