“Community Cafe” Workshops Set

By Janice Rombeck
San Jose Mercury News
Aug. 18, 2005

Sometimes the best way to solve a neighborhood problem is to consult a resident in another neighborhood.

With that in mind, San Jose’s Neighborhood Development Center is offering two free workshops this month that will provide residents a chance to learn from each other’s experiences.

“You learn from the good and the bad of what other people have already gone through,” said Shirley Mata, the center’s community coordinator.

“Community Cafe,” which is scheduled for 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Aug. 30 at the center, 43 E. Gish Road, will bring residents together to share ideas on “recruitment and retention” of neighborhood association members. In other words, how do you get people to join a community project and how do you keep hard-working members from burning out?

Although Mata is eager to hear solutions from residents at the meeting, she’s prepared to launch the conversation.

“A lot of it had to do with relationship-building,” she said. “Really start to talk to your neighbors.”

Also, leaders should start new participants out on small projects so they don’t get overwhelmed.

“Find out what their passion is,” Mata said. “Small contributions, no matter how small, can lead to something larger.”

Mata divides the group into tables of five people who explore the questions and then report back to the larger group with solutions.

At the first Community Cafe in May, topics included fundraising and “deepening the bench,” another version of getting people involved in organizations beyond residents.

For example, Ken Braly of the Cory Neighborhood Association said his group got a local Realtor to join, providing financial support for mailing labels and identifying new residents for the group’s mailing list, Mata wrote in this month’s Community Connections newsletter.

A workshop on grant-writing — a favorite neighborhood association topic in lean times — will be 6:30 to 8:30 Aug. 31. Neighborhood leader Clark Williams will talk about various grants available to groups, and Margaret Wagenet will go over guidelines for San Jose Beautiful grants.

Schools, non-profits and neighborhood organizations are eligible to apply for the beautification grants, which range from $100 to $2,000. Funding mustbe matched by volunteer efforts or cash donations. The projects must be in a visible public space and be maintained by volunteers.

Applications are due Sept. 30, and can be obtained by calling Wagenet at San Jose Beautiful at (408) 392-6746. More information on the grants can be found by visiting www.sjbeautiful.org and clicking on Beautification Grants.

To sign up for the Neighborhood Development Center workshops, call (408) 392-6771.