Earlier this week, I tweeted out an article from the Christian Science Monitor that profiled a community-based volunteer organization called the Neighbor Brigade.
(Side note: If you’re on Twitter, you should follow me at @ETNcloutier for more #VolunteerErie updates.)
In case you missed it (and don’t want to click the hyperlink and read the article,) the premise of Neighbor Brigade is neighbors helping neighbors.
Neighbor Brigade is a network of community-led groups that provide support–whether in the form doing laundry, preparing meals or running errands–to neighbors who are in the middle of a family crisis.
“We have many grateful recipients,” said Pam Washek, the executive director of Neighbor Brigade. “Often, recipients will become volunteers. It’s their way of paying it forward.”
What started as a community effort in the Massachusetts town of Wayland has grown to include 24 active chapters, all in Massachusetts, and 2,952 volunteers.
The Neighbor Brigade website encourages people who do not have a brigade in their community to start a chapter.
I’m curious if similar ventures are happening daily in Erie. If they are, I’d like to profile them here.
In the article, Washek reflected on the inspiration for Neighbor Brigade. She was undergoing cancer radiation and unprompted, her neighbors brought her food and organized rides for her children.
“It almost made me feel I wasn’t alone in this journey,” said Washek
Therein lies the power of neighborly love.
