Host a Block Party Day in Stapleton during Denver Days, National Night Out
Consider hosting a party during Denver Days: August 3-11. Block Parties are encouraged by the Denver Police Department, the City of Denver, and SUN. When neighbors know each other, and know and what is “normal” they better recognize unordinary activity. People who know their neighbors are more likely to report suspicious behavior (e.g., text a tip: 720.723.8911) and people are far less likely to have disputes with neighbors if they know them and have a community bond with them. Block Parties can improve safety, avoid conflict, and improve quality of life.
Denver Days is Mayor Hancock’s initiative to get neighbors to know each other. During Denver Days, city-managed park fees are waived for block parties and barricades are provided for street closure. The MCA has waived the registration fee for block parties hosted on MCA-managed pocket parks during Denver Days. Councilman Herndon’s police-escorted Bike Parade from the 29th Avenue Town Center to the McAuliffe Campus is one of the largest events in the area during Denver Days (all are welcome to participate). Service projects are another suggested activity during Denver Days. The city will provide trash pickers and grabbers for clean-up events, and more.
National Night Out is the first Tuesday in August (Tuesday, August 6, 2019 this year). Consider hosting your block party the evening of National Night Out to participate in community building in partnership with Denver Police, and other communities across the county.
If you wish to incorporate Stapleton’s participation in the Sustainable neighborhoods program into your block party, incorporate an environmental and/or cultural aspect into the event, and consider making your event ZERO waste. (For this you would need to collect, weigh, and properly dispose of trash, recycling, and compost.)
Call for Community Engagement, Need for Space North of I-70
The SUN Registered Neighborhood Organization (RNO) will start a new session at the June 21meeting in the Central Park Recreation Center. Wide community engagement is essential for this volunteer organization to be well-representative of the community, and effective at tackling issues of importance to the community at large.
This past year, the Inclusivity and Diversity Committee hosted the Second Annual Day of Reflection, with a focus on Implicit Bias, facilitated by Dr. Antwan Jefferson, University of Colorado Denver; and is currently coordinating plans with the Northfield High School Student Government for a series of fall events across the community. The Sustainability committee hosted several events through Denver’s Sustainable Neighborhoods Program (most recently: a tree planting May 18 and co-hosted SUN’s Second Annual Day of Reflection April 27) and hosts monthly happy hours on the second Tuesday at 6:30pm at Cheluna Brewery. SUN’s education committee advocates for the full build out and support of Northfield High School, and hosts a fall forum for education including a school board candidate meet and greet. Residents interested in joining in or expanding on any of these efforts are encouraged to contact SUN or the committee chair.
Residents interested in community engagement, transportation/pedestrian safety, other topics not previously mentioned, and residents living north of 56th Avenue are most strongly encouraged to become involved, as these subject and geographic areas not currently represented on the SUN board. The monthly meeting location at the Central Park Recreation center could contribute to a logistical challenge for residents on the north end of the community. SUN is actively soliciting meeting space north of I-70, but mid-size public spaces are not currently available for these purposes. The Stapleton MCA is aware of this need from SUN (and other organizations), but accommodating this need is not part of any short-term plans. If you are a business owner with a room with a capacity of 50 people that can be reserved once a month with reasonable acoustics such that people can hear each other in a meeting setting, and you would be willing to donate this space for SUN’s monthly meetings, please contact SUN.
