Community Engagement in a Pandemic

Community engagement with the residents of Avondale is one of the most important missions of the Avondale Development Corporation. In addition to keeping residents apprised of – and giving them a voice in – important neighborhood issues, ADC also works with area developers and institutions to help build relationships with residents.

ADC deploys traditional tools for resident engagement, including digital outreach (website and social channels) and direct mail. But because Avondale residents put a premium on personal engagement, the ADC engagement team focuses more on door-to-door efforts, in-person resident meetings and presentations and coordination with other neighborhood resources like the Avondale Community Council.

But personal engagement is extremely challenging in a pandemic that severely limits it. ADC has adapted accordingly. 

First and foremost, ADC strictly adhered to COVID-19 restrictions. ADC offices were closed early in the pandemic, and the staff continues to work both remotely and at the office on a rotating basis. 

ADC also ramped up its traditional engagement efforts. In 2020 alone, we began a refresh of our website and published 26 Inside Avondale e-newsletters and 11 blog entries. A more aggressive social presence helped grow our Facebook likes to 3,102 and increased Twitter followers by more than 10%. 

Like nearly every business, ADC pivoted to virtual meetings. This format allowed us to continue engaging residents while also keeping them safe. We hosted six Financial Literacy workshops that provided 35 Avondale residents with training on everything from basic banking concepts to budgeting and savings strategies. Virtual meetings for the Avondale Economic Mobility Fund – which was reoriented to provide grants of up to $1,000 for residents who lost jobs or were furloughed as a result of the pandemic – were held for 80 participants. ADC also hosted virtual meetings in support of the Avondale CHOICE Neighborhood (community engagement for The Community Builders) and PIVOT (designed to find lasting solutions to issues underlying crime).

As COVID-19 slowly begins to recede along with the restrictions it requires, ADC is eyeing a return to more in-person resident engagement. Until then, we will leverage the progress we made and lessons we learned in the 2020 pandemic year to provide aggressive, effective community engagement for the residents of Avondale and the organizations and businesses we serve.