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A group of residents is striving to turn active citizenship into a way of life locally with the new group Neighborhood Leaders United, an organization aimed at promoting pride and safety within communities in and around Hanover Township.
Hanover Park resident Fernando Collazo said he became a member of NLU after discovering a block party in his neighborhood last summer. He said, at the time, the event seemed uncharacteristic for that area.
“Seeing a party on this street was very odd because people are leery of this neighborhood,” Collazo said. “When I found out it was a block party and what it was for, I got more information on NLU and began going to regular meetings.”
This Saturday, NLU and Hanover Township Youth and Family Services will host their second annual NeighborFest on Saturday afternoon at Kiddie Corner Park in Streamwood as a way to unite families in the neighborhood.
Andrea Freerksen, program and volunteer coordinator for Hanover Township Youth and Family Services, said NLU was conceived more than a year ago when township residents, sparked by growing concerns in their community, banded together to help improve the image of their neighborhoods.
“They wanted to create an opportunity where they could get to know each other to reduce crime,” Freerksen said.
While many of the group’s members are Streamwood and Hanover Park residents, Freerksen said NLU is not exclusive to those areas and other communities, including Bartlett, have shown interest.
Collazo said NLU members cleaned and planted flowers in three parks in Streamwood and Hanover Park in the last year, including Kiddie Corner Park, where Saturday’s event will be held.
“No one would have thought this neighborhood would get together to do such things,” Collazo said. “Now, (Kiddie Corner Park) looks like a brand new park.
We’re presenting a better image and hopefully it will spread to other people.”
NeighborFest is planned to feature activities for children and adults including a moonwalk, hot dog cookout, piñatas, water-balloon tosses, adult scavenger hunt and music from deejay Reggie Zollicoffer.
“There are so many people in neighborhoods who haven’t seen anything like this before,” Freerksen said.
Collazo said he hopes this year’s event will branch out to more people in the same way it reached him last year.
“I think that through all our activities and the presence of NLU, there are people out there who really care,” he said. “With people coming here, it will create a lot of relations with each other because it’s essential to create comfort amongst neighbors.”
If you go
WHAT NLU’s NeighborFest 2010
WHEN 1 to 5 p.m. Saturday
WHERE Kiddie Corner Park, at McKool and Miller avenues in Streamwood
INFO Contact Jenny Kleiman at (630) 483-5799 or jkleiman@hanover-township.org
A group of residents is striving to turn active citizenship into a way of life locally with the new group Neighborhood Leaders United, an organization aimed at promoting pride and safety within communities in and around Hanover Township.
Hanover Park resident Fernando Collazo said he became a member of NLU after discovering a block party in his neighborhood last summer. He said, at the time, the event seemed uncharacteristic for that area.
“Seeing a party on this street was very odd because people are leery of this neighborhood,” Collazo said. “When I found out it was a block party and what it was for, I got more information on NLU and began going to regular meetings.”
This Saturday, NLU and Hanover Township Youth and Family Services will host their second annual NeighborFest on Saturday afternoon at Kiddie Corner Park in Streamwood as a way to unite families in the neighborhood.
Andrea Freerksen, program and volunteer coordinator for Hanover Township Youth and Family Services, said NLU was conceived more than a year ago when township residents, sparked by growing concerns in their community, banded together to help improve the image of their neighborhoods.
“They wanted to create an opportunity where they could get to know each other to reduce crime,” Freerksen said.
While many of the group’s members are Streamwood and Hanover Park residents, Freerksen said NLU is not exclusive to those areas and other communities, including Bartlett, have shown interest.
Collazo said NLU members cleaned and planted flowers in three parks in Streamwood and Hanover Park in the last year, including Kiddie Corner Park, where Saturday’s event will be held.
“No one would have thought this neighborhood would get together to do such things,” Collazo said. “Now, (Kiddie Corner Park) looks like a brand new park.
We’re presenting a better image and hopefully it will spread to other people.”
NeighborFest is planned to feature activities for children and adults including a moonwalk, hot dog cookout, piñatas, water-balloon tosses, adult scavenger hunt and music from deejay Reggie Zollicoffer.
“There are so many people in neighborhoods who haven’t seen anything like this before,” Freerksen said.
Collazo said he hopes this year’s event will branch out to more people in the same way it reached him last year.
“I think that through all our activities and the presence of NLU, there are people out there who really care,” he said. “With people coming here, it will create a lot of relations with each other because it’s essential to create comfort amongst neighbors.”
If you go
WHAT NLU’s NeighborFest 2010
WHEN 1 to 5 p.m. Saturday
WHERE Kiddie Corner Park, at McKool and Miller avenues in Streamwood
INFO Contact Jenny Kleiman at (630) 483-5799 or jkleiman@hanover-township.org
