The Complete List

A Report Team of citizen volunteers spent weeks sifting through the hundreds of ideas submitted in each Envision category, then used an affinity analysis process to organize the ideas into related groupings - 44 in all. This is the complete list of Community Engagement ideas. For the Vision Guide, the Report Team combined and restated the groupings, and selected ideas that inspired interest and action (see also Current Problems and Other Issues).

  1. Inclusiveness
  2. Identity
  3. Engaging Spaces & Events
  4. Volunteers

Neighborhood Groups & Organizations

  • Copy Seattle's approach to getting neighborhoods involved [4]
  • Create more neighborhood groups (ala Minneapolis neighborhood group model) encourage more neighbor to neighbor activities [2]
  • Increased use of neighborhood groups - Watches, Welcome Wagons, child care pools, etc [2]
  • Encourage neighborhood groups to get to know police / fire personnel and vice versa
  • Provide leadership to neighborhood associations and encourage individual leadership
  • If there is an area that is without a local group organized, the city should take the responsibility of at least welcoming new residents and helping them make one or two connections in their neighborhood.

Neighborhood Activities

  • Golden Valley would be known by individual neighborhoods, such as North Tyrol, etc. Each neighborhood would develop a contest to determine its name. [3]
  • Each neighborhood (or city ward or quadrant) has an annual gathering in one of the neighborhood parks. These gatherings could include food, music, activities paid for via donations and attendance fees. (Annual event supported by the city.) [2]
  • Encourage neighborhood meetings to support the council. Make them regular and give them important issues to tackle. [2]
  • Ways to link businesses to community; determine common needs / interests
  • Monthly seminars for neighborhood leadership - provide resources
  • Neighborhoods divided into "Areas," in which perhaps once a month, or four times a year, there is an Area 1/Area 2/ Area 3, etc focus meeting at someone's house. This would be great way to focus on neighborhood issues, get consensus, and actively address concerns - rather than a city council meeting free-for-all.

Multi-Cultural

  • Focus on welcoming diversity
  • Stated goal / vision for multiculturalism: 1) embrace diversity, 2) create an inclusive community, 3) develop ways to connect folks who have diverse backgrounds
  • Sharing the dream to promote inclusivity with multi-cultural community
  • Emphasize diversity (efforts to get other cultures represented in Golden Valley)
  • City organized means for providing opportunities for all residents (and especially between diverse cultures) to get to know one another
  • Celebrate our extended community and its diversity by convening with St Louis Park residents and North Minneapolis residents at an annual parade or music festival through Wirth Park.
  • Intercultural bazaars
  • Sponsor activities that celebrate our diversity
  • Events with neighboring communities
  • But if you want to think small and think Golden Valley residents only, we could create our own preferred Golden Valley citizen club in which local Golden Valley businesses would give discounts or incentive to locals just because were Golden Valley citizens.
  • Encourage community gathering, provide ideas to groups
  • Have frequent, topic-specific focus groups and invite a variety of residents.
  • Better utilize / engage with faith community

Relationships

  • Community engagement for younger people (Teen nights, sports, art, school support, youth and adult theatre)
  • Bridge Golden Valley's 3 different school communities (through service projects)
  • Encourage and support youth engagement in the community
  • Establish a Brokerage for youth activities and have a Golden Valley Recognition for non-sport youth activities.
  • Link between schools and community - empower and engage youth in the community via jobs, volunteer activities, civic and commercial. Don't just keep them busy or entertained and out of trouble. Tap their brains / creative ideas and problem solving abilities.
  • Develop links between schools and the community, between young and old.
  • All community engagement is important, and needs to be promoted from a grass roots standpoint. [2]
  • More intergenerational events
  • Have follow-up committees to involve these and other interested people of all ages.
  • Make sure community efforts continue to reach a diverse group of new families, established residents, and empty nesters.
  • As we engage and empower youth, don't forget that the majority of the population which is middle-aged and aging.
  • Schools should encourage parent participation by getting it started instead of waiting around for it to happen.
  • Youth empowerment
  • More child-focused opportunities
  • Planning committees
  • Encourage youth interest in lifelong community involvement
  • Promoting intergenerational interaction

Supporting Needs

  • Encourage a community-wide commitment to 2 or 3 segments of the Golden Valley population (like neighborhood in Boston supported care for the elderly in their own homes); half-way house, or elderly, or at-risk youth or any few groups and focus heavily on Golden Valley committees etc. getting involved, especially young people.
  • Support partnerships between Golden Valley residents and residents of retirement home, Courage Center [2]
  • Support Trevilla residents
  • A food shelf - run by the community for its resident's needs
  • Promote "Make A Difference Day" within Golden Valley - service and assistance to elderly, infirm, disabled, - newspaper, cable station
  • Engage single parents as a group with needs.
  • Support high-quality child care... so that working residents with young children have good choices to make.
  • More support, variety for seniors
  • A city known for great attention to family and health issues
  • More activities for seniors Examples armchair travel (large gather place, small fee, local seniors provide dinner), variety show
  • Engage disabled members of the community, enhance physical facilities