When Jeffrey first moved to the Godfrey Lee neighborhood, he knew he wanted to get involved. He soon found Godfrey Lee Listeners and became a part of their leadership. When the nonprofit began searching for a new part-time Neighborhood Connector, one board member encouraged Jeffrey to apply. He politely declined. But after some time, Jeffrey decided to give it a try. 

Godfrey Lee is a neighborhood in Wyoming, Michigan. Residents come from all different life stages with some having lived in the neighborhood for over 30 years and others recently immigrating from Guatemala, the Dominican Republic, and Mexico. As with many neighborhoods, Godfrey Lee is exploring how to bring neighbors together across different cultures and languages. For Jeffrey, he’s seen this both on his block and around the neighborhood.

On his own street, he recently hosted a National Good Neighbor Day celebration! Neighbors came over for hot dogs, snacks, and games in the backyard. This celebration brought the neighbors together, many for the first time! Conversations and laughter was shared as the kids chimed in to help with translating for the adults. Connections were formed and a desire to make this a regular gathering grew. 

Across the neighborhood, Jeffrey understands this is a slow process and is currently making first contacts with neighbors. He has spent time door-knocking in different areas, and has also spent time at the local dollar store and a local restaurant meeting new neighbors. When chatting with them he asks what they love about the neighborhood, what they would like to see change, and if they would get involved if someone else cared about the same change. So far, he’s learned that people love the diversity in the neighborhood and the children playing in the streets.

Recently, the neighborhood came together to clean up trash and pull weeds on the Chicago Drive Corridor. Two local businesses sponsored the event and made sure people had tacos, chips, and beverages after the clean-up was finished. This engagement with businesses was helpful as the Godfrey Lee Listeners begin to dream about bringing more businesses to the neighborhood.    

Another passion of Jeffrey’s, outside of meeting his neighbors, is his love for model trains. Jeffrey has a large collection that spans from newer models to the one his dad got as a child in the 1940s. Jeffrey is using his passion to continue bringing neighbors as they plan an upcoming Christmas Train Open House. Jeffrey will get the collection ready in time for Christmas and have the neighbors on his block over for kids to play with and for adults to remember the nostalgia of seeing a model train go around our parent’s Christmas trees when we were younger. Three of the families who came to the last block party, have already said yes to being there!