The Raleigh Neighborhood Exchange is designed to increase neighbor-to-neighbor engagement for the purpose of improving our neighborhoods from the inside out. This conference seeks to increase leadership confidence and capacity at the grassroots level.
Residents gather for the Neighborhood Exchange each September, which the City Council has designated as Neighborhood Month in Raleigh. The exchange features guest speakers and interactive programs that allow community members to share information and ideas about activities in their neighborhoods.
The 2009 Exchange will take place Saturday, Sept. 19, at the McKimmon Center, 1101 Gorman St., Raleigh. Registration for adults is $10, and the first forty (40) teens ages 13 to 18 are free.
The Exchange is open to those who would like to become more active in their neighborhoods, learn more about City services and programs and build connections with other residents across Raleigh.
A committee of volunteers plans the program for the Exchange in partnership with the Raleigh Community Services Department. In past years, the Exchange has covered such topics as community gardens, crime prevention, senior involvement, teen activities, Hispanic-Latino engagement and community organization. Past participants report that a genuine exchange of ideas and information did indeed take place.
In addition, an “exchange session” will take place in which all participants will share in analyzing community-based subjects.
If you’d like to attend, please fill out the Neighborhood Exchange Registration Form [PDF] and return it to:
Raleigh Neighborhood Exchange
Community Services Department
P. O. Box 590
Raleigh, NC 27602
Here are this year’s session topics:
COMMUNITY ORGANIZING – ABCD
Appreciating and mobilizing individual and neighborhood talents, skills and assets is the foundation for building strong neighborhoods.
GANG PREVENTION
There are signs of gang activity that citizens should be known. Learn the important signs so that you can help prevent gang activity.
COMMUNITY GARDENS
Incorporating gardening into neighborhood organizing is a popular way to engage fellow citizens.
DIVERSITY IN COMMUNITIES
As the City of Raleigh experiences growth, it is important for citizens to recognize and appreciate diversity in the way that we live.
BUSINESS AND NEIGHBORS
Strong neighborhoods are inclusive of their local businesses. Learn to enhance the relationship between neighborhoods and citizens.
IN SPANISH/ EN ESPAÑOL
In a new community…
Migration: adaptation and integration
Sharing background, thoughts and experiences
En una nueva comunidad…
Migración: adaptación e integración
Compartiendo transfondo, ideas y experiencias
TEEN TOPICS (AGES 13–18)
Youth are a critical component for the future development of neighborhoods throughout the City of Raleigh. Neighborhood help foster, develop and support youth initiatives.
Luncheon and Keynote Speaker
Gail Kenyon has been a social worker for 29 years, including 22 years as an educator. In her home country of Canada, she practiced rehabilitation social work with physically disabled adults, trained professionals and volunteers for nonprofit organizations and taught non-credit courses at York University. She taught at Ryerson University in Toronto and coordinated field education there until 2000 when she came to North Carolina. Here, she has taught both undergraduate and graduate students in social work and engaged in a variety of community projects and initiatives.
She became a devotee of asset-based community building after attending a workshop with Henry Moore, who pioneered the philosophy in Savannah, Ga. She believes this is a powerful and humane perspective that is completely in sync with the social work values of self-determination and social justice.