Greenmount West Association

I wanted to talk briefly about my experience volunteering on Saturday. I think it's similar to the experience that Rachel described, but honestly I was a little surprised at the reactions to something like a survey on a Saturday morning. First of all, Cole and I got a bunch of people to do the survey. Like, more people than I thought would want to answer the door on a Saturday morning to fill out a survey. But people were totally interested, especially when we told them that we were affiliated with the Greenmount West Association. I was also totally impressed by the community participation in the trash clean up. At one point there was a girl talking to her friend on the phone trying to get her to come out. She accused her of throwing a Pepsi bottle on the ground the other day and told her that if she was going to litter in their community she better help clean up. That was really endearing. Another woman we talked to was elderly and had lived in the neighborhood for like twelve years. She said only good things about the community (caring people, etc) but when it came to her bills, she had a ton of trouble. When we asked her how long she planned to stay in Greenmount West, she looked us in the eye and told us that she'd probably die here. The people in this community need some help for the love of their neighborhood. They feel connected with the place that they live, even if trash blows down from 25th street and they have to clean it up.
After volunteering on Saturday, I went to a few locations that I was considering using for my final project. I only talked to a few people but when I talked to them, they were pretty enthusiastic about some activity. I think it just takes some proactive thinking and some action to make things happen in Greenmount West.

Also, anybody want to lend me a lawnmower? I'm looking either for a push lawnmower or a small one. Thanks!