So back in January, I got one of the best phone calls a president of a community league can receive. A community league member reached out because over the past year, with covid and craziness, they'd had a rough year. And through that year, their neighbours had really helped them keep going. From errands, to shovelling walks, to just being there, John and Betty Keinholz told me that their neighbours had made all the difference this past year. So to honour that kindness and friendship, John and Betty made a donation to the community league. Which I think is a fabulous way to pay forward kindness.

So to the neighbours of John and Betty – thank you for being fabulous.

I hope everyone is looking forward to spring like I am – stay tuned for the second season of our community garden; keep an eye on the community page for soccer updates and please join us virtually on March 18th at 7pm for our AGM. We will have participation from municipal, provincial and federal government, voting on executive positions for the community board and we are hoping to have updates from the city on the upcoming changes to waste collection and public transit routes. There may even be prizes!

Enjoy the sunshine Greenfield – its going to feel sooooo good. As always, don't forget to purchase your Community League Membership for 2020/21. Your membership gives you a vote at our AGM and other great benefits. Memberships are $30 for individuals, $15 for seniors, $25 for senior couples and $50 for families.
Memberships can be purchased online at:
 
https:// www.greenfieldcommunityleague.com/ buymembership.html
I can be reached at [email protected] and look forward to seeing everyone out and about!

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season with creative ways to connect with family, to reinvent traditions and pause in finding moments that mattered most to them.  It was nice that the ice was ready to go just in time for holiday activities and was safely used by all.  Remember that your community league membership is what helps pay for the rinks and if you plan on skating – please purchase your membership!! 

Big thank you to everyone who took part in our December Food Bank drive.  Although we did not win the gift certificate, Greenfield raised almost 350 lbs of food for the Edmonton foodbank (including a weight conversion for our financial donations).  Hopefully next year we’ll have a bit more notice and can challenge Aspen Gardens who raised a grand total of 1,500 lbs in their drive.  

A community league fundraiser is being kicked off at No Frills from Jan 16 to 31, where you have the option to add a toonie to your grocery bill.  Proceeds will support our ice making and outreach activities. 

Please consider supporting our Virtual Wine Tasting – two bottles of wine delivered to your door by your gracious community league board and access to a live and in person tasting provided by the fine sommeliers at Vines Fine Wines on Jan 16.  Tickets are available on Eventbrite (search for Greenfield).  You can also visit the community league’s Facebook page or website for the link.  Thank you very much to everyone who has already bought tickets.  Your support is greatly appreciated. 

My Mom often tells me her story of running the Hawaiian marathon.  In the early 80’s, she flew to Hawaii for a relaxing vacation that also included a 42.2 km run along the lovely tropical beaches.  A few hours in, she could see the crowds and banners in the distance and thinks to herself, this is it – I’m almost there!  So she pushed herself hard, stepping up her pace, closer, closer, she could almost taste the finish line … pushing out every last bit of energy - so close, so close, so close, it will feel so good to stop and the banners are almost legible… and they read “Congratulations – just a half a mile to go!!”… DOH! 

I feel like this is where we are, Greenfield.  The numbers are high, and the holidays have been a challenge, and we can see the banners calling us with vaccine numbers and soon we can meet for coffee, but we can’t be suckered in.  There’s still half a mile to go. We have be careful and keep bending the curve for just a little bit longer.  We’ve done well to get this far; let’s not drop the ball so close to the end.   

As always, don’t forget to purchase your Community League Membership for 2020/21. Your membership gives you a vote at our AGM and other great benefits. Memberships are $30 for individuals, $15 for seniors, $25 for senior couples and $50 for families. Memberships can be purchased online.  

I can be reached at [email protected] and look forward to seeing everyone out and about around the neighbourhood!                                                Amanda 

Hello Greenfield –
 
I hope this message finds you well and healthy.  There has been a lot of change and challenge in the last few months.  Connecting as a community feels more important than ever before.
 
I work in emergency management, and we do a lot of research about first responders, who play a critical and formal role in responding when emergencies strike in our communities.  But have you ever heard the term “immediate responder” or “community responder”?  These are people, ordinary people, who are thrust into a disaster simply because… they were there.  They have no formal training, no special skills.  They don’t wear capes or come with sirens.  These are your neighbours who may have no greater connection to you except basic geography but hopefully, maybe, they will share a deep, personal connection to the area and the neighbourhood. 
 
