Over 20 years ago, El Paso citizens began collaborating with the El Paso City Government to bring neighborhood concerns to City Council. Their mantra was, “Neighborhoods Matter.”

Today there are over 85 Neighborhood Associations throughout the City of El Paso, and they are all volunteers. The Neighborhood Associations elect a representative from each of the five planning areas of El Paso (East, Northeast, Central, Northwest, and Mission Valley) to serve two-year terms on the El Paso Neighborhood Coalition Board. We have developed a strategic plan with defined objectives for each term. Our function is to be the catalyst to develop engaged, committed citizens and steer positive quality-of-life initiatives to fruition for El Paso.

Our mission has grown into forming partnerships not only with the City of El Paso departments but also partnerships with the school districts and many community organizations. These partnerships allow our members to collaborate on future projects and network with experts to empower us to make the best decisions for our neighborhoods.

Our newest initiative is to develop a Neighborhood Youth Membership Plan. We realize that our future lies in the hands of our youth, and we have already begun collaborating with school counselors and the Civic Empowerment Center to bring high school and middle school students aboard. In addition, we have been invited to attend student group meetings, and we will present our mission and the importance of pride and caring for neighborhoods and neighbors.

We provide informational booths at community fairs to recruit new members and get new ideas from our City to improve our quality of life.

Healthy citizens are another component of healthy neighborhoods. Therefore, we have invited presenters from various community organizations to provide information on the importance of diet and exercise, recognizing symptoms of degenerative diseases, and who to contact for information and support.

Over the last year, we partnered with Guillen Middle School’s counselors and identified 40 underprivileged students for holiday gifts. In addition, we participated in a back-to-school initiative and accepted donations for backpacks for over 300 students. We realized that while our contributions were sincerely appreciated, we will endeavor to provide support to many more.

We look forward to a future of significant accomplishments. Your interest in supporting the El Paso Neighborhood Coalition will bring us closer to accomplishing our goals.

A Picture is worth more than 1000 words. Please check EPNC activities videos at (https://youtube.com/watch?v=GFPtz_m2a5U&feature=share) (https://youtube.com/watch?v=GFpzILxQBKA&feature=share)