The Definition of Community
Greetings!
I’ve spent a fair amount of time talking about the fact that Bird Rock is not just a place, but also a community. That said, action speaks louder than words, and therefore I’d like to share some recent
experiences which evidence why Bird Rock is such a unique place to live and work.
Last year, Lorene LaCava, a teacher at BRE, decided that the Bird Rock Community Cookbook would be a wonderful way to bring the community together by re-creating a homegrown project that first surfaced in 1993. Her idea, supported by other dedicated volunteers, started inside of the school and then branched out to the community. The response was unprecedented: folks from Bird Rock submitted nearly 500 recipes. But the synergy did not stop there. People who had no vested interest in BRE began buying the cookbook in droves—so much so that Warwicks in downtown La Jolla stocked it on their shelves! The sales grew to such an extent that the project resulted in a donation of more $5,000 to the school.
This simple idea began inside of BRE, yet managed to make its way throughout all of Bird Rock and greater La Jolla, and eventually landed back at the school in form of a substantial benefit to our children. My point is that the power of one became the force of many, and that is how a community works to bring about the greater good.
The Grand Opening of Bird Rock Surf on March 12 at their new location has similar roots. The community
again turned out in droves to support these young entrepreneurs and celebrate the success of their unbelievable feat. It felt like a family picnic—I saw children, parents, teenagers, grandparents and generations of families, all of who spontaneously donned Bird Rock Surf T-shirts and other gear as if we had called each other in advance to plan the dress code. It was an incredible sight, and once again I was proud of the depth of this community.
I am also grateful for the efforts of Leo Wilson who brought the Safe Streets program to our neighborhood
to address the very serious and real problems caused by the now infamous “Rancho Relaxo”. At his direction, our neighborhood watch coordinator poured her heart and soul into organizing the successful action of the affected neighbors. She gave us the confidence to proceed, and gained the cooperation of local law enforcement, the assistance of Councilmember Sherri Lightner’s office, and the authority of multiple city and county agencies to support the process. The result was remarkable, and her brave determination managed to win a peace we thought we could never achieve. When the going got tough, she did not “Relaxo”.
Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.
The community’s support and participation in two prior trash cleanups sponsored by the Environmental Services Department also continues to bear fruit. On April 17, the city will again canvas a portion of our neighborhood picking up unwanted trash and recyclables free of charge. Your positive responsive to this successful project has resulted in the collection of more than 10 tons of trash, and brought about a third phase of this free program. Please be sure to thank Gary Warren at the city as we sincerely appreciate his support. These are just a few examples of how individuals in our neighborhood have empowered others to bring about positive changes that benefit all of us.
In short, keep doing what you do Bird Rock—when you give, you will be surprised what you get back.
