Official Nebraska Government WebsiteNebraska communities can celebrate CD Week by hosting local proclamation signings and other activities to recognize volunteers and development professionals.
Start to plan your 2013 CD Week activities now. Use the following ideas and activities.
- Host your own proclamation signing.Kick-off Community Development Week with a proclamation signing by local officials. A sample proclamation is provided at the CD Week website. Invite representatives from local organizations who are involved with community development projects.
- Honor community member contributions. Hold a community appreciation dinner or awards program to recognize local residents for their valuable contributions to community development.
- Inspire future projects. Hold a town meeting at a completed community development project site or projects-in-progress. Use the gathering to not only celebrate and inform residents of community accomplishments, but to also set new goals and objectives for the community, and recruit new volunteers for future endeavors.
- Highlight the value of civic organizations. Hold an open house at a public facility such as the city hall, library, hospital, fire hall, or community center.
- Involve the media. Announce events and increase public awareness about community development projects through press releases, public service announcements, a storefront display, and/or media contacts. Try showcasing features on community and economic development achievements completed in the last year. Invite local press to your events. Ask them to write an article on CDBG or HOME during CD Week.
- Involve community members. Work with business owners and the chamber of commerce to promote downtown and area businesses with special sales, evening hours, or similar activities. Recruit businesses to sponsor an event or donate a percentage of the day’s receipts to local improvement groups or projects.
- Engage and educate Congressional members. Plan to meet with your congressional members in their district offices during CD Week. Invite them to tour a CDBG- or HOME-funded project, participate in a ribbon-cutting of a HOME- or CDBG- funded project, or a meet a household assisted by the programs. Express the importance of these programs in making community development projects possible.
- Document your community development outcomes. A compilation of finished projects can help inform citizens of the project’s impact and issues the community is addressing. The compilation can also be used as a sharing resource for other communities and as an indicator of community progress.
- Select positive venues. Select locations for various events that showcase CDBG- and HOME-funded projects and programs.