Neighborhood Link
Raymond Robinson
303-830-0123 x111
pr@neighborhoodlink.com
www.neighborhoodlink.com
Mayor Webb, Neighborhood Link Announce Free Web Sites for Neighborhood Groups in Six-County Region
Sites Designed to Build Stronger Communities, Facilitate Civic Communication
DENVER, October 15, 1998 - Continuing his “Year of the Neighborhood” initiative, Denver Mayor Wellington Webb today announced a new program to provide free Web sites to every neighborhood association in the six-county region, including Denver, Adams, Arapahoe, Douglas, Jefferson and Boulder counties, through Denver-based Neighborhood Link.
“Neighborhood Link is an excellent tool to help neighborhoods get online,” said Mayor Webb. “By offering free Web sites to all neighborhood associations, Neighborhood Link will help us build stronger communities and facilitate civic communication in Denver and the surrounding metro area.”
“Strong communication is the foundation for building and maintaining great neighborhoods,” said Ted Pinkowitz, President and CEO of Neighborhood Link. “With more than one-third of the adults in our country now online, Internet communication is critical to a thriving neighborhood organization. By helping neighborhoods create their own, free Web sites, we believe we can help build a strong sense of community within our city.”
“Since posting our site through Neighborhood Link, we’ve increased participation in our events significantly,” said Mamie Donaldson, president of the East Washington Park neighborhood association. “By being online, we’re able to communicate more effectively with our residents and provide more services to them.” Pinkowitz said interested Denver-area neighborhoods may obtain their own free Web site by calling 303/830-0123. Currently, there are more than 150 Denver-area neighborhood associations online through Neighborhood Link. “Each neighborhood’s Web site is easy to use and highly interactive,” said Pinkowitz. “And as new programming is developed we will continue to offer new, exciting online capabilities to Denver-area residents.”
The neighborhood Web sites provide useful information such as event and meeting schedules, important or urgent notices, the association’s newsletter, a local school listings, connections to police departments, community newspapers and much more. The site will also have links to city government officials such as Mayor Webb, City Council members, plus special links and features to communicate with the Denver police and Crimestoppers.
Residents will also have access to a discussion area where they can participate in a free exchange of ideas and opinions regarding important issues and concerns. Special interest groups, such as Block Watch, Baby Sitting Co-ops and Gardening Clubs, in each neighborhood are also invited to create their own Web pages for inclusion in the site.
In addition to the local governments and police departments, Neighborhood Link plans to partner with community newspapers to provide the best and most timely community-based information to residents.
Citing simple programming as one of the best features of the service, Mayor Webb said, “Neighborhood Link enables neighborhood associations to create and maintain their own Web sites without having to know or learn HTML or computer programming. This high tech communication tool is now available to everyone.”
Pinkowitz said that the goal of Neighborhood Link is to become fully integrated into the community through strategic partnerships with Denver’s local governments, neighborhood groups, community organizations and institutions, including the public schools, public libraries, police departments and community newspapers.
For example, through its public school program, Neighborhood Link enables local neighborhoods that do not have the time or resources to utilize the talents of middle school students who can create and/or maintain the neighborhoods’ Web sites. The school program allows the students to get involved in their communities while learning valuable Internet, writing, editing and organizational skills.
Public libraries in the Denver area will bookmark the Neighborhood Link site on their public Internet access computers in order to enable all residents to view their neighborhood site, even if they do not have a home computer. “This program is here to benefit everyone,” said Webb. “We want to make sure it can be accessed by everyone.”
About Neighborhood Link
Neighborhood Link (www.neighborhoodlink.com) is an Internet-based community network that enables neighborhoods in participating metropolitan areas to create their own free, interactive Web sites. Neighborhood Link, which launched in 1998, becomes fully integrated into communities through partnerships with local governments, neighborhood groups and community organizations, including public schools, libraries, police departments and community newspapers. Denver-based Neighborhood Link serves seven U.S. metropolitan areas - Colorado Springs, Denver, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Phoenix, Portland, San Diego and Tucson - and plans to be in more than 20 markets by July 1999. For more information about obtaining free neighborhood Web sites, call toll-free 1-888-241-0123.
