If you missed it, don’t worry. You can browse (and download if you’d like) the presentation by clicking the picture below.

SeeClickFix

SeeClickFix is a free service that “encourages active citizenship, by offering a variety of platforms to report your [non-emergency] concerns.” Citizens can report issues in a variety of platforms, including the website, mobile applications and voice mail.

After a report is filed, an email is automatically generated and sent to 10 city officials/deparments, including the City of Topeka Call Center, Topeka Public Works and the Topeka Governing Body. SeeClickFix has proven effective in getting storm drains and potholes repaired in our area.

Home Elephant

Home Elephant is a “social media platform that allows for collaborative neighborhood organization through Facebook, a web browser, and /or your smart phone.” According to the Home Elephant website, the application was developed as a tool to help improve neighborhood watch. The service is free and relatively new to our area.

Once signed up, a neighbor can add various “alerts” including Crime, Neighborhood Watch, Lost & Found, and General Notices that populate onto a interactive Google Map of your area. The application also allows for the managing of a neighborhood events calendar and “Neighborhood Chat” including news, garage sale and a general forums.

The Randolph Neighborhood is logged under “Randolph” within the application.

Twitter

Twitter is a micro-blogging platform (uses 140 characters – to include spaces – per post). Initially the flow of tweets (Twitter posts) are overwhelming. However, the application allows users to filter out the information they want the most. The visible tweets range from everything every one of your followers (Twitter friends) posts to tweets about your community/neighborhood and can get as selective as tweets about your cousin Sol’s Bar Mitzvah.

Although Twitter was not primarily developed to aid in neighborhood awareness, it has in Topeka, become vital to “being in the know.” City Officials, City Departments, local radio/television/print news organizations and a large population of Topekans (young and not so young) utilize the service to communicate concerns, ideas and to spread awareness about local events.

Twitter is a little like the Wild West. There aren’t a lot of rules. Everyone uses Twitter differently and that’s perfectly OK. However, the service can really improve communication from one-on-one to the city-wide level, if you “do it right.” For more information about Twitter you should visit the website and sign-up (there’s no better way to learn than doing). For more information on how to “do Twitter right,” try this How-To article: Bare Bones Guide to Twitter.

We used to say if you’re bored in Topeka, YOU’re a boring person, but we were wrong. If you’re bored in Topeka, you aren’t on Twitter.

Facebook

Last and certainly not least, is Facebook. Facebook is a free social networking service with over 600 million active users worldwide. This alone makes it a great communication tool as it’s likely our neighbors are already utilizing the service. Facebook lets you connect with your friends all over the world (or all over the neighborhood) and share information about yourself (birthdays, anniversaries, etc.), personal and local events, and photos.

Facebook developers have recently added functions and applications that allow for improving communication among selected groups of people. Not only can individuals have personal pages, but organizations (such as Neighborhood Associations) can have pages and dedicated discussion groups as well. These pages and groups can be utilized to share photos of neighborhood events, links to pertinent articles, hold online discussions, and upload and share documents (ex: a flyer for an upcoming neighborhood garage sale).

For more information on setting up a personal Facebook Account, watch this YouTube video: How to Set Up A Facebook Account (via keithd17)

These web/smartphone applications coupled with good-ole-fashioned face-to-face discussion will greatly enhance how we communicate with one another. Increased communication will not only lead to safer neighborhoods, but to improved personal relationships. We encourage all our neighbors, Randolph or not, to take some time to try these applications and start communicating. In the digital age, there is no reason or excuse to be a stranger.

Unfortunately, we seriously under estimated the number of flyers that were needed to make a dent on even one road in Randolph. No worries though, the fall weather will be a bit more bearable than the summer heat and we’ll have other opportunities to spread the world. Next time we’ll have more flyers and a larger group!

Please tell our neighbors about the website and feel free to make extra copies of the Reviving Randolph handout (a .pdf can be found under the “Handouts” tab in the header menu). The quicker we spread the word, the quicker we can get administrative things out of the way and get down to making a difference in our neighborhood.

The event will be at the home of Mr. & Mrs. Shin at 1517 Medford. Mrs. Shin said flyers went out with two different start times, but that The Shins will be ready to start at 6 pm. Food will be served.

Please join us in support of keeping Randolph a neighborhood safe for person and property!

[note: Don't forget to bring a lawn chair, bug spray and charge/bring your camera. We need to start filling up our "Photos" page.]

