Blooming Neighborhood Awards to be given in June

Local neighborhoods have an opportunity to be recognized for their achievements and a chance to win $100 through this year’s Blooming Neighborhood Awards.\nThe awards, which consist of the Mayor’s Excellence Award, City Council Neighborhood Enhancement Award, and Housing and Neighborhood Development Neighbor of the Year Award, have recognized different local organizations since 2001, said Vickie Provine, program manager of Housing and Neighborhood Development in Bloomington.\nThe winners will be awarded at 10 a.m. June 7 at the Farmer’s Market. The Blooming Neighborhoods Celebration will last from 9 a.m. to noon, she added.\n“These awards were created to bring the different organizations of Bloomington together and recognize them for their achievements,” Provine said.\nProvine added that even though only three organizations can win a $100 prize, every organization that applies is recognized.\nMaple Heights Neighborhood Association was the winner of the City Council Neighborhood Enhancement Award last year. Jane Goodman, an associate professor in the IU Department of Communication and Culture and a founding member of the Maple Heights Neighborhood Association, said it is very important for the city to support the work of the neighborhoods.\nGoodman explained that Maple Heights created a neighborhood Naturescape out of a vacant lot, a process that required many months of work and consultation with many city and legal experts. She said the Naturescape was important to the community because the neighborhood had no prior public green space. \n“The City encouraged us from the beginning to pursue this project and worked closely with us along the way,” Goodman said. “It is strongly in the city’s interest to have neighborhoods generate projects such as the Naturescape.” \nGeorgia Schaich from Green Acres was last year’s winner of the Housing and Neighborhood Development Neighbor of the Year Award. Schaich, president of the Green Acres Neighborhood, said she has helped to facilitate lots of neighborhood services, projects and initiatives with the help of other talented members of the association, such as a Plant Share and Summer Solstice Party. \nSchaich added that the Green Acres Neighborhood Association is an active, IU student and family-friendly neighborhood that values diversity. She said Green Acres has nominated neighbors for the award in the past and will continue to do so in the future. \n“Every year there are people in the neighborhood that go that extra mile to make something good happen,” Schaich said. “We want to make sure that they know we appreciated the time and effort they put in to make Green Acres a better place to live.”\nAny organization that wishes to apply can download an application from the Housing and Neighborhood Development Web site at www.bloomington.in.gov/hand/. Applications are due\nApril 25.