Extraordinary Communities Project promotes neighborhood connections
Sitting in a traffic jam in the midst of Northern Virginia’s suburban sprawl makes one nostalgic for Mayberry, the fictional town of “The Andy Griffith Show,” where everyone knows one another and you can spend a quiet evening on the front porch with a piece of Aunt Bee’s pie.
That’s the inspiration for Frazier O’Leary’s Extraordinary Communities Project, an online initiative to connect neighborhoods and publicize community-building projects.
O’Leary, a marketing consultant for real estate agents, is working with realtors, the leaders of civic and homeowner associations, and community-oriented businesses to support neighborhood efforts that bring people together and exemplify community spirit.
O’Leary lives in Hollin Hills, and most of the communities profiled on the website so far are in Mt. Vernon, Alexandria, and Arlington, but more neighborhoods in Annandale and throughout Northern Virginia are being added.
The Extraordinary Community’s website has an “online toolbox” that lists neighborhood projects and activities—such as a Fourth of July parade, babysitting network, community clean up, yard sale, happy hour, barter network, outdoor movie night, and the like—so people interested in doing one of these activities can get in touch with people from neighborhood groups that have already done it. The idea is to create a “clearinghouse for sharing ideas and resources,” O’Leary says.
Every three months, the Extraordinary Communities Project sponsors a Community Builder Challenge to encourage neighborhoods to share and implement their ideas. Winners could receive coupons or discounts from local businesses or cash awards. The next challenge will begin Sept. 15.
O’Leary plans to publish a book this fall titled Rediscovering Mayberry: Finding (and Creating) Extraordinary Communities in Northern Virginia.
And in case you weren’t around in the 1960s, the guys in the photo are Don Knots as Deputy Barney Fife and Andy Griffith as Sheriff Andy Taylor.
