After months of planning, artist collaboration, and one great kickoff party, it was finally time to award our first Good Neighbor Initiative bench, by artist RB Anderson. The recipients, Hilary and her two sons, Miles and Nathan, are Avondale residents who sure know how to make an impact on their community. Here is the nomination that got them selected:
“The City of Avondale is nominating Hilary and her 2 sons, Miles (age 5) and Nathan (age 3) as a “Good Neighbor” front porch bench recipient. Hilary and her family have volunteered countless hours at the Care1st Avondale Resource Center, assisting in our community engagement projects targeting families with children ages 0-5. This family has assisted with the installation of the Born Learning Trail and the Community Preschool Garden at the Center. The Born Learning Trail is an interactive and playful community trail that engages families to boost their children’s early language and literacy skills while at the Resource Center. Hilary and her boys have also been a vital member of our Community Preschool Garden where she has been a leader in installing the watering system and planting, maintaining, and harvesting the crops from the garden.”
Family service = AWESOME!
On a sunny Thursday afternoon, our team met with representatives from the City of Avondale outside of Hilary’s home. And to our surprise, chalk art engulfed her driveway – a picturesque good neighbor scene, if we do say so ourselves!
We set up Hilary’s new bench on her front porch, and before we had a chance to knock, out she came with her family! There was surprise, excitement…and even a bit of shyness from the little ones. Once everyone warmed up (and that wasn’t hard – it was 105 degrees outside!), we got the chance to tell Hilary and her family why they were awarded – their dedication to their community made them the ideal Good Neighbor.
Check out the photos and tell us what you think of Hilary’s nomination here!