By Omar Velarde-Wong
Project Manager, Communications and Marketing
NeighborWorks America
National NeighborWorks Week has been a core part of NeighborWorks America’s fabric for the past 27 years. But this year it has taken on special meaning for me. This is my first time managing it and it has been an absolute pleasure to witness first-hand the dedication of our member organizations to their communities. There are more than 230 organizations across the country but this particular program is the one that connects us on a single week and embodies the mission of the organization.
We have more than 300 volunteer events planned so far during NeighborWorks Week, June 5-12. About half of them will involve local NeighborWorks organizations spreading the word in their communities about loan modification scams. The proliferation of these scams is a huge problem in our neighborhoods, and we’re doing all we can to inform homeowners facing foreclosure how to avoid loan modification scams and report them to trusted authorities.
This year’s National NeighborWorks Week will be no different. We will be holding our traditional community building activities, including home repair and painting events, landscaping projects, and mural painting.
I’m looking forward to getting involved myself. I’ll be one of dozens of volunteers on Saturday, June 5, who will be landscaping the Willowbrook Condominium, a tenant purchase project developed by our local D.C. member organization, Manna, Inc. I also will be canvassing the Brookland neighborhood and inviting residents to a Loan Modification Scam Alert seminar later in the day.
I encourage you all to get involved in your community during this volunteer week and beyond. Find an event near you here. If you’ve already selected an event, please share your comments, pictures and videos with us! Contact me to find out where to send them in.
