Community building Team Nextdoor

Giving Back: Nextdoor in the Neighborhood Day 2022

Nextdoor’s purpose is to cultivate a kinder world where everyone has a neighborhood they can rely on. As a company, it’s important that we show up in real life in our neighborhoods to live that mission. Recognizing the importance of our purpose, I recently joined the team as the Head of Social Impact and the Executive Director of the Nextdoor Kind Foundation.

As one of our first programs, we brought together over 380 employees across 11 offices to get together in-person and remotely for Nextdoor in the Neighborhood Day, a full-day program where we gather to volunteer as a team to serve our local communities. We will hold this event twice a year to give back as a team and demonstrate our commitment to community connection to cultivate a kinder world.  Our hope is that these days light a spark of increased volunteerism across our neighborhoods.

“There is no better way to ladder up to our purpose of cultivating a kinder world,” said CEO Sarah Friar. “It’s incredibly important that we walk in the shoes of these communities that we want to serve and build for.”

This year, we partnered with over 18 non-profit organizations on social issues including homelessness, food access, and mental health. “This year, we are excited to bring in so many nonprofits that represent the needs of local communities,” remarked Joseph Song of the Social Impact team. “We differentiate ourselves as a platform focused on hyperlocality – the causes we support should reflect the same.” 

Read on for a highlight of events from Nextdoor in the Neighborhood Day 2022.

San Francisco

Our day kicked off in San Francisco with opening remarks by Sarah and John Hope Bryant, Nextdoor Board member and Founder and CEO of Operation HOPE. We highlighted the voices of three community leaders of the Bay Area – Del Seymour of Code Tenderloin, Elizabeth Funk of DignityMoves, and Leigh Hanson of GLIDE – to speak to the issues our city faces today.

We then volunteered in-person for 7 local nonprofit organizations – Alemany Farm, DignityMoves, Downtown Streets, GLIDE, SF-Marin Food Bank, St. Anthony’s, and YMCA Urban Services

“Our team spent the day at DignityMoves, a first-of-its-kind tiny cabin village on city property designated for folks experiencing and moving through homelessness in San Francisco,” said Nathan Falstreau, Content Writer for the Product team. “The impact of our work is immediately tangible. We are giving people a safe space to sleep and store their belongings, and they can bring their partners and pets, too. I’m proud to work alongside my colleagues who do this kind of work everyday, even when no one else is looking.”

New York 

In New York, we partnered with Friends of Firefighters – a foundation that has been providing mental health and wellness services to the FDNY community since 2001. “The foundation is based out of a historical firehouse in Red Hook, Brooklyn,” said Chrissy Neafsey, People Business Partner. “We had 32 team members give the firehouse a deep clean which included scrubbing kitchens, bathrooms, floors and staircases. It was an incredible day. I’m grateful that Nextdoor creates the time and space to invest in the community.” 

Seattle

In Seattle, our neighbors got together to help out with the operations of the Rainier Valley Food Bank. “Helping the Rainier Valley Food Bank provide meals for our community was such a fun and rewarding way to get out and support my local neighborhood with Nextdoor,” said Shane Butler, Data Scientist. “Will definitely be back to volunteer with the food bank in the future!”

London

In London, our neighbors spent the day with GrowN22 at a local nature reserve in Haringey. Once an old dumping ground, the site has now been turned around with community workshops. Our volunteer activity focused on cleaning up and beautifying the space, making it even more hospitable and welcoming for our neighboring communities. 

“Thanks to the hard work by the team, the site can now start taking community workshops again which not only provide neighbours with the opportunity to connect with nature but also learn new skills and build connections within their neighbourhood,” said Roisin O’Neill, Community Manager.

Remote

Finally, for those who joined us remotely, we kicked off the morning by providing support in closing information gaps during emergencies for CEDR Digital Corps, working on their software and creating materials to improve their access. Afterwards, we served as speed mentors to over 90 young Tenderloin Neighbors with Code Tenderloin, a workforce development non profit that aims to secure long term employment for underserved communities in San Francisco

We are proud to be a part of a team that Invests in Community and partners with amazing nonprofit organizations who made this day possible. We look forward to spending more time in the upcoming year to give back to the communities we serve. 


To connect with your local neighborhood, download the app or login at nextdoor.com.

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