The research shows that overwhelmingly, these immediate responders step up to the challenge when confronted with a disaster.  Despite fear and confusion, ordinary people really can do extraordinary things.  In disasters all over the world, neighbours and communities are the first to respond to immediate needs of those around them. They come up with creative, grassroots solutions to pressing challenges.  They create neighbourhood hubs in Calgary to help clean water out of basements, and they rally around foodbanks in Fort McMurray to support struggling families. And it works. 
 
The challenge for us now, is finding this connection in the socially distant world where our disaster is measured in months not hours.  When confronted with someone in immediate distress, it’s instinctive to offer a hug or a coffee.  To provide a meal and a moment.  It’s scary and exhausting to respond to an emergency, but then… it’s over.   What we need now takes slow, measured actions over many, many days. Perseverance. Tenacity. Taking the time to find your neighbour’s phone number so you can check in.  Not once, but every day.  Offering not one run to the grocery store, but once a week, every week.  Not a novelty night with friends online but a routine of comfort and regularity. 
 
We’re in this for the long haul Greenfield – and we absolutely have got this.  We may have closed the physical hall, but that doesn’t mean that our community stopped being engaged.  If you need something, please reach out to the community league.  If you have something to offer, reach out to your neighbours.  If you take one thing from this message, please keep reaching out.
 
As always, I can be reached at [email protected]. 
 
See you soon.
Amanda 

     ​Hello Greenfield – Can you feel it? Spring is right around the corner. There was that week in January when I didn't think we'd make it, but it's coming closer and closer!
We've done some social media posts about the skating shack, and we talked about it at the AGM, but I wanted to take a moment to talk about it here. The Board discovered last year that our utilities were installed in the skating shack incorrectly – against code and in a way that increased risk for our ice crews. We also knew that the way the shed was set up with the ice maintenance room on the north side of the building was awkward and cumbersome for our crews, as they had to clear and navigate the tennis courts with the tractors to get out of the building.  So we bit the bullet, and decided to fix it.
We began looking for grants that would help us cover the costs of the renovations, and started looking for a company to do the work. We met with five companies, four of whom provided quotes, to ensure we were spending the community's money as efficiently as possible. We worked with the successful company, a wonderful local SW Edmonton company with ties to our neighbouring communities, to make sure our changes were as safe and efficient as possible.
This has meant a huge disruption to our ice this year. The rinks did open, without fanfare, at the end of January, although the shack wasn't open for until the end of February. And I know this has been a disappointing skating


year and I apologize for that. Our ice is a winter time hub for our community, and it's never a good feeling to see it dark and unused. We just couldn't continue to allow the ice to be made in a building that was no longer safe for our crews. And I hope you can understand that.
In warmer news – stay tuned as our Community Garden gets closer to development. After two years of working with the City of Edmonton, hunting permits and checking measurements, our Community Garden team is eager to put shovels to soil and start the growing season off. Keep an eye on our Facebook page and the website for more details.
If you haven't registered for soccer yet, it's not too late –
go to emsasoccerportal.com to register now!
 
Thank you to everyone who came to our January AGM and met with the Board – it was wonderful to meet new faces and see familiar ones around the room.
It is never to too late to purchase your community league membership – just head on over
to www.greenfieldcommunityleague.com/ and follow the
link!
 
As always, I can be reached
at [email protected] and look forward to seeing everyone WITHOUT forty layers for warmth!
Amanda

Happy New Years Greenfield!
​
What an amazing New Years Eve we had. Thanks to everyone who made the time and joined us for the unveiling of our 50th anniversary mural – I hope you were all as awed and inspired as I am. We hope to be mounting our mural in the spring on the wall facing the playground so that all our community artists can enjoy their contribution to our community for many years to come. I have to give a huge thank you to Matt, Ashley and the whole No Frills family who sponsored our New Years Eve party and all their support in planning and making it happy. We are so lucky to have you in our community!

Despite the end of the holiday season, there are still lots of fun things happening around our community this winter including Shinny Hockey on Saturday mornings at 10am at the Greenfield rink. Come on out and skate with us and remember that all players under 18 require a helmet and a waiver. Outdoor soccer registration runs from January 15 – February 28th, more information can be found on the Community webpage. And stay tuned and join us for a glass at our Saint Patrick’s Day Event in March.

