A Stroll Through RNeighbors’ History

1990

• Lincolnshire NA formed

1995

• Kutzky Park NA formed

1996

• Mayors Advisory Council On Neighborhoods is formed
  • 1st year formed 2 NA’s – Southeast Settlers (now Slatterly Park NA) and East Side Pioneers
  • Instituted Neighborhood Coordinator position
  • Disorderly use ordinance passed

1999

• Neighborhood Initiative Leadership Workshop given

2000

• Rochester Neighborhood Resource Center Start-Up Committee
  • Researched models from other cities
  • Decided on “Resource Center” model
  • Initial filings for 501C3 organization
  • Goals
    • Seek Community-wide Board
    • Hire Executive Director Move into new offices at United Way
    • Growth of Neighborhood Associations (NAs) from 2 to 12

2001

• Rochester Neighborhood Resource Center (RNRC) incorporated as a 501C3
• Susan Waughtal hired as Executive Director and AmeriCorps volunteer Brooke Tiegen secured
• Board of Directors created
• Mission: “To Promote Community and Improve Quality of Life in Rochester Neighborhoods.”
• Goals
  • Promote neighborhood involvement through safety, social, and environmental activities.
  • Provide financial and other resources that create opportunities for NAs
  • Assure fiscal responsibility
  • Form community partnerships between neighborhoods, government, business and religious community
• 15 Active NAs registered with RNRC (increased from 11)

2002

• Neighborhood Association Tool Kit created

2004

• A ReLeaf grant was written with RPU and RNeighbors allowing boulevard trees to be planted in Rochester neighborhoods. The unofficial start of the RNeighborWoods program.
• “Streets and Stories”: A giant historical exhibition to be held in conjunction with Rochester’s 150th Grand Birthday Party on September 10 – 12 at the Mayo Civic Center.

2006

• René Lafflam is hired as Executive Director.
• In October 2006, a total of 225 trees were planted by 150 Rochester volunteers in three boulevard locations.
• Funded through a $4,999 grant from Blue Cross, Blue Shield, NeighborWalks is a walking program in the Slatterly Park neighborhood association that encourages people of all ages to walk in their neighborhoods and get to know their neighbors.
• On our website RNeighbors.org we host RVoices, a community journalism project, linking neighborhoods with resources, dialogue, and news. This project was funded by a grant from the Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation, and with financial support from Think Credit Union.
• 26 registered NAs in Rochester
• Started RLuau as an tropical annual fundraiser
• Partnered with the City, Chamber of Commerce, and Mayor Brede to start Litter Bit Better, a city-wide litter pick up program.

2007

• Moved our offices in 2007 from the Massey Building mezzanine, a space donated by HGA to our current offices in Kingsrow at 829 3rd Avenue SE.
• Painted the first Rochester street mural with the Slatterly Park neighborhood association as a pilot project.

2008

This year through city support, several grants received (including 1,500 pounds of street paint from Valspar), a strong strategic plan, and positive community partnerships, we have provided tools for 31 registered neighborhood associations including:

• 10,000 City Ordinance Highlight booklets,
• 20,000 free copies of five neighborhood walking routes,
• 230 boulevard trees planted by 190 volunteers,
• 3 street murals painted by over 300 neighbors,
• A litter initiative yielding 20,000 pounds of litter collected by over 1,384 volunteers,
• 11 Good Neighbor Awards given out during Rochesterfest, and
• 173 National Night Out events with over 21,000 attendees.

2009

• Helped to organize three new Neighborhood Associations including Cimarron, Parkway, and Washington
• Assisted by over 200 volunteers, RColorful Corners brightened up Rochester streets with 3 mural repaints and 1 new mural
• RNeighborWoods planted 260 boulevard tress with the help of over 325 volunteers
• Brought neighbors together over dinners in the Table Talk event
• Continued to increase neighborhood visibility and awareness during events like the Rochesterfest parade and National Night Out
• Worked together with the Mayor’s office and the Rochester Convention & Visitors Bureau to put together a bid proposal to host the Neighborhoods, USA Annual Conference on Neighborhood Concerns.

2010

• Helped organize three new neighborhood associations including Homestead, Friends of Indian Park, and Manor Park using the RNeighborhood Toolkit.
• On April 24, RNeighborWoods planted 500 boulevard trees with the help of more than 500 volunteers in the Country Club Manor neighborhood.
• Helped the “A Litter Bit Better!” campaign rally 3,500 volunteers to collect over 24,600 pounds of litter.
• Assembled and distributed over 1,000 City Ordinance Highlights booklets.
• Served as an organizer to address public safety concerns in the grassroots Neighbors for Safety effort.
• Educated 70 volunteers with the Citizen Forester Training program.
• RColorful Corners brightened up Rochester intersections with 1 new mural and 3 mural repaints assisted by over 200 volunteers.
• Partnered with the Diversity Council to bring neighbors together to discuss immigration over city-wide dinners in the Table Talk event.
• Greened up Rochester over 1,000 neighbors in the Think Green Fair, an event that we partnered with Olmsted County in.
• Increased neighborhood visibility through participating in events like Chalk the Block, the Rochesterfest parade, and National Night Out.
• Created the first 10 Ways to Make a Difference in Your Neighborhood brochure.

