Early childhood education may be the first step in building thriving communities, but it’s not the only one. This Sunday, La Plata County residents are invited to join in “National Neighborhood Day.” Organizers of the annual event anticipate more than 1 million people will gather at 25,000 events nationwide this Sunday in an effort to strengthen the country’s neighborhoods and build community.

“The agenda is simply, yet profoundly, to bring people together,” said Lorne Adrain, National Neighborhood Day founder and chairman. “It is the connecting with each other that is important – from these connections, people will act on the things that are important and inspiring to them and their neighbors.”

La Plata County became involved with the event as a result of the newly completed Child, Youth, Family Master Plan. The ambitious project, which was undertaken last year, outlines seven “action areas” where peo

ple can work to build a stronger, thriving community. As part of the Master Plan, each action area was assigned a working committee to help implement the strategy.

“The Neighborhoods and Community Committee outlined recommendations and one was to start celebrating National Neighborhood Day,” said committee member Lauren Patterson.

Patterson said the concept behind the event is simple. “When you know your neighbors, they are no longer strangers, and great things can happen,” she said.

She said events can range from anything to a simple picnic or potluck to a more service-oriented event, like a neighborhood clean up or tree planting. “That is what is so appealing about National Neighborhood Day,” she said. “Every neighborhood is different and diverse. People can choose for themselves how to participate.”

Seeing as how National Neighborhood Day coincides with the International Day of Peace, she said one idea is

to center activities around a peace theme. Other local events include an all-out celebration in Ignacio, featuring a three-on-three basketball tournament, food, live music sponsored by the Southern Ute Community Action Program to a harvest dinner for a neighborhood community garden program.

As for her rural neighborhood, Patterson said a picnic will take place at the Elks Picnic Grounds. “I was surprised how few people I knew when I went around to my neighbors’ houses,” she said. “That’s why I pushed the Neighborhood Day concept. It’s something small that we can all do. All it takes is one small step.”

For more information on National Neighborhood Day or ideas about what you can do in your neighborhood, visit www.neighborhoodday.org. For more information or to share your ideas for this annual event call Lauren Patterson at 259-1247 or e-mail lpatters@frontier.net.

– Missy Votel