Yes We Can Celebrate - July 25, 2009

Dear Yes We Can Inwood families,

We hope you are enjoying your summer and the beautiful weather.

Tricia and I are very excited to tell you about 2 great things that we have been working on and want to share with you. The first is the creation of a new website for Yes We Can Inwood. It was designed by Tricia and contains photos and summaries of all the service projects we have completed since we started last December. Please check it out and feel free to leave comments at http://www.yeswecaninwood.com .

We would also like to invite you to an Ice Cream Party which will take place on Saturday, July 25 in Isham Park at 2 p.m. The event is partly meant to thank all the families who came out to our service projects but also to give us all an opportunity to gather and celebrate in one of our favorite parks. If you have been unable to make any of our service projects so far, please don't feel bad about coming to enjoy some ice cream. And if you still feel bad, you can volunteer to be an ice cream scooper.

Kidding aside, we expect to have enough Edy's Ice Cream for 100 people. We will need 10 adults to serve as scoopers and set-up and clean up crew. We could also use 1 or 2folding tables. Most importantly, though, we need scoopers so please e-mail argaret Peeler if you can commit to being at Isham about a half hour before the party.

Thanks everyone and hope to see you in the park!

Margaret & Tricia

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Below is the winning essay by Margaret regarding Inwood:

(Edy's awarded Margaret, the winning essayist, first prize and ice cream for 100!)

Inwood is an urban neighborhood located at the Northern tip of Manhattan. While only minutes from from the high rises and office buildings of midtown Manhattan, Inwood offers peace and tranquility for the thousands of families from diverse backgrounds who call it home.

Since we are all apartment dwellers without front or backyards, we gather in our local parks for sledding, trick or treating, picnics, hiking, climbing, bird watching, and playing.

One of our neighborhood traditions is gathering "up on the hill" at Isham Park every Thursday night from April to November where children run, play and climb trees and the grown ups set up blankets and share home cooked meals or just order a pizza. We exchange clothes and books our children have outgrown, celebrate our childrens' milestones, offer encouragement to a family who might be struggling, and most importantly we laugh.

I have lived and worked in neighborhoods throughout New York City all my life, but I have never experienced such a genuine community spirit as the one I have found in Inwood. Thank you for letting me share our neighborhood with you.

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More photos from the ice cream party: