Why You Should Go to the 2015 Veterans Day Parade

Put it on your calendar now: Erie's next Veterans Day Parade will likely be Saturday, November 7th, 2015. A quick listen to this story will remind you of the many reasons you should be in attendance. 

As for the 2014 parade, parade attendance is always lower than I think it should be, but the parade's organizers are to be commended for putting on a first class event year after year. This year, for the first time, our neighborhood association welcomed viewers to the parade with coffee and donuts as part of our mission is to "promote and collaborate with existing neighborhood assets." 

Erie's Veterans Day Parade 2014 - Our view from State Street

Thank you, Vets, from Mighty Fine Donuts

Temperature at parade time was about 40 degrees and cloudy, but no rain!

Volunteers Sue and Isa passing out coffee and donuts

Silvana and Phil sporting their NRTI cold weather gear.
NRTI shared their front yard with us. Thanks!

There was a strong wind coming out of the south. 

hm2bootsonground.com - An Erie based PTSD support organization

The Academy Neighborhood Association thanks Mighty Fine Donuts, McCormick Coffee, and NRTI for helping us support the parade. We also thank the Erie VA and parade organizer Ken Sawdey who do a great job year after year. 

More importantly, we thank the millions of Americans, past and present, who have sacrificed for their country. 

Here is the Erie Times-News coverage of the event. 

Baker Field Cleanup 2

We are starting to make a difference. 

The second Baker Field Cleanup (Saturday, August 23rd) was a great success. People really dug deep and finished some serious work. The entire east side of Baker Field (the Holland Street side) looks like a well maintained piece of property. Here's a recap:


1. Sidewalk edging - completed from the edge of the pallet garden, south on Holland to E. 33rd, and around the corner as well. This is the job that required the most people power. Justin led the way. 

Justin F. working the edger

Everyone contributed to the edging effort...

Before

After

We took all of the grass, weed, and dirt "waste" and made a compost pile in the northwest side of the field behind the baseball facility.

2. Soccer goals - Keegan led the charge on this one. He scraped loose paint off of the goalposts and painted the posts white. This makes a subtle but noticeable difference in the overall look of the field. Thanks Keegan!

Before

After

 3. Picking up glass around the stone - Over the years bottles have been broken on the stone resulting in a small area of glass pieces near the base of the stone. Isa H. did his best to find the glass pieces and the base of the stone was cleared of plant growth. 

4. Mowing and weeding the pallet garden - The area near the garden is really starting to look good. The flowers and plants are growing well. I didn't take any pictures yesterday so here is a shot of Janina the day we built the pallet garden. 

5. Painting the fire hydrants - One of the elements that will help to create a sense of place. 

Lisa Marie and Chris working on the hydrant at E. 32nd and Holland

Jasmine and Oliver starting the base coat on the hydrant at E. 33rd and Holland

Done!

Everyone who was there helped in some way or worked on more than one job. Thanks to everyone who pitched in. We also want to thank Wendy Sherman for her support and for dropping off donuts early in the morning.

Justin, Michelle, Janina, & Wendy

A lot of people walking and driving by thanked us for our efforts. Joyce and Jim actually stopped their bike ride and started working. Thanks for contributing!

Alfee's Pizza donated pizza and wings! This is some good stuff. Thank you Alfee's, check them out by clicking here!

Thanks again Alfee's!

Overall I would say it was the most productive event we have had, with the spring cleanup being a close second. Our work force was 16 people and each person put in at least an hour or two. I'm starting to think we might get good at this neighborhood improvement thing. 

Our Neighborhood's Problems

Usually I like to use this forum to discuss our neighborhood's positives. However I think it's important to start looking at some of the problems facing our part of town. I've been giving it a lot of thought lately and I would like to hear as many opinions on the matter as possible.

Neighborhood Problem #1: Increasing crime.

While many people have opinions about what is happening in our neighborhood, there is some solid information we can look at to get a bigger picture. Let's look at some of the facts that have become available lately thanks to the Census Bureau, Erie City Police reports, and the Erie Times-News.

The Census Bureau, for research purposes, divided the City of Erie into 30 "census tracts". The tract our neighborhood is located in very closely follows the map that we have created for our neighborhood association, with the addition of a few blocks on the other side of Old French Road. Out of the thirty census tracts in Erie, our neighborhood has the 6th lowest percentage of people living under the poverty level, which many people would consider to be good news. But there is more. Our census tract has the 18th highest rate of gun crimes, according to the Census information analyzed by the Times-News, easily considered to be bad news.

