It’s time for PRO Neighborhood’s annual Community Organizing Course, starting September 7. The course fee has been lowered to $25.

This course is geared toward neighborhood residents, non-profit staff responsible for community involvement, social services or social work students, and others interested in mobilizing neighborhood residents around their passions and skills.

Successful completion of the course requirements will result in three credits through Pima Community College and/or a Community Organizer Certificate from PRO Neighborhoods

The course consists of fifteen classes starting September 7 and ending November 30. Classes are held on Wednesday evenings and some Saturdays. Location of classes to be announced.

For more information and to register, call (520) 882-5885 or send an email to info@proneighborhoods.org.

Lisa Torres
Community Organizer
PRO Neighborhoods, www.proneighborhoods.org

738 N. 5th Ave, Suite 101
Tucson, AZ 85705

(520) 882-5885 work
(520) 207-8654 fax

For more info on Pro Neighborhoods (and the great work they do with small neighborhood grants, click here for a recent KUAT Channel 6 show highlighting a community mural project in Barrio Centro.) I’m a volunteer grant reviewer for Pro Neighborhoods and have helped select worthy and creative neighborhood projects over the years.

PRO Neighborhoods was created in 1994 by a collaboration of four entities. Current collaborative partners include City of Tucson, Pima County, Community Foundation for Southern Arizona, and United Way of Tucson and Southern Arizona.

Mary DeCamp

Mary DeCamp, who ran against Ward 3 Councilmember Karin Uhlich in 2009 has also entered the race for Mayor of Tucson. She has taken out the papers at the Tucson City Clerk’s office an has gathered 23 signatures (between 17 and 32 signatures were needed for a Green candidate) before the June 1st deadline.

Mary got 4429 votes (6.16 % of the vote) in the Ward 3 race in 2009, next to Democratic Councilmember Uhlich’s 46.98% of the votes and Republican Ben Bueller-Garcia’s 46.74% of the votes. She is a community activist and Code Pink member, received her B.A. in Interdisciplinary Sciences and Master of Arts in Communication from the U of A, and has been a college instructor. Mary is currently employed as a Connector with Pro-Neighborhoods, “organizing neighborhood communities to adopt healthier diet and exercise choices”.

Her entry into the race could lead to a Green Party primary on August 30, as fellow Green Party candidate Dave Croteau entered the race a few weeks ago. He ran for Mayor before in 2007 against Mayor Bob Walkup and got 28.08% of the vote compared to Mayor Walkup’s 71.20 %. There are 636 registered Greens in the City of Tucson. (Another Green candidate Jon McLean entered this race for a few months but withdrew in May due to problems with his voter registration, and endorsed Republican Shaun McClusky.)

Mary will be announcing her candidacy on June 7 in front of the Tucson City Hall at 1 p.m. Stay tuned for further announcements from her campaign. She can be reached at mdecamp@q.com or at 520-408-4974, and her campaign manager is Mike Cease at 520-327-4705.

Mission Statement:

Lend A Hand Senior Outreach, Inc is a growing coalition of central Tucson neighborhoods, faith-based communities, and business partnerships working together to help older residents living within the boundaries of the participating neighborhoods. Trained volunteers provide services including transportation, errands, friendly visits, and access to other resources that allow older residents to continue to live independently in their own homes, while reconnecting neighbors to each other.

Our Coalition Members are Campus Farms, Hedrick Acres, Jefferson Park, La Madera, Limberlost, Mountain/First, Samos, and Winterhaven Neighborhoods; The Campbell Avenue Business Partnership; and The Mountain Avenue Church of Christ.

LEND A HAND Volunteer Program is a member of the Neighbors Care Alliance, a program administered through Pima Council on Aging (PCOA) and funded in part by a grant through The Southern Arizona Compassion Initiative, a partnership between United Way of Tucson, Pima Council on Aging, PRO Neighborhoods, Interfaith Community Services and the Multicultural Leadership Development Program.

I helped found & coordinate a similiar Neighbors Care Alliance program in my neighborhood, so I am very familiar with the benefits of such a volunteer program, to assist the elderly (mostly widows).

Website: www.lahseniorhelp.org; volunteer coordinator is Michelle Brubaker, 520-248-6882.