As many of you are aware, Greenfield has recently experienced a spike in random thefts and suspicious activities. In response to these events, the Community League Board has added a Neighbourhood Watch position who will be leading our community’s engagement on keeping our neighbourhood safe and welcoming. We are thrilled to have Kenny Wurtak on board and to encourage everyone who has questions or concerns to join us as at our January 31st AGM at the Community Hall. Our community becomes safer when we come together, when we get to know our neighbours and continue to take pride in and to participate in our community. So, despite the cold weather, despite the end of the holidays, I encourage you all to get out, come skating, walk to Petrolia, meet your neighbours and continue to share the warmth of community.

As always, don’t forget to purchase your Community League Membership for 2018/19. Your membership gives you a vote at our AGM and other great benefits. Memberships are $30 for individuals, $15 for seniors, $25 for senior couples and $50 for families. Memberships can be purchased online or at our AGM on the 31st.

I can be reached at [email protected] and look forward to seeing everyone at the AGM!
- Amanda

Back in August, there was an article in the Edmonton Journal, explaining how property management companies were hiring “social co-ordinators” in apartment complexes to engage their community, run social events and streamline renter experiences. The company, Apartment Life, on their website claims that a social co-ordinator can add up to $188,000 in annual financial benefit and that the more people are connected to their immediate community, the longer they will continue to rent in that location, meaning that the profits are higher for the property companies because they don’t risk losing income on empty space or more frequent move out costs. And I love that people are starting to value the importance of community… but I’m also a little sad that these connections are being motivated by profit.

And if you’ve ever wondered exactly what the community league is – there you go. The community league is Greenfield’s social co-ordinators and we are a whole lot cheaper than a paid company. Your community league is here, not only to run events, and engage with our community and enhance the experience of living as part of our community, but to help all our members engage in the way they want to. Have an idea for an event you’d like to run? Come talk to us! Have some great ideas or a different way of seeing a challenge? Stop by one of our meetings. Have lots of fun while eating hot dogs and just participating? That’s good too. So – the weather outside is turning colder, but keep showing up Greenfield. It’s all of us that make us an
extraordinary community to be a part of.

As always, don’t forget to purchase your Community League Membership for 2019/20. Your membership gives you a vote at our AGM and other great benefits. Memberships are $30 for individuals, $15 for seniors, $25 for senior couples and $50 for families.

Memberships can be purchased online (https://www.greenfieldcommunityleague.com/buy-membership.html) or at our AGM in early 2020.

I can be reached at [email protected] and look forward to seeing everyone out and about (or shopping at the new Dollarama)!
 
 
Amanda

A month or so ago, my neighbor phoned me out of the blue on a Saturday morning, and asked me if I knew where my daughter was. My first thought was “What? Of course I do.. wait, do I?” It took me a second to realize, yes, I knew where my daughter was, she was skipping down the road to her friend’s house (still in her pyjamas and carrying a box of timbits, but let’s move right passed my parenting choices).

My neighbor had seen her running out of the house and heading down to the street on her own and phoned me to check up on her. I thought about getting annoyed – why wouldn’t I know where my child was? But… then I thought: my neighbor knows my name, my children’s names and has my phone number. He paid attention when he saw her on her own and cared enough about her to make that phone call to make sure she was safe. And the follow on thought was, what a wonderful community I live in, where not only do I feel safe enough for her to walk to a friend’s house, but I feel safer knower that there is a wide safety net ready to catch her.

So, as we move out of a long, lazy, rainy summer and into another busy fall, keep an eye out for each other Greenfield. Let’s reach out and connect, share recipes and stay in each other’s lives.

A great opportunity for connection is the Community League Day BBQ on September 21st, starting at 11am. Come join us for a free hot dog, share some extra garden produce, talk to our community garden planners and chat with your community board about ideas you’d like to see for the fall. We will also be unveiling our 50th Anniversary mural on the east side of the hall!

​As always, don’t forget to purchase your Community League Membership for 2019/20. Your membership gives you a vote at our AGM and other great benefits. Memberships are $30 for individuals, $15 for seniors, $25 for senior couples and $50 for families. Memberships can be purchased online or at our AGM in January. 

When I was growing up in a small rural community in central Alberta, I never would have guessed that years later I would feel planted in the city enjoying some of the benefits of a small town community right in the midst of a city. Growing up on a farm in Alberta had lots of benefits but some of the richest were the many ways that we ended up building connections together with our neighbours. We gathered together for functions. My parents lent equipment or a hand to each other, called each other if something of question was going on on their land, drove each other’s kids around, coached each other’s kids, laughed together, and even shed the occasional tear together. I never would have dreamed that this same sense of community, belonging & support could develop in the city.

My husband and I have lived in our little corner of Greenfield now for nearly 17 years and we have benefited immeasurably through the community that surrounds us. We enjoy connections with neighbours of various different talents, often sharing skills with each other. We shared toys, tools, food, and great conversations. We keep an eye open for each other’s homes, kids and pets. We have adopted grandparents for our kids and dog. We gather to celebrate. We gather to grieve.

When I reflect back to the very beginning, I recognize that one of the keys to these connections developing was that we moved onto a block where there was already a traditional block party booked for each June. I remember the first summer as we timidly walked down the street to join the party. The street was blocked off, kids were riding their decorated biked all over and BBQ’s, tables and chairs were pulled into the street. Within minutes I had this immediate feel of “small town community”. Kids were playing on the street, adults were introducing themselves to each and many others were reminiscing of the years of old. We were included and belonged!

Our block continues to host a block party every summer, rain or shine...over 30 years running! It isn’t super fancy as we gather a few BBQ’s, share food, fire pit and games. Through it all there is a sense that we can belong and care for each other making our little town in the midst of the city a thriving place to growth and connect.

If you would like to start a legacy of block parties on your block or in your alley these websites might be helpful resources for you. The sites are also rich with fresh ideas if your block party has already been going for a while now. The city recognizes the importance of connections like this and are happy to help with resources. Feel free to connect with us on the Greenfield board too if you would like more stories and ideas for how to coordinate your party.

Cheers to your “small town” in the city!
- Loretta James 

BlockParties:https://www.edmonton.ca/ residential_neighbourhoods/neighbourhoods/blockparties.aspx
​Play Streets: https://www.edmonton.ca/ residential_neighbourhoods/neighbourhoods/playstreets.aspx

Happy New Years Greenfield!

What an amazing New Years Eve we had. Thanks to everyone who made the time and joined us for the unveiling of our 50th anniversary mural – I hope you were all as awed and inspired as I am. We hope to be mounting our mural in the spring on the wall facing the playground so that all our community artists can enjoy their contribution to our community for many years to come. I have to give a huge thank you to Matt, Ashley and the whole No Frills family who sponsored our New Years Eve party and all their support in planning and making it happy. We are so lucky to have you in our community!

Despite the end of the holiday season, there are still lots of fun things happening around our community this winter including Shinny Hockey on Saturday mornings at 10am at the Greenfield rink. Come on out and skate with us and remember that all players under 18 require a helmet and a waiver. Outdoor soccer registration runs from January 15 – February 28th, more information can be found on the Community webpage. And stay tuned and join us for a glass at our Saint Patrick’s Day Event in March.

As many of you are aware, Greenfield has recently experienced a spike in random thefts and suspicious activities. In response to these events, the Community League Board has added a Neighbourhood Watch position who will be leading our community’s engagement on keeping our neighbourhood safe and welcoming. We are thrilled to have Kenny Wurtak on board and to encourage everyone who has questions or concerns to join us as at our January 31st AGM at the Community Hall. Our community becomes safer when we come together, when we get to know our neighbours and continue to take pride in and to participate in our community. So, despite the cold weather, despite the end of the holidays, I encourage you all to get out, come skating, walk to Petrolia, meet your neighbours and continue to share the warmth of community.

As always, don’t forget to purchase your Community League Membership for 2018/19. Your membership gives you a vote at our AGM and other great benefits. Memberships are $30 for individuals, $15 for seniors, $25 for senior couples and $50 for families. Memberships can be purchased online or at our AGM on the 31st.

I can be reached at [email protected] and look forward to seeing everyone at the AGM!

- Amanda