2011

• Moved our offices to the Olmsted County 1421 building, with increased office space and additional storage for our event supplies.
• Wrote a grant and hosted a MN GreenCorps member who devoted 1,700 hours to RNeighbors.
• Helped organize three new neighborhood associations including South Pointe, Homestead Trails and Manor Park.
• Planted 1,143 boulevard trees in Rochester neighborhoods with 845 volunteers. Slated to plant 120 additional trees fall 2011.
• Helped the “A Litter Bit Better!” campaign rally 3,334 volunteers to collect nearly 10.5 tons (or 20,962 pounds) of waste.
• Reprinted and distributed over 1,000 City Ordinance Highlights booklets.
• Served as an organizer to address public safety concerns in the grassroots group, Citizen Advisors for Public Safety.
• Educated 70 volunteers with the Citizen Forester Training program.
• RColorful Corners brightened up Rochester intersections with 4 mural repaints assisted by over 240 volunteers. We have 1 mural left to paint on August 27.

2012

• This summer, the RColorful Corners program once again provided the street paint and assistance for the repainting of neighborhood street murals. Over 150 neighbors worked together to spruce up their murals, which they consider a bright neighborhood asset. Paint was also made available to the Women’s Shelter for a mural.
• This spring, the RNeighborWoods program engaged 640 volun-trees in planting 1,354 boulevard trees in Rochester neighborhoods. This program received an Excellence in Volunteer Management Award from the Arbor Day Foundation in 2012.
• Continued to serve as an organizer in bringing together representatives from each city ward to address public safety concerns in the Citizen Advisors for Public Safety (CAPS) group.
• Helped the “A Litter Bit Better!” campaign rally 3,000 volunteers to collect nearly 5.96 tons of waste in April.
• Partnered with UMR to enroll in the work study program in an effort to balance increasing demands on staffing. This has increased our staffing by 10 hours a week.
• Worked with the Park and Rec Department and the Friends of Indian Heights to submit a grant to the National Park Department.
• Continued to increased neighborhood visibility through participation in City events and provide a website that highlights neighborhood activity.
• Celebrated Rochester neighborhoods in a fundraiser on October 5 – OAKtoberfest.

2013

• The RColorful Corners program once again provided the street paint and assistance for the repainting of neighborhood street murals. Over 175 neighbors worked together to spruce up their murals in 4 neighborhoods.
• This spring, the RNeighborWoods program engaged over 550 volunteers in planting 260 boulevard trees in the Eastside neighborhood.
• Continued to serve as an organizer in bringing together representatives from each city ward to address public safety concerns in the Citizen Advisors for Public Safety (CAPS) group.
• Helped the “A Litter Bit Better!” campaign rally 3,000 volunteers to collect nearly 11 tons of waste in April.
• Participated in City events in an effort to increase neighborhood visibility. Many neighborhood events are highlighted on our website at RNeighbors.org.
• Organized a “Work with Your City Forum” for neighbors to increase efficiency of working with city departments.
• Continuing the annual OAKtoberfest celebration of neighborhoods on October 4. Funds raised will be used to supplement our budget to continue supporting our mission.

2014

• This summer, the RColorful Corners program once again provided the street paint and assistance for the repainting of the Northrop and Slatterly Park neighborhood street murals.
• This spring, the RNeighborWoods program engaged over 50 volunteers in planting 25 boulevard trees in the Knotting Hill Lane NW neighborhood.
• Partnered with Mayor Brede and the Rochester Area Foundation to hold a Neighborhood Leader Focus Group which grew into the Mayor’s Council on Neighborhoods. The mission of this group is to strengthen connections between neighborhood leaders and give neighborhoods a collective voice. Representatives from the Historic SW, Eastside, Folwell, Sunnyside, Slatterly, Northrop, Kutzky, Washington, Indian Heights, Homestead, and Cimarron are active participants.
• Helped the A Litter Bit Better! campaign rally 3,250 volunteers to collect nearly 24,360 pounds of litter in 2014.
• Continued to make the most of our resources by partnering with UMR to have a Work-Study position who helps ten hours a week in our office.
• Participated in City events in an effort to increase neighborhood visibility such as the Rochesterfest Parade (photo). Many neighborhood events are highlighted on our website at RNeighbors.org.
• Held several strategic planning sessions with RNeighbors Board and neighborhood leaders to plan future goals and objectives for our organization.
• Currently assisting both the DMC and City Comprehensive Plan update to engage with neighborhoods to collect their valuable input.
• Continuing the annual OAKtoberfest celebration of neighborhoods on Friday, October 3.

2015

• Helped to organize and provide resources to Rochester Neighborhood Associations. Newest members of registered groups include 19th Avenue SW, Downtown, and Valhalla Park Condominiums.
• Partnered with Public Health and the City of Rochester to offer $8,000 in Neighborhood Project Grant funding to eight different improvement projects in seven different neighborhoods.
• RColorful Corners provided street paint for repainting of the Northrop, Cimarron, and Slatterly Park neighborhood street murals.
• RNeighborWoods planted 496 trees with the help of 446 volunteers in the Pine Summit and the SE neighborhood around 16th Avenue SE, S Village Drive SE, and 8 ½ Street. 66 volunteers took the Citizen Forester classes offered in the fall and the spring.
• Helped the “A Litter Bit Better!” campaign rally over 3,250 volunteers to collect 18,000 pounds of trash and 3,700 pounds of recycling. This equals 10.85 tons of trash not in our parks, rivers, and streams!
• Continued to increase neighborhood visibility and awareness in events like Chalk the Block, the Rochesterfest parade, and National Night Out.
• Facilitated the Mayor’s Council on Neighborhoods, consisting of representatives from 15 neighborhood associations. Over 150 hours of volunteer time were spent on learning and sharing neighborhood related information.
• Hosted 220 attendees at OAKtoberfest, a celebration highlighting the community-building work that volunteers and RNeighbors does throughout the year, and awarded four OAKtoberfest Awards to outstanding neighborhood leaders.

 

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