OSWEGO, NY – Betty Gray is feeling rather blue about Oswego Community Neighborhood Watch program.
The coordinator has vowed to dye her hair blue if she doesn’t raise $200 for the organization by a certain date.
The program is about keeping Oswego safe, she said.
Some personal maters have kept her from conducting a meeting recently. But, she said she hopes to have one sometime in October or early November.
“I decided to hold a little fundraiser to help the cause. If I don’t come up with $200, I’ll dye my hair blue and leave it that way until it grows out,” she told Oswego County Today.
She said people can send contributions to her at 89 E. Cayuga St., lower apartment, Oswego Checks should be made payable to the Oswego Community Neighborhood Watch. She also plans to place some donation jars around the city.
The money she raises will be used for signs to promote the program.
“I thought it would be a great idea to raise money for the signs. We need to remind people the program exists and encourage them to be a part of it,” she said. “I’d like to be able to get some more informational fliers if I could.”
There are approximately 1,500 residents across the city taking part in the program currently, Gray said. The number that actually comes to meetings and is active in the growth of the organization is much less, she admits.
Neighborhood Watch is a program is for the whole city and everyone is invited to attend the meetings, she said.
“One meeting doesn’t do it. You have to come to more than just one meeting because there is more to it,” she said. “It’s neighbors helping neighbors. I don’t understand why more people don’t come to the meetings and take a more active role.”
“Some people just do it (watch out for each other) on their own. And, I love them for that,” she continued.
The next meeting will focus on the city’s Nuisance Abatement ordinance.
“We’ve come a long way. The word is getting out there and more people are realizing that it’s working,” she said.
Since the program started in one man’s neighborhood, “the area has calmed down” his street a great deal, she recalls him saying to her.
For more information about the fundraiser or if anyone has any problems in their area, she urged them to contact her at 342-9388 or email at [email protected]
In case of emergency, she added, call 911.
“Communication means a lot to a neighborhood watch program,” Gray said. “We need to communicate with each other. We have to let everyone know what’s going on. We’ve come a long way – but there’s a way to go still.”
The group’s website is http://www.oswegocommunityneighborhoodwatchprogram.webs.com/
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