Posted by sebastianbrown on November 5, 2009
More than 30 Nob Hill and Park Montgomery residents got together last night as part of Long Branch’s first official Neighbors Exchange! With various resource partners in the areas of jobs, healthcare and emergency services on hand, neighbors had some their most pressing questions answered. But even with representatives from Montgomery Works, Centro Familia, the TESS Center, Holy Cross Hospital, Montgomery Cares in the room, residents quickly came to appreciate the value of sharing their own personal experiences and struggles with neighbors going through the same things each and every day.
At one point, Martin Zelaya of Nob Hill stood up and told the group of the unbearable pressure he feels to find a job after his wife gave birth to their first child just 5 days ago. To prove to Martin that he’s not alone in feeling helpless, Hugh Bailey of Montgomery Works asked the group, “Has anybody ever felt ashamed for being unemployed?” Nearly every residents’ hand shot up. Within minutes the group had agreed to meet again next Wednesday to continue to get to know each other and find ways they can support each other along the difficult road of searching for employment.
Especially for those who have just recently entered the country and don’t speak English, it’s easy to feel all alone and like nobody else is facing the same daily struggles. But once again last night proved that if only we get to know one another a little better, we realize just how similar we–as well as our greatest challenges–are.
–Sebastian
Posted in Coordinators, Long Branch, Neighbors Exchange, Nonprofit Partners | 2 Comments »
Posted by sebastianbrown on October 30, 2009

Photo op of the group (dry) before heading out
Despite the nasty weather, 28 area residents spent Saturday morning knocking on hundreds of doors in two Long Branch apartment complexes: Nob Hill and Park Montgomery. But before hitting the streets we cozied up inside the Long Branch Community Center Conference Room for a 2 hour training. After Long Branch Coordinator Ray Moreno set the mood by singing Stevie Wonder’s classic “Love’s in need,” Executive Director Frankie Blackburn gave a quick primer on the Campaign goals, emphasizing TWO in particular: connecting neighbors 1) to each other and 2) to emergency services.
Then, we led a short exercise to illustrate that each of us has skills and interests that can be put toward benefitting the greater community. Each volunteer was handed a placard with a short description of a random persona, including three attributes (skills, interests, hobbies) on one side, and one need/desire on the other. Participants then took 10 minutes walking around the room trying to match up their assets with others’ needs. One of the many great connections was made when State Senator Jamie Raskin (a 15 year old basket ball player in the exercise) led a couple other similar aged kids over to meet a basketball coach, looking to start a summer league, and a local Baptist minister who was willing to let the kids play in the church’s basement gym–quite the group!

Volunteers getting into character during asset exercise
We then finished out the training with a few quick role plays, demonstrating the three most common door knock interactions–1) Nobody answers 2) Somebody answers but doesn’t have time to talk and 3) The person answers, is interested, and wants to know more! But even with the great acting prowess of Frankie and Ray (as Ray is known for saying): “There’s no better way to learn then by just doing it.” So that’s what we did.
With 14 pairs of Neighbors Campaign-teeshirt-clad IMPACT volunteers scattered throughout the 141 units of Park Montgomery and the 397 units of Nob Hill, 284 doors were knocked! But even more impressive, of those 284, over 100 actual conversations were had!!! While some of the conversations were little more than a resident asking for the volunteer to return at another time, some were much more–sometimes lasting over 40 minutes! Despite the innumerable troubles that our neighbors face every day during these tough economic times, Saturday’s conversations reminded us of the importance of us all joining forces to put our individual attributes and skills toward the collective good.
Now we’re getting ready for our first Neighbors Exchange in Long Branch, which will take place on Wednesday November 4 from 7-9pm in the New Hampshire Estates Elementary School Main Gym. Saturday’s doorknock was certainly a great start to getting the word out but still much more is to be done! Call Sebastian Brown anytime at 240-247-0286 for details on when we’ll be going out in the next few days to knock on some doors and meet our neighbors.
Posted in Door Knocking, Long Branch, Neighbors Exchange | 1 Comment »
Posted by alixnunan on October 19, 2009

We made great progress towards our door knocking goals during August!
Thanks to everyone who helped out with the during the month of August! The Neighbors Campaign started energetically: we knocked on 1,157 doors for a total of 214 one-on-one conversations. These residents come from at least 38 different countries, with the largest group—no less than 45—coming from El Salvador. During door knocking, the most common concerns residents discussed were employment (in almost 30% of all conversations) and health care (16%). Door knocks were conducted predominantly in Wheaton, where we also held our most popular Neighbors Exchange yet–58 residents and 8 Resource Partners participated. Although there was no Neighbors Exchange in Gaithersburg, door knockers referred residents to the local Neighborhood Service Center. In Long Branch, we continued to plan for our October Kick-off.
Keep up the good work, everyone. We’re over a quarter of the way to our Wheaton goal already!
To view the whole report, click here.
Posted in Coordinators | Leave a Comment »
Posted by irakowler on October 19, 2009
On Thursday, October 15th, the Wheaton Neighbor Corps program took an exciting trip to learn more about local businesses in the Wheaton community. We began our evening by meeting at the Latino Economic Development Corporation (LEDC) offices in downtown Wheaton. Paula Sternberg, the Program Manager for Wheaton Buy Local, met the group and talked about what LEDC does to support local businesses, including helping with loan applications and innovative marketing strategies. We discussed some of the benefits of local small businesses. For example, local entrepreneurs provide places of employment for neighborhood residents, serve as community anchors, and ensure that money stays in the community. While at the LEDC offices, participants discusses the many local businesses they frequent in Wheaton, and learned about even more.
After finishing the discussion with Paula, we took a short trek (in the rain!) to Dejabel Café, a local business. After enjoying a delicious dinner, we heard from Eddie Velasquez, the owner of Dejabel. Eddie discussed his dreams for making Dejabel a community meeting place, where residents could gather and interact in meaningful ways. However, he also talked about the struggles he has been facing as a small business, competing against national chains and a sluggish economy. The group was struck by Eddie’s vision and commitment in spite of the hardships he faced and offered suggestions for reaching more potential customers. We left the evening with a better understanding of the Wheaton business community and the important interplay between neighborhood residents and local small businesses.

Neighbor Corps participants ham it up for the camera at Dejabel Cafe in Wheaton

Winta Teferi posing with Dejabel Cafe owner Eddie Velasquez
Posted in Coordinators | 1 Comment »
Posted by katieschmahl on October 15, 2009

Katie Schmahl, Rosa Sanchez, Tim Warner, Frankie Blackburn

Maria Lopez, Rosa Sanchez and friends
Last Sunday afternoon, the streets of downtown Wheaton were alive with people dancing, singing and eating deliciousfood! It was a great celebration of all the diversity that Wheaton has to offer! With the help of 4 members of Senior Leadership Montgomery, who did virtual doorknocks at the IMPACT booth, and a great group of Neighbor Corps members, Maria, Martha and Rosa, we were able to connect with lots of interesting people, tell them about the Neighbors Campaign and refer them to the Neighborhood Service Center!
Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments »