By Derrick Muska, BHCA President
Hey neighbor, long-time no see! I have to be honest with you, though, it feels really good to be on your doorstep again after all these months.
Since the Safer-at-Home order, the BHCA has pivoted from our traditional events and monthly in-person meetings. However, we continued to contribute to our community in several other ways. Our Board felt it was imperative to donate some of our reserves to organizations that help Belmont Heights and our City during these unprecedented times. Your support of the BHCA has been parlayed into donations to Meals on Wheels, Long Beach Community Table, and Interval House.
At the start of COVID-19, we launched a new website to keep the neighborhood engaged to the best of our ability. In fact, we delivered the Spring edition of our nationally recognized newsletter to Belmont Heights residents via social media and received over 3,000 visitors to the website in one month. Take a gander at MyBelmontHeights.org.
In June, the BHCA gave a “Gift-Card-a-Day” to one of our active members to help support and highlight small businesses in our neighborhood. In this edition of the newsletter, you’ll read about three small business owners who participated in our “Gift Card a Day” promotion. And you can see the entire list, along with short feature articles, at MyBelmontHeights.org.
Belmont Heights has pretty much everything you need steps away from your front door. Our small businesses are an essential part of our community, and they are a fantastic resource for all of us. They provide us an amazingly wide variety of products and services. On that note, I would love all of us to think locally when it comes to purchasing goods and services as the Safer-at-Home order is slowly lifted. Many of these small business owners are our neighbors, and by shopping locally, you help your neighborhood thrive.
Your personal and business memberships are vital to the BHCA and we look forward to bringing back our in-person events and meetings that we all love and miss. If you live or work in Belmont Heights, please consider becoming a member at MyBelmontHeights.org.
The BHCA is an apolitical organization. Our attention has been and will continue to be, on improving our community through neighborhood activities and events, monthly meetings, connecting neighbors with city resources, and supporting our local businesses. However, the BHCA is also fully aware of the social justice movement sparked by the murder of George Floyd.
Racism and discrimination in all its forms have no place in our community. The BHCA stands in solidarity with all peaceful demonstrations that have occurred. The BHCA believes that racial equality is an essential component and a right. To this end, the BHCA supports equality for persons of all colors, race, faith, and sexual orientations.