Happy 2016 from RNeighbors

Happy 2016 from RNeighbors

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In 2015 RNeighbors was able to provide resources and sponsor events that supported Rochester neighborhoods. In celebrating the New Year, we at RNeighbors would like to take time to THANK YOU for your dedication to neighborhoods and look back at just some of what working together has accomplished in 2015.

  • Helped to organize and provide resources to Rochester Neighborhood Associations. Newest members of registered groups include 19th Avenue SW, Downtown, and Valhalla Park Condominiums.
  • Partnered with Public Health and the City of Rochester to offer $8,000 in Neighborhood Project Grant funding to eight different improvement projects in seven different neighborhoods.
  • RColorful Corners provided street paint for repainting of the Northrop, Cimarron, and Slatterly Park neighborhood street murals.
  • RNeighborWoods planted 496 trees with the help of 446 volunteers in the Pine Summit and the SE neighborhood around 16th Avenue SE, S Village Drive SE, and 8 ½ Street. 66 volunteers took the Citizen Forester classes offered in the fall and the spring.
  • Helped the “A Litter Bit Better!” campaign rally over 3,250 volunteers to collect 18,000 pounds of trash and 3,700 pounds of recycling. This equals 10.85 tons of trash not in our parks, rivers, and streams!
  • Continued to increase neighborhood visibility and awareness in events like Chalk the Block, the Rochesterfest parade, and National Night Out.
  • Facilitated the Mayor’s Council on Neighborhoods, consisting of representatives from 15 neighborhood associations. Over 150 hours of volunteer time were spent on learning and sharing neighborhood related information.
  • Hosted 220 attendees at OAKtoberfest, a celebration highlighting the community-building work that volunteers and RNeighbors does throughout the year, and awarded four OAKtoberfest Awards to outstanding neighborhood leaders.

Without your amazing volunteerism, none of this would have been possible. All total over 2,804 hours of volunteer time went into the above accomplishments, done by over 759 volunteers. These figures do not even include the many hours that each neighborhood association worked in their individual neighborhood or the work that went into the Neighborhood Project Grants. For additional statistics please see our 2015 Update to the City Council.

With the arrival of 2016 the RNeighbors Board and staff are up for the challenges of a growing community. January will hold strategic planning for our organization as we look ahead to providing timely resources for Rochester neighborhoods.

Although partially funded by the City of Rochester, RNeighbors is a nonprofit and donations are put to good use. Your donations allow us to pay for “big” things like our office space, and “little” things like paint brushes for mural paintings, brochure printing, neighbor awards, hand wipes for tree plantings, and neighborhood signs. Tax-deductible donations can be made online or by mail (1421 3rd Avenue SE, Rochester, MN 55904).

With your continued help, may 2016 be a year full of increasing neighborhood involvement that contributes to a vibrant, healthy, and livable Rochester.

Warm Neighborly Regards,
RNeighbors Board Members
Aaron Stelpflug, Jeff Ellerbusch, Ahmed Makkawy, Mitch Moore, Bob Nowicki, Michael LaPlante, Samantha Rossi, Paul Wilson, Kelly Corbin, Timothy Hawkins, Jesse Welsh, Mark Bilderback, Ross Tew, Judy Ohly, and René Lafflam (staff).

RNeighbors is a 501(c)3 organization. Your donation is tax deductible to the fullest extent allowed by law.

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