As you can see, the website is coming along. A temporary line “in the middle of it all” has been added. A representative of Visit Topeka commented (via Twitter) regarding our location, “You are in the middle of it all.” Felt too right not to use.

Facebook, Twitter and a RSS button have been added to the side bar that link to our respective pages/feeds. Local resources have been added in the Resources page and an online Picasa photo gallery has been added in the Photo page.

A Google Calender was set up as well. The one in the side bar can be difficult to read, but if you click “expanded calender” you should be able to view a full screen version of the calendar.

If there is something missing please let me know. I was able to pull some resource information from other community websites (Visit Topeka, Safe Streets, City of Topeka), but I’m sure this is just the tip of the iceberg.

STILL LOOKING FOR VOLUNTEERS

Soon it will be time to begin canvasing our neighborhood and speak to our neighbors about revitalizing the Randolph Neighborhood Association. This is going to take some time, but with a small dedicated group of people, the process can be completed quickly and effectively. Interested in being a part of this Action Committee? Please contact us with subject: Action Committee.

BUILDING BRIDGES

We recently spoke with Rosana at Housing and Neighborhood Development. She reports that the Randolph Neighborhood Association is still recognized as an existing NA, so no additional work will need to be done on that front – outside of updating some information and locating the founding documents and bi-laws.

On Tuesday, we met with Marc Galbraith, President of the Elmhurst Neighborhood Association. Marc had some great advice and was excited to  hear about our progress. He was also able to discuss of some of the organizations (government and otherwise) that have been and continue to be helpful to the Elmhurst NA.

The Facebook page appears to be working. We’ve recently been “liked” by a few of our Randolph neighbors. Hopefully, they are interested in our efforts and that there are several more just like them…maybe a neighborhood worth.

LIVE IN RANDOLPH

Again, if you live in Randolph, used to live in Randolph, live near Randolph or just admire the neighborhood and/or her citizens, please head on over to our Facebook Page, follow us on Twitter or pull our RSS feed. Lastly, after doing that, please tell your friends about us.

Any friend of yours should be a friend of ours.

I recently received a return phone call from the previous Randolph NA Treasurer, Mrs. Agnes Bernritter. Agnes had been out of town, but returned my call quickly once she returned. Agnes reports that, in the past, the Randolph Neighborhood Association meetings were well attended, but unfortunately our NA hasn’t held a meeting in roughly two years. “Burnout” was her diagnosis. I assured her that there were several families in the neighborhood that would be more than happy to take on a role to get our neighborhood association active again. Also, Agnes said she would continue to serve as Treasurer if needed. Thanks Agnes!

WE WANT YOU

Currently, there is a very small group in the Randolph Neighborhood working at reviving our NA. The workload hasn’t been crushing – yet. However, in the future we will be conducting neighborhood surveys, collecting data, and going door-to-door speaking with our neighbors, asking them to voice their concerns and joys and informing them about the efforts to jump-start our NA. If you are interested in being part of this planning/action committee, please email us via our Contact Us page with the subject: I want to help.

RANDOLPH NA ONLINE

As you can see, the Randolph NA website is up and running. Many thanks to our friend, Brendan Jensen (College Hill) and his company JensCom,for hosting the site. The Randolph NA has also set up a Twitter account (@RandolphNA) and a Facebook Page to provide online communication between our neighbors and the community.

Have a question, concern or complaint? You can send an email via our Contact Us page or directly at randolphna@gmail.com. Don’t have a computer or use the Internet? No problem, we don’t have a mailbox yet, but feel free to call Mr. Marc Limon (Randolph) at 785-260-0591. He’ll do his best to answer your question(s).

RANDOLPH HISTORY

We are currently in the process of gathering historic information about the Randolph neighborhood. Specifically, we’d like to know who it’s named after, more about this namesake, when Randolph was designated a neighborhood by the city and when it was annexed into Topeka. If you know any of this information or know someone who might, please contact us, via the Contact Us page, with the subject: Randolph History.

Currently we’ve been in contact with the Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library: Special Collections Department, the City of Topeka: Housing and Neighborhood Development Department and the Topeka History Geeks. We have plans to speak with the Randolph Elementary Historian as well.

WHAT IS A NEIGHBOR

A neighbor is someone who lives with others within a community. Within this community, reside individuals, families, businesses and schools. A neighbor is interested in the entire neighborhood, shows respect for the property of others and a neighbor’s interest doesn’t stop at the property line. Neighbors are individuals who work together.

Won’t you be our neighbor?