And so on June 25th our project was officially inaugurated with a small community meeting. Of course a few of us had been busy with research, partner-building, and other activities for months, but a week ago the network of neighbors was born. In the course of an hour and a half, we found that some of our senior neighbors and care-givers voiced specific needs, like the need for house-cleaning in exchange for English language lessons, the want of a computer, or the need for a worry-free respite from care-giving. We found that perspective volunteers brought with them strong talents and skills that they are willing to share, like photography and proofreading.
Clearly, there’s lots to be done over the summer as we continue to organize and help implement the Morningside Village (M.V.) program. For example, a few of us are meeting with half a dozen residents of our local nursing home this coming week to discuss how we can help to improve the quality of their lives. We will need to check volunteers’ references, and we plan to insure them against litigation as soon as they begin to perform their life-changing activities. (Thanks to several generous donors, we have funding to sponsor these initial costs, but we continue to accept donations.)
Primary on our agenda at this point is to increase our ranks, so we are now spreading the word. Although we’ve had our share of rain in recent weeks in Manhattan, on a summer’s day, when walking my dog or out on an errand, I carry a handful of LiLY cards with my name and number if needed. Today, alone, I met a neighborhood regular who is interested in helping to organize a senior residence building in the M.V. zone, a doctor who lives in my building with the name of a local geriatrician who makes house-calls in the area, and an acquaintance who lives within M.V. and feels members of his block association would be very willing to have an information sharing session with me soon. How great is all that…to say nothing of the woman I met in the supermarket this evening who lives a block outside of our zone and is interested in helping us to already expand M.V. to include West 115th Street!
How exciting to be working toward progress, chatting with one’s neighbors, and enjoying a balmy summer’s day all at once! In terms of community organizing, we find working the streets and talking to individuals, creating small group information exchanges, and looking at needs on a case-by-case basis is the way to go, building a cadre of volunteers who together will help to work on coordination, systematizing, fundraising, and what ever else has to be done. A few of us are working toward a September 9th large meeting of our network members.
I welcome your suggestions, questions, and comments.
Irene Zola
