Old-Fashioned Approach in East Bay to New Neighbors
July 22, 2001

When the housing market started booming in Richmond, a group of local residents decided to launch an organized effort to welcome the newcomers.

Volunteers from the North & East Neighborhood Council, which represents 5,000 households in the area north of City Hall, go door-to-door one Sunday a month, delivering a basket of "goodies" to new homeowners and welcoming them to Richmond.

"People don't have time to get to know each other these days. Richmond is growing but we need to stay small enough for people to feel they live in a community and have contact with their neighbors," says Ronnie Marty, who created the North & East Neighborhood Council's Good Neighbors program.

Marty and her committee of five say the reaction they have had from newcomers is very positive. "People are surprised and happy," she notes, adding that people say they have never been formally welcomed to other neighborhoods they've moved into. Since the program began, the group has visited nearly three dozen new residents.

According to Marty, recipients are pleased when they are handed colorful baskets containing information about Richmond, including a Chamber of Commerce map of the community, information on city services, emergency preparedness tips, crime prevention pointers, news about the neighborhood council's activities and cookies baked by Bessanderson McNeil, a North & East Neighborhood Council member who runs Snazz Enterprises, a catering business. Sometimes the baskets also contain other surprises, donated by local merchants or neighborhood council members. The committee tries to keep the cost of the project to under $3 a basket and hopes donations can cover the expenses and increase what's included.

Volunteer visitors fill out feedback forms that report on whether the newcomer was happy or grumpy and what kind of reaction they had. All of the responses have been positive. "It can take three years to get this kind of information when you first move into a new community," says resident Ricardo Magana. "We're making things easier for them.

The efforts have paid off already by boosting attendance at neighborhood council monthly meetings. Marty says other neighborhood councils are interested in adopting the same approach and she's all for expanding g efforts to welcome new neighbors.