Introductory Remarks

An introductory message from Alexander:

It was not long ago that I was thumbing through the brittle yellow pages of the long defunct Wedge Neighborhood Community Newspaper, in the basement of LHENA’s old home at 2744 Lyndale Ave S, wondering how such a community asset could drift so easily into history, its legacy dependent on a bankers box avoiding water damage. In that moment I was acutely aware of the fragility of volunteer run organizations like LHENA, and even more so, of the need to prevent other neighborhood resources from joining these papers in that damp old box.

I was early on in my involvement with LHENA back then, a transplant from Madison, Wisconsin looking for a sense of involvement and community that had been hard to come by through my job as a Microbiologist. I was drawn from the realm of laboratory science to the world of neighborhood organizations by a strong belief in the necessity of bottom-up organizing and a strong community ethic to counteract the 21st century backsliding of social capital within American communities, noted by the likes of sociologist Robert Putnam in their seminal text Bowling Alone as well as many other scholars in the wake of the pandemic. Such works, combined with anecdotal evidence accumulated over years of neighborhood walks and conversations, convinced me that knowing your neighbor more deeply, and focusing your civic energy in a tight local geography, were paramount to realizing a future where everyone has the social support system they need to flourish, a world where neighbors help neighbors and neighborhood associations are the beating hearts of community rather than atrophying appendages of central bureaucracy. In order to pump, these hearts need blood, and volunteers have been the lifeblood of LHENA since its inception in 1970. Weathering changing levels of funding and governance at the City levels, neighborhood organizations rely heavily on volunteers to hold institutional knowledge, and sacrifice inordinate amounts of time and energy to keep organizations like LHENA afloat. Often this status quo requires the involved actors to focus on the present moment, thinking in terms of weeks and months. This approach has yielded wonderful results at LHENA, with volunteers being responsible for some of our most memorable events and programs, from Mega Mueller Market and Halloween in the Park, to gardening groups at Mueller Park, harm reduction education sessions, our expansive Building Ambassador Program, and a highly impactful and expertly managed Food Share, free and open to all. But what if LHENA had the stability and certainty to not just act for the present moment, but to dream? As Executive Director, my chief ambition is to bring a level of stability and organization to LHENA that will allow this organization to dream of new and novel ways to create the highest possible quality of life in the neighborhood.

To achieve this vision, we mustn’t let what a neighborhood association is depend on what a neighborhood association has been. We all know that while highly impactful in many areas, neighborhood associations have also at times been exclusive, biased, and inequitable in their scope and membership. But past perceptions need not be prescriptive of what a neighborhood association ought to be. LHENA has done well over the past decade to buck some of the more negative attributes of neighborhood associations within the City of Minneapolis. Still, an increasingly polarizing and anti-social world necessitates serious thought and deliberation on what a proactive and engaged neighborhood association can do for the community. In the words of Robert Putnam:

“The community as a whole will benefit by the cooperation of all its parts, while the individual will find in their associations the advantages of the help, the sympathy, and the fellowship of their neighbors”

As Executive Director I ask that you dream with me about how LHENA can build an ever-better future for the neighborhood. Whether it’s stopping by our office to chat or showing up to one of our many neighborhood events, I welcome your help in crafting a vision for this neighborhood that supports the social wellbeing and health of every neighbor; a vision that creates a neighborhood where everyone can live, learn, and play with comfort and security; a vision that makes sure that in Lowry Hill East, no one ever has to bowl alone.

– Alexander, Executive Director of LHENA