This is a screen capture of a map published by the Erie Times-News.  Here is a link to the article containing the map: http://www.goerie.com/erie-police-use-new-mapping-software-to-better-track-crime-violence

red stars = shots fired

green circles = strong armed robberies

blue squares = armed robbery with a gun

The number of gun and violent crimes committed in our neighborhood is frighteningly high. In the neighborhoods to the south there are virtually zero. In the neighborhoods to the north, there are almost too many to count. I have often said to people, "Our neighborhood is on the cusp." We are. We are on a thin edge between a neighborhood that is statistically one of the safest in Erie, and a neighborhood that is one of the least safe.

This causes stress for the residents of our neighborhood. I have seen it in the complaints I get from concerned neighbors. I have heard it in the comments people make at meetings. There is stress because people who have spent their lives building their homes into something they can be proud of expect to not hear gun fire on a regular basis, or at all. 

I am not sure how to solve this problem, other than to be aware of the steps to take in the event of something unsafe happening. I suppose this is a good time to re-post...

Neighborhood Problem #2: Conflicting expectations

Our neighborhood has conflicting expectations, based on multiple conversations I have had with residents and my own observations. Generally, we have two groups of people in our neighborhood, with two sets of expectations about how to maintain property and act in public. There are people who care and people who do not. Generally, the people who care maintain their property, act courteously toward their neighbors, and expect to be safe in their homes. The people who do not care slowly erode the value of their homes (either rented or owned), are discourteous (at best!) and have lower expectations concerning their own safety making them more likely to act unsafely. This creates stress for the people who care, and who sometimes feel helpless to change the actions of others. 

Problems #1 and #2 are more difficult to solve. They require action and cooperation from law enforcement and city and school officials. But this leads me to...

Neighborhood Problem #3: Lack of organization and lack of resources directed to our neighborhood

This is the area that we can most easily address through the Academy Neighborhood Association. We can work together to make the neighborhood a better place. Is planting a small pallet garden on East 32nd Street going to stop someone from shooting a gun at East 27th and Parade? Probably not. But the small steps we are taking are going to hopefully add up to some bigger steps over the next few years. 

Over the summer I have realized we are on a much longer journey than I initially thought. Every time the organization takes a step forward I see further down the road, and I'm realizing the road does not end. That's why I'm sharing these thoughts. I want to know what other people think about the problems in our neighborhood and how they think we can solve them. I also like to hear people's ideas for projects, long and short term, that we can work on together. Please feel free to share on the facebook page, in the comments sections of this blog, or by emailing academy.neighborhood.erie@gmail.com. 

Neighborhood Update - July 2014

Here is a quick update on everything that we have "in the works". This is basically a "State of the Neighborhood Association".

MEETINGS:

Our meeting on June 1st at Uptown's was a success, in my opinion. Over 20 people were there. Most people expressed concern about two issues. 1. Crime 2. Discourteous (to put it mildly) neighbors. Officers Mitchell and Stoker from the Erie City Police Department were in attendance and they were very polite and eager to answer questions. Basically, they said if you have a concern, call. As a result of that conversation, I created this picture, which you can save to your phone or print if you like. 

Concerned? Call! Sooner than later.

The number of "shots fired" incidents, which was peaking at the time of the meeting, seems to have gone down. I credit Erie City Police and their efforts to crack down on said incidents and to follow through with the prosecution of their perpetrators. Read more about it here.

We will be having additional meetings soon. I am waiting for a new meeting place to be made available for monthly meetings. I will schedule a meeting ASAP when that happens.

MONEY:

We are trying to raise enough money to file for 501(c)(3) not-for-profit status. As of July 7th we have almost reached our goal. We have...

                      $ 148.11 in our account

                      $ 100.00 check from PA Cleanways (runner up in video contest)

                      $ 125.00 (approx.) pledges from our indiegogo.com campaign (ended 6-30)

                      ________

                      $ 363.11 

This is not an exact amount. We actually had $135.00 in pledges through the indiegogo drive, but indiegogo and paypal (which some of the donors used) take a small fee. I'm not sure exactly how much we will receive from the drive until it is deposited into the account. This leaves us about 40 dollars short of our goal.

THANK YOU to everyone who donated money through indiegogo.com!

THANK YOU to everyone who worked to make the bake sale successful!

