Historic Park Neighborhood First
Ideas to encourage membership and participation
Becoming acquainted with one another:Â make it fun and enticing
1.Name tags available at beginning of each meeting for attendees to fill out with name, and something each might wish to share to identify themselves – e.g. address, picture of house,
something depicting work, hobby, interest etc.
2. At least 15 minutes before each meeting, allow time to mingle and talk to one another
3. Offer simple refreshments at beginning of meeting during “mingling timeâ€Â These could be provided by members on a rotating basis
Encouraging residents to attend:
1. A list of several months’ meetings with topics and activities prepared, so that pairs of volunteers
in each block can go door to door with the list and encourage people to attend. List could be left if no one is at home.                  Could begin with notice of Safety Environmental walk scheduled for Spring.
2. Offer a small door prize at each meeting – provided by volunteer members – e.g. a bouquet of flowers from a garden, a supply of vegetables from someone’s garden (maybe not zucchini), a baked good, a craft item etc.
3. Hold a pot luck picnic in City Park and advertise it widely in neighborhood. If held on a Sunday afternoon, could be tied in with band concert in City Park. Municipal Band might recognize the group’s attendance.
4. Have a Neighborhood First group of mummers (especially children) participate in the Annual Mummers Parade.
5. After the bike lanes are available, hold a Neighborhood Bike Ride for resident children.
6. Hold a neighborhood yard sale similar to the one in the North End. This would take some extra planning and permitting. Maybe Church would allow use of parking lot?
7. Sponsor a Valentine making party for the Neighborhood’s children, and then distribute their Valentines to each household in the Neighborhood.
8. Hold walking tours of each of the Neighbor Hood sections, led by Section Team leaders. Residents could be encouraged to be home and available to greet walkers, and perhaps say something about their home.
9. Organize Neighborhood  First charity drives – e.g. at different meetings, bring food donations for the Food Bank , or used items for Good Will, Salvation Army etc,
10. Collect useful items from the neighborhood, and pack shoe boxes for the troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, and/or collect shoe boxes for the church groups that fill them to send to needy countries.
10. Organize volunteers for a Neighborhood First snow angel service, emergency transportation service, etc.
Other ideas????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
Committee members: Dan and Deborah Agee
Jamie Harbaugh
Dick and Mary Mallery
Joe Marschner
Laurel Menard
Hagerstown City Park is known as America's 2nd most beautiful park. The first most beautiful being Central Park in New York City. The park was designed by landscape architect George Burnap who helped design some of the landscapes in Central Park.