Seemingly gone are the good old days when neighbors sat on their front porches, gossiped about the other neighbors and speculated on how the country was going to Hades in a hand basket. Now we're lucky to know our neighbor's name, even if they only live ten feet away. Sure, disasters or bad weather bring out neighbors helping neighbors and that's a good thing. But as soon as that situation is over, back into our little cocoons we go. But there are many communities doing things differently.

All across the USA there are cities where neighborhood groups have formed. Many larger cities have hundreds of neighborhood groups. Columbus, Ohio has nearly 300 groups. Some have formed around a single issue that impacts the whole neighborhood. Maybe there are drivers speeding on the streets. Maybe there are dogs running loose. Or how about that new construction planned for down the street? How does that affect the neighborhood? People have found there is strength in numbers when you are trying to get action on a particular issue.

Many neighborhood groups have formed to provide a Crime Watch area. Some have formed to beautify their part of the world. Others have sponsored community clean-ups and community gardens. The important thing is bringing folks together for a common cause. It's been said that you don't have to move to live in a better neighborhood. You start living in a better neighborhood by bringing everyone's strengths together. It's not necessary to bring everyone's weaknesses together.

Constant gripe sessions aren't real good for anyone's morale and that's not really the goal of neighborhood groups. And by the way, the best way to deal with someone who gripes all the time is to assign that person to a committee. Then they can give a report at the next meeting about what they have actually done about the problem and not just gripe it to death.

One important thing to remember about a neighborhood group is that it should be non-partisan. What's the old saying about not talking about religion and politics with friends? When a neighborhood group becomes a political power base, that pretty much ruins the group.

So how do you go about building a neighborhood organization? Well, fortunately help is on the way. The Stark Community Foundation, with support from Mayor Middleton, recently met with a diverse group of people here in Alliance. That group is interested in identifying potential neighborhood leaders all over the city. The Foundation has a training program for those individual leaders who want to learn how to put a neighborhood organization together. The training session dates are set and will be here in Alliance at a site to be announced. The dates are August 28, September 25, October 23 and November 13. All sessions are from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

There is no cost for these sessions. You don't have to have any special skills or education to take part in the training. All you need is a desire to do something for your neighborhood. And there is a possibility of receiving some grant funds to help newly formed groups get better established. If you want to know more, call the Mayor's office at 330-821-3110. And watch for flyers around town with updated information.