I have been considering the daily news lately. It seems there is no shortage of chaos or catastrophe. Japan has experienced exponentially difficult times, from multiple earthquakes to dangers from radiation. Haiti was leveled a year ago and New Orleans was flooded by Katrina. Rumors in our culture spread from terrorist attacks to a big earthquake demolishing our west coast. The question has to be asked about our city, too. If something were to happen in our community, how can we be more prepared? The topic being proposed is a community network for the city of Kenmore. A network that is separate from the city government. My mind began to consider this. The more I thought about it, the more it became a necessity of our neighborhoods.

There is a story of a volunteer group in Tennessee that was able to organize and respond to a river that had risen. More than 50 people showed up to put sand bags around a farm and potentially saved this area for their neighbor. This is the American spirit. I can just see neighbors catching high fives, whipping the sweat off of their brows in an atmosphere of teamwork and achievement. They were able to save something personal, their community. This act got people out of their houses and talking with each other. Also, this was an effort that the local government would have been unable to respond to effectively, not to mention the financial burden that would have been placed on the taxpayers.

The same should happen for where we live, a community network, non-governmental, just relational. Everyone can have the option to volunteer for our community or just to be kept in the loop. It may be a way to save our mayor some money here and there. Better yet, we can be involved. Volunteering doesn’t just help build things in our community; it does something in the unseen. It brings an old-fashioned camaraderie and solidarity to the hearts of people. It shows people the neighbors of Kenmore care about each other and where we live.

I would like to propose to Kenmore neighbors the option to join this network. It is as easy as finding “Kenmore neighbors” on Facebook, or e-mailing kenmoreneighbors@gmail.com. People then added to the group can submit opportunities for neighbors to participate; these will then be reviewed and sent out to other citizens.

With our technology, we are able keep members connected. Hopefully, this will make a better Kenmore. And if times do get tough, as could possibly happen, we will have a network with the ability to respond to situations better than if the community wasn’t networked. We also don’t want to not leave the burden on our local government and expect them to handle everything for us. Resilient communities don’t just happen; they are built by individuals working together.

Charles Crouch