Newsletter
Happy New Year Neighbors!
Rio Grande Nature Center
A lovely haiku (by Debbie) for the year ahead
dreams, ideas, plans
woven in a tapestry
one heart, one mind - LOVE
Coming soon: New, Improved DNA Website
Your DNA is in the process of switching providers for our website, upgrading its look and feel, providing more accessible information, and most importantly, making it friendly for YOU! It's not quite ready, but its moving in that direction. Our new host: Club Runner. To continue to stay in touch with you, we will be uploading your name and email to Club Runner. They, in turn, will be sending to you an email confirming that your info has been uploaded. You do NOT need to do anything in response. In late January, when our new site goes live, you will receive an invitation from us to take a look. We hope you like it because it's for you!
Suggestions will be welcome.
DNA 2024 Accomplishments:
Hosted 900+ people at our Biennial Downtown
Neighborhoods Historic Home Tour.
Donated $1,000 to Lew Wallace Elementary School.
Donated $800 to Harwood Art School.
Donated $800 to Forester Street residents who support the annual Halloween extravaganza.
Donated $500 to FUSION!
Raised $6,925, smashing our goal of $5,300, in a collaborative Road Runner Food Drive fundraiser, partnering with several neighborhood associations.
Advocated (sent letters of support, spoke at public meetings) for a successful rezoning permit for Old Walls Gallery.
Held a successful National Neighborhood Night Out (NNNO) with music, games and food, providing dinner for more than 75 people.
Held the First Annual Dog Parade in conjunction with the NNNO.
Began an outreach program, CommUnity Trees, partnering with Lew Wallace Elementary School, and soon to partner with other neighborhood associations.
Advocated for our neighbors on 16th Street regarding a proposed traffic issue, hoping to arrive at a mutually agreeable solution while maintaining the character of our neighborhood.
Advocated for converting the Wells Fargo building into affordable housing.
Advocated for the creation of the Downtown area as a TIF (tax incremental financing) district.
Added five new Board members during our Annual membership meeting in March.
Moved our monthly meetings to FUSION!
The students at Lew Wallace are learning to practice empathy together.
What a great lesson for students and grown-ups alike.
DNA Meetings
Next scheduled Board Meeting: Monthly Meetings are now scheduled for the 2nd Monday of each month. The next meeting will be Monday, January 13, 2025. 5:30 pm at Fusion/The Cell, 700 1st
Street NW, Albuquerque NM 87102
New Members Wanted: We currently have a wonderful group of people who work together very well and our meetings are always fun and informative. If you have any interest in joining our board and becoming more active in your community, contact chair@abqdna.com.
Membership in our board is not overly exacting, steady attendance for the monthly meetings is required, not all 12 but as many as you can. We also ask that you participate in our major events: The Historic Home tour, the Annual Meeting, and Neighborhood Night Out. If you’d like to go a little deeper, each event has committees that start some long-range planning. Our Historic Home Tour, for example, is held every even number year and we start planning a year in advance. We will be sharing any other necessary information during the meeting. Thank you for being good neighbors!
Lew Wallace News:
Lew Wallace hosted a Make and Take Night in December that featured wonderful craft projects led by staff and the PTA and featured the Sandia Labs Robotics Dog.
Lew Wallace student carolers walked to neighboring businesses to sing holiday carols. One of their stops was New Mexico Legal Aid, Inc., a statewide non-profit that provides free civil legal services to low-income New Mexicans, veterans and victims of domestic violence among other vulnerable groups. Several attorneys at NMLA live downtown and cherished the students’ visit. The carolers were under the direction of the school’s dedicated music teacher, Alex Flores.
Community School Coordinator: Cell (505) 563-0648
melanie.lewis@aps.edu
Share the DNA Bulletin with your neighbors: Pass this newsletter along and encourage those you share it with to sign up themselves.
To get on the email list, send your email to: abqdna@abqdna.com