“Neighbors do help neighbors. Every day, they use their time and their gifts to keep their friends and families going. Many, especially those living in tough communities, work hard to deal with the challenges of communities where unemployment, violence, and drugs take their toll. In the face of these obstacles, community residents look for the connections to vital resources that would improve their odds of succeeding. There may be no better example of the spirit of getting involved and volunteering than the time-honored American tradition called a barn-raising. From the earliest days of our country, neighbors would gather at a homestead and work together to build a barn, often in a single day. Neighbors lent a hand when they became aware of neighbors they could help. They took responsibility for one another. More than barns were built in the process. True bonds of community spirit were forged. You might not think you’ve seen a good barn-raising lately, but they are happening around you all the time. The tools have changed, and what gets built may not be a barn, yet the spirit of volunteerism – of neighboring in its truest, sincerest form – is alive and well in cities, towns, and rural communities everywhere. We need your help to tap into that irrepressible volunteer spirit to address some of the most entrenched challenges in America’s toughest communities today. You can provide a renewed sense of hope and the means to build a better future for individuals and families building on connections that arise from common goals, mutual respect, responsibility, and ownership. Provide the tools and use skills and talents to find collective solutions to create family supportive communities, networks, and opportunities necessary to bring neighbors together.” This document is an abbreviated version of the information and resources included on the Points of Light Foundation’s Neighboring Web site at: http://www.pointsoflight.org/programs/neighboring/neighboring/
