ROCK THE BLOCK
Jennifer woke up at 4 a.m., two hours before her alarm. Today was the day her century old house was getting a fresh coat of paint and she was too excited to sleep. When volunteers from Thrivent Financial arrived around 9 a.m., Jennifer was already dipping her brush.
One home in particular was getting consumed by weeds. Volunteers pulled vines off the two-story house and cleared the ground. The homeowner, a soft-spoken elderly woman named Joann, was amazed by the buzz of activity. When the volunteers were told to stop (they did not want to quit), they took group pictures and lingered in the front yard. Joann was heard saying to the team leader, “I’ll miss you.”
Building Community:
Cleaning one street in one day improves the appearance of a specific area while building community. Residents on Jefferson Avenue were encouraged to get involved to help their own neighborhood. This is Neighborhood Revitalization (NR) in action.