Everyone gets to play when it comes to helping a neighborhood improve. We all have a part on the team and each player has different abilities, skills, and passions. What is your passion? How can you apply your unique abilities and desires to help add value and improve the community? We’re not talking about giving huge sums of time either. We are all busy. Just think practically what it might look like to offer your two cents for the n’hood. You are unique and you can make a difference in the community simply by being friendly, available relationally to people near you, and helping out here and there. 

Case-in-point. Meet an all-star resident named Jen. She gave two hours tonight to help pick out the right plants for tomorrow’s beautification shindig. Not everyone has a green thumb, but because she does, she was able to step forward and provide for all of us in this practical way. She really went out of her way though because she measured planters, took photos, and really brought her knowledge and organizational abilities to the table for us.

Good job Jen, and great job in advance to everyone who makes it out tomorrow.

The brand new neighborhood stickers are hot off the press. They just arrived in the mail today. Where will you stick yours? They’re perfect for the mailbox, car windows, binders, books, and who knows where else. Got ideas? Let’s stick ‘em where we can to show our pride for where we live. Contact us through the website if you’d like one.

This is huge news for our neighborhood. We have waited so long for this day and it is finally here. Congratulations residents and Rancho Cordovans. Thank you to so many residents who have attended meetings in the past couple of years and have been a part of our cordially direct effort to communicate our desires to the Park District. If you can make it, please plan to attend the ground-breaking ceremony for White Rock Park on August 20, 2010 at 10:30 am. See the image below for details. This is fantastic news!!!

We are very thankful for the Rancho Cordova Weed & Seed program helping us financially to replace the dilapidated “Cordova Towne” letters on the northern corner of Croydon Way & Mather Field Road. The southern corner was updated about 2.5 years ago by an all-star resident named David off of Portsmouth, and it’s long overdue for the northern corner to match the southern one. With that being said, today Brandon and I (Ryan) went to Lowes to buy all the supplies we’ll need (thanks to funds from Weed & Seed). We’ll be looking for 2-3 other residents to bring their jig-saw skills in early September on a date TBA to cut out the letters. We’ll also need some residents to do painting. And then we’ll all celebrate by having an installation party at some point in later September. Details will be coming soon.

Remember too on Saturday August 21, 2010 8-12pm we will be painting the wall along Mather Field Road and putting fresh plants in the planters. We do still need some suggestions on what types of plants will be best in those planters.

On Saturday, April 10, 2010 from 9-10am, Mayor Ken Cooley has invited residents to take a walk with him. Meet at White Rock Elementary School at 9am and walk for one mile in the neighborhood. Rain or shine.

I’m very excited to announce Project 680′s upcoming “Biking for Socks” event on May 8, 2010. We are doing a community bike ride in order to accomplish three things: 1) Bring awareness to the problem of student homelessness in the FCUSD; 2) Collect socks for homeless kids in the FCUSD; and 3) Gather up a few bucks to be able to give to the District Liaison for Homeless Services so she can meet the needs of students on an “as needed” basis – meaning that when the neediest of students come to her, she can simply take care of some of the things they need – whether clothing, deodarant, shoes, study materials, etc….

If anyone would like to be a “drop-off” location for the sock drive, let me know. It would be great to have some Cordova Towne representation this time around.

You can sign up for the bike ride on Facebook too if you’d like (or just comment below or visit the Project 680 website at www.project680.org.

In case you did not know, Project 680 was birthed in our neighborhood a couple of years ago. Please have a look at the video below and let me know if you have any questions, ideas, or a desire to get involved in any way.

Next week on Wednesday March 17th, 2010 at 6:30pm, come meet in the American River North room at City Hall to discuss an exciting tile project for our neighborhood. The Rancho Cordova Leadership Class has selected our neighborhood for a community beautification project, and they’re reaching out to us to get something great done in our neighborhood. This project will take place near Croydon & Mather Field Road and should be fantasticfor the look of our neighborhood as well as any passersby in Rancho Cordova.

In a nuthshell, Rancho Cordova Leadership will present ideas for a tile or mural project to us, and so we need to pitch in our thoughts as well as talk about how to pull this off. The Leadership Class is looking for our input, ideas as well as hands-on assistance. If we all put in just a bit of effort (not much), we’ll be able to sincerely beautify this entrance corner to the subdivision.

A few years ago we painted the wall along Mather Field Road and this was a roaring success for our community and Rancho Cordova. Let’s take things to the next level now and do something special in our neighborhood and for our community.

Please consider sending someone from your household to this very important meeting if you are able. Your opinion and ideas count. Contact Stephanie DeShon of Rancho Cordova Leadership at 916-875-9627 or you can contact us through the website (click “contact”).

By the way, if it’s been a while since you’ve seen this video, give it a quick watch. Let’s remember the great things that have happened, are happening and will happen in our neighborhood.