We love our neighborhoods in St. Pete! This appreciation is easy to understand. Distinctive neighborhoods can provide a sense of family, community, and connection that may be hard to find in a large city. From pink streets to brick avenues, charming bungalows to shiny high rises, and everything in-between, St. Pete has a neighborhood that will make you feel at home. From time to time, we will celebrate the vibrancy of these diverse mini-communities by featuring one of the many Neighborhood Associations (NA) devoted to enhancing the quality of life within their neighborhoods and the city as a whole.
Connections
We’re beginning our neighborhood tour at the macro-level by focusing our attention on two organizations that exemplify a sense of cooperative connection between individual neighborhoods and the wider community: the Council of Neighborhood Associations (CONA) and CareFest®.
CONA
First incorporated in 1957, CONA is a not-for-profit corporation that represents over 40 neighborhood and civic associations throughout the city. Essentially, CONA unites existing neighborhood organizations and fosters the formation of new organizations with the primary goal of meeting the needs of our diverse community. CONA strives to provide education and guidance while also offering resources for sharing information and tools. As part of their ongoing effort to expand the pool of skilled and motivated neighborhood and community leaders CONA also offers an annual leadership development and training program. One important CONA function is to provide a forum for bringing neighborhood issues to public attention by working cooperatively with the local government, the Chamber of Commerce, and other area organizations on issues that impact the quality of life for St. Pete residents.
CareFest
CONA’s involvement with CareFest® is a great example of the cooperative relationship between the City’s Community Services Department, the NAs, and the community at large. CareFest® is an annual national event that St. Pete has enthusiastically embraced. As a city-wide day of service, it offers opportunities for neighbors to help neighbors while building camaraderie, fostering goodwill and compassion, and giving back to the community. This year’s CareFest® main event will be Saturday, September 28th, with the kick-off and after-celebrations taking place at Lake Vista Park. But it’s not just a one-day event. CareFest® will also be hosting projects throughout the city between September 21st and October 5th. CONA and many of St. Pete’s Neighborhood Associations also eagerly embrace this opportunity to volunteer their time to sponsor a community CareFest® project. For example, the Historic Kenwood NA had adopted a landscaping and exterior painting project as its CareFest® contribution. Opportunities for volunteering still exist; for more information about how to get involved with a CareFest® project in St. Pete visit www.carefestusa.com/projects/pinellas-county/st.-petersburg/
Community Connections
Current CONA president Jennifer Joern’s enthusiasm about the positive potential of Neighborhood Associations is contagious. As noted anthropologist Margaret Mead famously said, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed, organized citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.” So if you’re looking to play a role in helping to shape your world, get involved with your local Neighborhood Association and its umbrella organization, CONA.
CONA is an all-volunteer 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that plays a vital role in strengthening and advocating for neighborhoods throughout the City of St. Petersburg via their many initiatives and activities with an ultimate goal of helping to build a safe, harmonious city in order to meet the current and future needs of our diverse community. For additional information, please visit them at www.stpetecona.org or www.facebook.com/CONA.StPete.
