This weekend my husband and I stopped by our neighbor’s house for a garage sale that we learned about on our neighborhood Nextdoor website. We knew the couple having the sale had a baby a little older than ours and, like any other self-respecting parents, we were looking to score some bargains.
At the sale we ran into several other neighborhood families with babies around the same age as our son. It was great to see everyone and share the latest recommendations about baby bargain hunting, kiddie music classes and nanny shares.
It was an excellent reminder of why I love working for Nextdoor; it really is a great tool for families. I was reminded yet again today when a writer for Parenting.com wrote that “Nextdoor may be the next big thing” for parents trying to find a trusted babysitter or nanny shares.
Not only is Nextdoor an excellent resource for finding the best contractors and posting about garage sales, it goes beyond that. It truly fosters community and connects neighbors. I have seen it in my own life and heard about it from many of our members.
One of our members in the community of Woodside, CA found Nextdoor to be a potentially life-saving tool as she was able to urgently alert parents that her son had come down with a highly contagious, potentially deadly case of meningitis. Parents whose children had been in contact with her son were required by county officials to take a potent antibiotic to avert a potential health crisis.
It was truly heartwarming to see how Nextdoor members came together to support a neighbor in need. Parents across her neighborhood sent prayers, care packages and offers of help. After a lengthy hospital stay, her son made a full recovery and no other teenagers became ill.
A Few Ways Parents Are Using Nextdoor
- Find or form mommy groups
- Get answers to questions about local schools and teachers
- Help raise money for local school fundraisers
- Find or sell children’s clothes and toys
- Organize a school carpool
- Swap information about trick-or-treating or holiday light display recommendations
- Post safety information and engage the neighborhood watch
Many parents write us from time to time about how Nextdoor has been beneficial to their neighborhood. We would love to hear your story – so drop us a line at stories@nextdoor.com about how you use Nextdoor as a parent. If we use your story on our blog or our press outreach, we will send you a Nextdoor T-shirt.