CHAIR’S MESSAGE

Chair’s Message for August 2026

At our July Community Meeting  we learned about taking care of our trees and gardens and helping them through the dry and hot summer.

At our house we spent the hottest day ever recorded in Utah without air conditioning. Of course, our A/C died the day before the record was set, and we spent three long days waiting for the repair person. We were fine. Our home was built in 1908 to passively block summer sun and welcome the warming rays in the winter. This helped our house stay cooler than it could have been. We have a basement that is part of our living space and so we were able to find refuge there. I did spend quite a bit of time checking on neighbors that I know do not have air conditioning. It drove home to me how important it is that we know our neighbors and that we all look out for each other.

Each month as we learn about the recipient of our Community Kindness Award it makes me feel so fortunate to live in a neighborhood of good and caring people. Another of our strengths is in the way we pull together to volunteer and get things done.

We have a large group of dedicated neighbors who come together each year to put on the premier neighborhood Street Fair in Salt Lake City. This year our Street Fair will be on October 10. It takes over 150 volunteers to make the Street Fair happen. We have a core group of volunteers that have been meeting for several months now to plan and prepare. Our volunteer coordinator is working with all the committees to help ensure that they have the folks they need to make the day run smoothly. In this newsletter you will see a plea to volunteer.
I was fortunate to meet a neighbor while walking who reminded me that not everyone has access to online sign-ups and may not be able to connect virtually to volunteer. If you cannot sign up online, I invite you to attend our August and September meetings in person where we will have a computer available for you to sign up as a Street Fair volunteer. Or if you prefer we will have a paper sign up that you can give us your name and phone number so we can get you signed up. We need you all!

For those of you who would like to do something to help our neighborhood but volunteering at the street fair may not be a place you would like to give your time, there are lots of other ways to get involved. Our Service Committee has informed us that families who have students in our schools sometimes struggle to cover the cost of school lunches. We have school lunch debt at all of our neighborhood schools. We have heard that food pantries are seeing increased requests for assistance. If you have
the means, consider contacting the one of the schools and paying off some of the lunch debt or donating to a food pantry.

Our Grants Committee is seeking applications for projects that will benefit our neighborhood as well. We will hear this month about a CIP project proposal from one of our very young residents. One of our Avenues youth, Elizabeth, is seeking help accessing the playground at Wasatch Elementary. CIP proposals are designed to benefit the community for years and if approved are supported by city funds and agencies.

There are many ways to get involved. I realize that you are involved in ways that I may never know and I thank you for that.
We have an amazing community and it is great to hear from you with concerns and questions about how to make our lives better. Please continue to reach out to me with questions or concerns. gaccchair@avenuescouncil.org

– Dianne

OUR NEIGHBORHOOD