THANK YOU to other people who have given money! 

We will use it well!

Note: Any person who would like to look at the checking account balance and monthly account balances can do so at any meeting, just ask!

BAKER'S FIELD:

This is an exciting development. We are tentatively holding a re-dedication ceremony at the field in late September. We have support from Howard Industries who have pledged a new sign for the field. We have a few dedicated neighbors who are working behind the scenes to make a community garden happen at the field. The revitalization plan for the field, and fundraising to make it happen, is going to be one of our big focuses for the remainder of the summer. 

Please find the Baker's Field Improvement and Re-dedication facebook page and "like" it today -just click https://www.facebook.com/BakersFieldEriePAA.

Weekly work sessions: To be announced soon

Also: We will publish a list of "things you can do" at the field to make it nicer, on your own schedule.

HOLDING NEIGHBORS RESPONSIBLE:

As I said before, if you see a clear code violation or suspected illegal activity call. Apart from that I would like to create a data base of rental properties in the neighborhood and give each property a grade in several areas, for example: appearance, upkeep, is the garbage bill paid, etc.  This graphic is from an organization that is trying to improve walking conditions. This isn't the exact grading system we would use but it gives you an idea of how such a grading system could work: criteria on the left, easy to assess grades going across the top. If people are going to make money in our neighborhood and potentially have a negative effect on the values of homes in the neighborhood, it is only fair that they be held accountable for their actions regarding their property. 

The graphics are small and hard to read in this photo but hopefully you get the idea about creating a standard and holding people to it. It will not be easy and some people may not like it!

NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH:

Representatives of the Academy Neighborhood Association have attended the last two Erie Neighborhood Watch Council meetings. The Council has new leadership in Council President Steve Simmelkjaer and they are currently working to create an updated list of neighborhood groups, although we aren't on their map yet! 

I think there may be funding available to purchase Neighborhood Watch signs at a discounted rate through the Council. There was some spoken interest in this at the meeting June 1st so I will continue to pursue it. 

NEIGHBORHOOD RESOURCE ORGANIZATION:

This is a new organization that was formed through cooperation between the Erie County District Attorney's Office and Mercyhurst University. I met with the new Director of the NRO, Dave Deter, last week and he is very willing to help our association. Basically, the N.R.O. is trying to help neighborhood groups copy each other's best practices in an effort to fight crime on a grassroots level.

NEIGHBORHOOD SALE:

(Held June 8th, 2014) I felt like, aside from the financial success of the bake sale, that this year's sale was a bit of a dud. Not enough people held sales to make it worthwhile for people to come to the neighborhood and it never really got the critical mass it needed to turn into something big. Ideas for improvement: Move the date or possibly make it an every other year event. I'm open to ideas. 

NEIGHBORHOOD CLEANUP:

(Held May 27th, 2014) This was a great success! Thank you to everyone who worked that day. Next year's will be bigger and better! (Here's a wrap-up right here.) The clean-up video and the contest it was entered in gave our neighborhood some much needed positive attention. We also won $100 and I'm very thankful to everyone who helped earn us the votes we needed. 

Next Neighborhood Clean-up, April 25th, 2015!

VETERANS' DAY PARADE:

I have spoken with the organizer of the parade and he is enthusiastic about our neighborhood's efforts to help promote the parade. It is a great event within walking distance of our homes and should be well attended. Please put it on your calendar today!

WE ARE ONLINE:

There are a number of ways to stay in the loop:

You can always contact me directly at academy . neighborhood . erie at gmail dot com.

facebook.com/Academy.Neighborhood.Erie 

twitter.com/AcademyNeighbor

Please take a few minutes to answer questions in our Baker's Field Survey. Your input will be crucial when it comes to determining what happens at the field.

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/GHKHRN7 

If you read everything here you can consider yourself well informed when it comes to what we are working on. There are many good ideas to be acted on and many ideas that have been discussed that need to be followed by actions. I'm glad you have chosen to join us for the journey. 

Bob Hand - Academy Neighborhood Association, Erie, PA

Our First Neighborhood Cleanup - What Next?

I've just filed the official report with Great American Cleanup of Pennsylvania. The first ever Academy Neighborhood Cleanup, held on Saturday, May 17th, had 22 volunteers, who collected 23 large bags of trash. We also picked up one tire and one old television set. Best of all, we had fun and got to meet some of our neighbors.

