Neighborhood University: the next step in elevating your voice

Who wouldn’t want to go back to college? Meeting new people and making friendships that last for years. Learning lessons you can apply in the real world and enhance your life. Keg stands!

OK. Maybe not the keg stands. (Are they still a thing, I wonder?)

Anyway, today I’m offering you a chance to go back to college — Neighborhood University — and do the other things I mentioned: meet people, make important friends and learn ways to improve your life and those of your neighbors.

If you are a regular reader (and I hope you are), you know that we at CONO celebrated our re-launch with a new name, logo and updated mission. We are now simply CONO — Building Neighborhood Networks.

Our mission is to strengthen neighborhoods through community engagement, education and trust-building. And our vision at CONO is our dedication to helping create an interconnected region full of strong and diverse neighborhoods.

To teach you exactly how to raise your voice when it comes to decisions that impact your neighborhood, CONO is launching Neighborhood University on March 15.

What is Neighborhood University?

Neighborhood U is a free 10-week course designed to groom civic-minded folks to serve on their Neighborhood Network board. Students will develop the knowledge and skills required to influence and guide decision-making processes that affect their local communities. It’s designed for individuals who will serve as leaders within CONO’s neighborhood networks.

Course participants will receive a foundation of knowledge about local civic processes. Upon graduation, they will be prepared to effectively engage and organize their communities. And they will be positioned to build greater trust between neighbors and local officials.

Neighborhood U is for residents with a passion for their neighbors and their neighborhood who show potential for leading their neighborhood network.

A Neighborhood Network is the larger geographic area where Neighborhood Plans are being created. This is a network to help your voice be heard by decision-makers and make it more accessible for you to get information and for leaders to connect with you.

By the way, there will be a graduation ceremony that will include networking with local leaders and next steps for Neighborhood Network board growth. But there will be no keg stands!

Please sign up for our newsletter and register in our Neighborhood Census so we can notify you of land use applications, and more in your area.

As always, I welcome your input. Please email your thoughts to me, sara@cscono.org.

Sara Vaas has been the executive director of the CONO — Building Neighborhood Networks since July 2021 and was assistant director from 2015-2019.