The Power and Importance of Community

There have been three things swirling around in my head these past few days, and while all unrelated to each other, they all bring me back to the same thought: the community in which we choose to live plays a big role in both the day-to-day details as well as the big picture of our lives. As I think on the recent event in Boulder, my heart is heavy because I do think Boulder is similar to Evergreen in some important ways. Every store and restaurant we visit, or event we attend, we bump into neighbors and old friends. My husband used to marvel that it would take me an hour or more to run to pick up just a few grocery items when we live less than 10 minutes from the store. But I always see someone I know! Hearing the stories from Boulder make it apparent that this same sense of community is just as prevalent there.

My second meandering thought connects to recently heard stories about unemployment fraud claims from our area business owners. There have been reports on the local news about how widespread this has become and the Chamber has been hit as well. I’ve seen posts on community pages on social media platforms about neighbors seeing unknown people hanging around mailboxes or of packages missing. The neighborhood I live in had to file claims with our local sheriff over the holidays as many packages went missing and mailboxes were tampered with. If you are like me and still have an unlocked mailbox, it is a good suggestion to go to usps.com and sign up for “Informed Delivery,” which will send you an email with pictures of the pieces of mail and packages that are delivered to you each day. While this technology can help us know if our mail is being tampered with, the old-fashioned neighbors looking out for one another still works the best! If you have received a letter or an employer, past or present, has received one about you, you must take action. The steps to take can be found on the Chamber website under the “Locals” tab: evergreenchamber.org