Chapter 01 – RNeighbors
In an age of hectic lifestyles, many people find themselves too busy for community activities. This tendency creates a disconnected environment where neighbors do not know, or trust each other. Consequently, residents who don’t communicate with each other cannot share resources they’ve discovered, or discuss ways to solve community problems, such as crime.
In 2001, the Rochester City Council acted on an identified need to provide additional support to groups who were working on projects that would benefit their neighborhoods. The Rochester Neighborhood Resource Center was born. In 2004, we changed our name to a shorter title: RNeighbors.
Supported in part by the city of Rochester, RNeighbors is a nonprofit organization that helps the city’s diverse neighbors build community. We provide the tools and resources necessary to grow great neighborhoods, and empower citizen leaders to create sustainable neighborhood networks that promote a vibrant, healthy, and livable community.
RNeighbors supports neighborhoods by helping revive, sustain, and grow active Neighborhood Associations. There are currently 27 registered Neighborhood Associations in Rochester, Minnesota. Elton Hills and Hart Farms are the newest groups to take steps towards organizing as official Neighborhood Associations.
The RNeighbors support tool shed includes RNeighborWoods, tree-planting program; RNeighborWalks, a neighborhood walking program; RColorful Corners, street mural painting program; and RVoices, our online community, hosted at RNeighbors.org. Each of these programs function to infuse life into neighborhoods, allowing them to grow and thrive.
We also partner on several community programs including A Litter Bit Better!, a community-wide litter pickup effort, and Coffee and Conversations, a group which encourages civic dialogue about current events over coffee.
In addition to our core programs and partnerships, RNeighbors provides other benefits and helpful resources to neighborhood organizations. They include increased visibility and centralized communication on our evolving website, yard signs for meetings, bulk-mail permits, liability insurance for association meetings and events, reduced printing and supply costs, crime watch resources, and participation in the Rochesterfest Parade and National Night Out.
One person working alone is not as effective as many neighbors working together toward common goals. The possibilities of what you can accomplish for your neighborhood as a group are endless.