There are also some code violations that are going to be reported to the city, but I'd rather not detail them here. City officials have assured us that the violations we call in will be dealt with swiftly, so hopefully that actually happens.

If you spent time Saturday cleaning THANK YOU! Working together we accomplished a lot. I also need to thank the folks at Penn Dot for supplying us with gloves and bags, and for allowing us to use a Penn Dot dumpster to get rid of all of the trash. 

Ideas for next time: 

1. An earlier date. There is a weekend, usually at the end of April, that is kind of known as "cleanup weekend". There were a number of events in Erie that weekend, generally coinciding with Earth Day. I didn't know that weekend was the unofficial "cleanup weekend" when I scheduled ours for May 17th. I mean, everything worked out pretty well, except for the fact that some of the large items people left out during Erie's "large item pickup" have been sitting there since that program ended. And actually, as I write this, they are still sitting there, hopefully to be dealt with early this week. 

2. A meeting place to start the event and a meeting place after. It was suggested to me that everyone get together to start the event, so everyone can meet and pick up their supplies. I think this would be a great way to build camaraderie. A small picnic, or at least coffee and donuts for everyone who volunteered, would be nice to have afterwards as well.

3. Beautification. The cleanup was great, but it would be nice to have a beautification aspect to cleanup day. This would be something we could talk about at meetings before next year's cleanup. 

4. Let people know earlier. Hey, everyone! We're having a neighborhood cleanup Saturday, April 25th, 2015!

5. Actually wear the bright orange safety vests Penn Dot gave us. Because we weren't cleaning along a highway, I thought we weren't supposed to wear them. As my group worked its way down E. 30th, I realized we really were pretty close to traffic. Also, one of the goals of the cleanup was to have a PRESENCE and it is impossible to miss anyone wearing one of those vests! I have a stash of them, ready for next year.

Once again, I'd like to thank the people who organized their friends and neighbors on their block for the leadership they exhibited. Our neighborhood is a better place today.  

Neighborhood Cleanup - Less than two weeks!

The first ever Academy Neighborhood Cleanup is Saturday, May 17th. Here's an update:

First of all, you can share this poster to help get people involved.

Second, we have gloves and bags, donated by The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation office on Peach Street. We are also allowed to use their dumpster to get rid of the trash we collect in our neighborhood. I will be transporting a truckload (hopefully exactly one truckload) to the dumpster when we are finished.

Here's everything you need to know about the First Academy Neighborhood Cleanup, which is taking place Saturday, May 17th.

When?: Saturday, May 17th 2014. We'll start as early as 9 a.m. and there will be events going on all day at different times. 

What?: What will we do? Several things including:
     1. Working with block leaders to make a "sweep" of small areas near our homes picking up small (and large!) items of trash.
     2. Taking notes about, and photographs of, larger problems and code violations that can be reported to the City of Erie Code Enforcement Office.
     
Why? The first, most obvious, reason is to actually make the neighborhood look nicer. There are several other goals, however. One is to send a message to people that don't care how the neighborhood looks that they are outnumbered. A second reason is to generate some positive publicity for the neighborhood and the organization. (I'll be sending out a press release and contacting the Erie Times-News and the television stations prior to the event.) Third, once we have an "official" event, we can start asking outside agencies to get involved. Penn-Dot is donating gloves and garbage bags. It might not seem like much but I will be getting in touch with any other local, state, or private agency that I think will be willing to help us. 

Who? You! We need people who can give five minutes, people who can give three hours, and any amount in between. Being a block leader is probably the easiest way to help. We need four more block leaders. The block leaders responsibility is to simply take charge of a small area near their own home, and ask a few neighbors to help out. Reaching out to people in person will be key to making the event successful. Register today by emailing academy.neighborhood.erie@gmail.com.

Don't be confused! There is a cleanup day, with a number of other local organizations, that already happened in April. Next year, we will coordinate our Academy Neighborhood Cleanup with this local effort. 

Neighborhood Cleanup - Saturday, May 17th

Here's everything you need to know about the First Academy Neighborhood Cleanup, which is taking place Saturday, May 17th.

When?: Saturday, May 17th 2014. We'll start as early as 9 a.m. and there will be events going on all day at different times. 

What?: What will we do? Several things including:
     1. Working with block leaders to make a "sweep" of small areas near our homes picking up small (and large!) items of trash.
     2. Taking notes about, and photographs of, larger problems and code violations that can be reported to the City of Erie Code Enforcement Office.
     
