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.  

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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

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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.