11/03/2011
After Hurricane Irene devastated our area in late August, hundreds of volunteers came to New Bern from across the country to help. Without being asked, these volunteers provided supplies, resources, hands-on effort and encouragement when we needed them most. The unsolicited generosity of these individuals and groups is a powerful example of what it means to be a good neighbor. In this season of thanksgiving, it is a perfect time for our community to express our appreciation to all those who helped us.
The New Bern Neighbor Project grew out of a sixth-grade classroom discussion at The Epiphany School on what it means to be a neighbor. A small group of Epiphany students is now working to provide an opportunity for our entire community to say “thank you”. The City of New Bern has added its full support, so that this project can be a true community effort with widespread participation.
Project Goal
Our goal is to create a short video to thank our neighbors personally, using as many of our community’s stories, faces and voices as possible. Between now and November 15th, project volunteers will be gathering stories, pictures and videos from community members or groups that would like to participate.
From these contributed materials, we will produce a short video in time for Thanksgiving that will be posted on the Internet, broadcast on local television, and provided to the neighbors who came to our aid. The New Bern Neighbor Project postings on YouTube and Facebook will also include highlights from all of the New Bern community contributions.
Please Join Our Effort
If you have a story to share, or an individual or group to thank, please send an email or letter to the addresses listed below. If you have pictures to share, please submit them via email, as we will not be able to return pictures that are mailed.
If you have video to share, or would like to make a video that we could include, please upload videos to your own YouTube or Facebook accounts, and then share a link with us via email. If you would like more information on this process, please send us an email.
We will also host several public videotaping sessions for those who would like to share their stories and expressions of thanks. The first will be held at City Hall on Tuesday, November 8 from 4 to 6:30PM. Additional public opportunities will be scheduled and announced on our Facebook and YouTube pages, the City of New Bern’s website, and The Epiphany School’s website.
Thank you so much!
