Dec. 6 holiday fete hopes to draw families with young kids
By J. Patrick O’Leary
The presence of Santa Claus at Capitol Hill United Neighborhood’s holiday party marks more than the yuletide celebrity’s return – it’s also an effort to draw more families with young children into the RNO.
The Dec. 6 event, held 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the Tears-McFarlane House at 1290 Williams, will look, walk and talk like previous parties, but invited this year are the 400-plus members of the Capitol Hill United Neighborhoods Parents Group.
“This is the first year we’re marketing it to the parents group,” said Rachel Griffin, chair and creator the group, one of CHUN’s four committees – Tree, Historic Preservation, and Zoning and Transportation being the others.
The party is open to the public, with free wine – provided by Joy Wine & Spirits – and food, according to CHUN Executive Director Roger Armstrong.
“It’s an opportunity to thank our members and gather neighbors for some holiday cheer,” he said. “We’ve had Santa in the past, but not regularly.”
Griffin started the group four years ago as a way for parents in the community to meet, voice concerns and share information – the Capitol Hill area had no parent group, unlike Highlands and Stapleton, she recalled.
“We’re losing people, I thought. We need this.” She approached CHUN with the idea. “The board said, ‘Knock yourself out’!”
Although a committee under CHUN’s umbrella, it is a closed group on Facebook, now boasting nearly 420 members. The page provides not only a forum to exchange personal experience and opinions on local schools, daycare and restaurants, but to inform families of local issues affecting them – and bringing their concerns to the city through CHUN.
“I was on the new Carla Madison rec center stakeholder group,” Griffin said. “I could tell by the way the conversation was going that the city didn't feel there were that many kids in the Capitol Hill area and so the bulk of the funds were going to go to senior and adult programs and amenities.
“I showed them that we have this huge underground parents group and that the only reason people think there are no kids in Capitol Hill is because we have no where to be and we’re not seen.”
She believes her advocacy resulted in more kids amenities, such as the leisure pool, at the rec center.
Traffic study information regarding speeding, hit-and-runs, fatalities and auto accidents on 13th and 14th avenues were posted on the page, and discussion ensued. Griffin took that to CHUN’s board, which then passed a resolution demanding the city look into it.
While maybe 95 percent of the Facebook group’s members are not dues-paying members of CHUN (a household annual membership is $35), Griffin hopes that will change by introducing them to CHUN activities like the holiday party.
“It’s a way to show them what value CHUN brings to the table,” she explained. “People are coming back and choosing to stay and raise kids, and we’re trying to support that and retain them.”
Visit chundenver.org for more information.