Why? The first, most obvious, reason is to actually make the neighborhood look nicer. There are several other goals, however. One is to send a message to people that don't care how the neighborhood looks that they are outnumbered. A second reason is to generate some positive publicity for the neighborhood and the organization. (I'll be sending out a press release and contacting the Erie Times-News and the television stations prior to the event.) Third, once we have an "official" event, we can start asking outside agencies to get involved. Penn-Dot is donating gloves and garbage bags. It might not seem like much but I will be getting in touch with any other local, state, or private agency that I think will be willing to help us. 

Who? You! We need people who can give five minutes, people who can give three hours, and any amount in between. Being a block leader is probably the easiest way to help. We need four more block leaders. The block leaders responsibility is to simply take charge of a small area near their own home, and ask a few neighbors to help out. Reaching out to people in person will be key to making the event successful. Register today by emailing academy.neighborhood.erie@gmail.com.

Don't be confused! There is a cleanup day, with a number of other local organizations, scheduled for later in April. Next year, we will coordinate our Academy Neighborhood Cleanup with this local effort. 

Want to know more? Great American Cleanup of Pennsylvania 

Share this picture!

Neighborhood Cleanup

I would like our neighborhood to participate in an event called the Great American Cleanup of Pennsylvania. 


We don't have an Academy Neighborhood Association meeting coming up until later in spring so I'd like to have a little bit of a public discussion of the event using this blog and our neighborhood facebook page. 

Basically, any group or organization can create an "event" as part of the Great American Cleanup of Pennsylvania, on any date between March 1st to May 31st. Here is a link to learn more about the Great American Cleanup of PA. As a registered event, you are given bags, gloves, and vests to use during the cleanup, free of charge. Additionally, any group involved is given help with promoting their event.

I just need a little input from basically anyone who reads this and cares about our neighborhood to help me decide which date to register the cleanup. I figure we have a few options...

Saturday, May 3rd
Saturday, May 10th
or Saturday, May 17th

It doesn't seem like a good idea to schedule the cleanup on Saturday, May 24th, as that is Labor Day weekend. Also, April seems a bit soon to organize this effort and the weather is still dicey in April. (It may be dicey in May as well, but the odds of having good weather are usually starting to improve.)

After a date is set, we would need to have "block leaders" willing to lead cleanup on a certain block or street. I would volunteer to lead the cleanup on East 30th Street, although I may be tired of looking at some of the garbage East 30th by then! I think the main responsibilities of anyone involved would be to basically lead a garbage pick-up, up and down both sides of the street, and take note of any more serious problems. Those problems could be reported to the city, and hopefully the complaint would carry a little more weight coming from our group as opposed to just one individual.

The cleanup would be right before the neighborhood yard sale, Saturday, June 7th. 

So let me know what you think of the dates listed above. You can contact me via email at academy.neighborhood.erie@gmail.com or by message through the Academy Neighborhood Association facebook page. click here!

I'll read everyone's responses and decide on a date by Wednesday. That way we can get our event registered. 

One more thing: DONUTS! If enough people are interested we'll get coffee and donuts from Mighty Fine!

Thank you for being involved.
Bob Hand - Academy Neighborhood Association

Please take this Baker's Field usage survey by clicking here: Baker's Field Survey
Don't forget to follow @AcademyNeighbor on twitter.

Crazy Ideas?

I frequently have ideas for our organization. Some are realistic, some maybe not so much. I basically want our neighborhood to have anything good that any other neighborhood in the City of Erie has. 

A while back I thought it wold be cool to have a 5K race (that's a five kilometer running race, for those unfamiliar) staged in our neighborhood. It would be good for our image, bring people into our neighborhood, and possibly be a regular fundraiser for the organization. I stored the idea away as unrealistic, or at least not something that would be a high priority. 

Then, in the Erie Times-News a few weekends ago...

5K run/walk to close portion of east Erie streets Saturday

Portions of several Erie streets will be closed this morning for the First Run Through Little Russia 5K run/walk, city officials said.

The run/walk will be held from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. The event begins at the corner of East Front and German streets.

The route will continue east on East Front Street to Wallace Street, south on Wallace to East Fourth Street, east on East Fourth to Reed Street, south on Reed to East 10th Street, west on East 10th to State Street, north on State to East Fourth, east on East Fourth to German Street, and north on German to East Front Street, where the event ends.

