Cook launches community engagement initiative

Dozens of people came to a Town Hall meeting at Lake Braddock Secondary School Oct. 21 to hear Fairfax Supervisor John C. Cook of the Braddock District announce plans for a new community engagement initiative.

A Leadership Institute, to be held Jan. 23, will educate community leaders on their legal, financial, and fiduciary responsibilities along with advice on how to build and sustain an active citizens association, how to conduct a meeting, and how to get more people to volunteer. The one-day session is aimed at people on the boards of homeowner, neighborhood, and community swimming pool organizations. People who want to become more active in community groups may attend, too. Contact the Braddock district office to sign up: (703) 425-9300; [email protected].

Cook also announced two new Neighborhood College series—one in February and March and one in April and May. These multisession classes, open to anyone in the Braddock District, provide information on county government, population trends, and community-based organizations and offer opportunities to network with elected officials and government leaders.

Civic engagement is important to Cook, who says people should get to know their neighbors better. “Once a month, try to meet one new person on your street. Have a block party,” he says. “Make an extra effort to get know people of different backgrounds.” According to Cook, “the police say communities with the most block parties have the least crime.”

There are no Neighborhood College sessions planned in the Mason district, due to a lack of funding and staffing, Mason Supervisor Penny Gross told the Annandale blog. “The ones we’ve had in the past have been very beneficial,” she says. “There was a wonderful session in the Culmore area a couple of years ago organized by the police. I was astounded at the turnout and the diversity of the turnout. People find out a lot of things that they never knew before.”