To Lake Ridge Community Church, the definition of hospitality means the ability to allow people to be themselves our presence. By that definition anyone can provide hospitality anywhere.
Through a $10,000 grant that Lake Ridge Community Church received from FCSS (Family and Community Support Services) of SE Rocky, they will be developing the Mighty Neighbourly Project designed to engage new people in the community as soon as they move here.
The goal is to provide care and connection points with new residents of Chestermere to create lasting neighbourhood change. In welcoming newcomers to Chestermere, they will offer greeting services to individuals and families as well as provide civic information in order to familiarize them with the local community and how to get involved.
“The overall goal of Mighty Neighbourly is to create a community initiative that encourages all residents of Chestermere to be better neighbours,” says Jody Castle, Facilitator of Mighty Neighbourly. “The initial stage of the project will focus on welcoming new residents.”
Mighty Neighbourly volunteers will be building relationships with local builders and realtors as they are one of the first contacts with the new residents. Once the new residents receive the information for Mighty Neighbourly they can establish contact with the group and fill out a questionnaire which will help the volunteers to prepare a welcoming package geared toward them.
Personalized marketing services for supporting businesses and resources needed to easily connect to neighbours, organizations and businesses will be included in a handmade gift box made by volunteers. Civic information will also be included in order to familiarize them with the local community and how to get involved. Welcoming volunteers will arrange with the newcomers a time to meet and give them the gift box including town information to welcome them to our town.
For local businesses and other social groups looking to get involved, there are sponsorship opportunities as well as volunteer opportunities. The project encourages any resident of Chestermere to become a part of the volunteer group. Besides becoming a community ‘welcomer’ – there are also other roles that will need to be filled including a Communications Coordinator; Boxes and Content Coordinator; Fundraising Coordinator and Volunteer Recruitment and Training Coordinator.
“Our conviction is that the welcoming into a community should always be done by the community, and not just one person, and that we hope will be the strongest part of Mighty Neighbourly,” says Evan Dewald, Director of Mighty Neighbourly and Pastor at Lake Ridge Community Church. “We will be looking for 20-25 volunteers from the entire community to get involved in this exciting project.”
To inquire about this project, you can contact Lake Ridge Community Church by emailing mightyneighbourlychestermere@gmail.com or by visiting their website at www.mightyneighbourly.com.