(Erie Times-News, February 1, 2014)

I did a little research and I believe the run was organized by the Russian Orthodox Church on East Front Street. I hope they had a successful event. And maybe it's not so crazy to think we could have similar events in our neighborhood in the future.  

Remember to find us on facebook and twitter. 

Baker's Field Survey

Just a reminder, please take this survey. As we are planning future efforts to revitalize the field, it is important to have input from as many members of the public as possible. 

It is a very short survey, eight questions, and takes only a few minutes. Thanks! 

Baker's Field Survey

Don't forget twitter @AcademyNeighbor and facebook!

Our First Fundraiser

Our first ever fundraiser was a success. On January 12th Janina Lee and I (with some help from Janina's son) sold raffle tickets at the Erie Otters game at Erie Insurance Arena. I had purchased a $25 gift card from The Plymouth to give away. 

Who doesn't love The Plymouth?

The staff from the Otters' organization and the folks who work at the arena were very helpful. Ticket sales were slow at first, then during the second intermission we figured out that we needed to be much louder and more aggressive. We also got an assist from Shooter, the Otters mascot.

Shooter, Janina, and Bob selling raffle tickets at the Erie Otters game January 12, 2014

We ended up making $35, which doesn't sound like much but remember we are starting from scratch here. We pulled a winning ticket at the end of the second intermission. The winner was Kirk Nevins, who decided to donate the card back to us, saying he wanted to "pay it forward". I really tried to get him to take it but he simply refused.  I told him this was going to really help our organization because we would use the gift card to hold another raffle. 

Clutch (The Erie Bayhawks' mascot), Kirk Nevins, Janina, and Bob, trying to give away the gift card.

While we were at the arena, I had several conversations with residents and former residents of our neighborhood. The picture of Baker's Field on our display table really started some conversations, as people recounted their stories of growing up and playing in the neighborhood. It was great to be out talking to people and representing our group. 

So in the end we made $60, including the value of the gift card. In addition, the Otters have donated 2 tickets to an upcoming game that we are going to raffle off at a later date. 

Our Money

Back in 2010 a small group of neighbors, myself included, started a short lived neighborhood watch group. We scraped together 80 dollars and deposited the money at Erie General Electric Federal Credit Union. That neighborhood watch group fell apart, but it was my involvement in the group that inspired me to start the Academy Neighborhood Association.

So for a few years the 80 dollars sat there. There were two people's names on the account, mine, and another gentleman who has since moved out of the neighborhood. I wasn't really sure if I would be able to access the funds to use them for our new group until about a week ago.

On December 23rd I visited the newly named Widget Financial, hoping to withdraw the funds or at least close down the old neighborhood watch account that had my name attached to it. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that I would be able to not only withdraw the old funds but also use them to start a new checking account for the Academy Neighborhood Association. 

The staff at Widget were very helpful.They guided me through the process of shutting down the old account and establishing the new one. Here's a breakdown of what happened and where the money is. 

There was 72 dollars left in the old account. 8 dollars had been paid in fees over the last two years to Erie FCU/Widget. I was allowed to withdraw 62 dollars to start the new Academy Neighborhood account. I wasn't able to take out the entire amount or shut down the old account. Widget required that 10 dollars be left in the old account, and I was told the account would eventually "fee out" meaning that it would sit there until the ten dollars was eaten up by fees. 

So I was given a check for 62 dollars for the Academy Neighborhood Association. I had already applied for and received an EIN (employee identification number) from the I.R.S. for the Association, I did so earlier this year.  I was able to use the 62 dollar check to start our new checking account. Widget required us to also have a savings account with a minimum of 10 dollars. So I deposited 52 dollars into the new checking account. I ordered checks, which cost 19 dollars. Leaving us with 33 dollars! Not much, but 33 dollars more than we had before.

I hope someday to look back at this post and laugh about how little money we had "back then".

I realize this is not the most exciting story! But when it comes to money, even the small amounts we are dealing with so far, I want to be as open as possible. If you you are an active or interested member of our group and you want to see the account information and/or paperwork I will be glad to share it with you. 

Now, to start raising more money! I have a couple of ideas I will be taking action on in the next few days. I may need your help to make them a reality. I will update everyone as soon as possible.

If you have any questions contact me (Bob Hand) by email: academy.neighborhood.erie@gmail.com.

Be sure to "like" our facebook page http://facebook.com/academy.neighborhood.erie, and follow us on twitter twitter.com/AcademyNeighbor.