Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Front Porch Activities

[Main Email (zabaldo]

Hello all! I love this topic!

At Takoma Village we have often been a meeting place for community activities, 
such as the bike trail, a meeting gathering place when there were significant 
crimes, including three stabbings in the neighborhood. 

We’ve had house concerts open to the public. 

Our common house was a meeting place when a group of TVC community members, 
neighborhood folks, neighbors from an adjoining neighborhood, staff from local 
historic preservation organizations plus municipal staff were trying to save an 
historic building namely the Old Takoma Theatre right next to TVC. And it was a 
meeting place for the developers to present their plans to us.   That mammoth 
undertaking was headed by our very own TVCer Sharon Villines. 

Our space was one of the meeting places when Eastern Village Cohousing in 
Silver Spring was being organized. We were happy to lend the space, knowing how 
important it is for a group to have a home base when they’re creating a 
permanent home. 

Individual TVC members have used it for various events in their workplace. 
We’ve had prominent speakers and organizations in the peace movement hold there 
meetings here and make open presentations to the public here. 

And of course, we hold regional meetings for Mid Atlantic Cohousing in our TVC 
common house as we are centrally located. Sometimes we use Eastern Village.

These are just a few of the activities. 

What a blessing we have a large but cozy meeting space for ALL these meeting 
types plus access to the kitchen to provide cozy nibbles and drinks.  

I am most in favor of our members using it for activities because of the work 
they have to do andour common house is mostly empty during the workday except 
for one or two people, and of course the delivery folks, including the USPS 
letter carrier. But use of our common housereally is about it on an ongoing 
basis.

Looking forward to hearing what others have to share.

Ann Zabaldo
Takoma Village
Washington DC
Sent from my iPhone
All tiipos ... curtesy of Siri  :-)

> On Jan 26, 2025, at 9:16 AM, Joel Bartlett <altairecovillage [at] gmail.com> 
> wrote:
> Dear Friends,
> 
> Some of the research shows that Cohousing groups are active in the larger
> community out of proportion to that of  other types of developments.  We're
> working with the Study Group 1 material and Front Porch conversations, and
> would like to know...
> 
> -what activities does your Cohousing neighborhood do with the neighbors?
> -which NGO's or Voluntary Associations (to use the sociological term) are
> your Members engaged with?
> -are there specifically non-profits your community or Members actively
> support?
> -any Common House activities you invite the surrounding community to?
> -other aspects of your community - trails, community gardens, bicycle
> repair, etc. that you invite the public to?
> 
> This is also a very relevant conversation with respect to the 501c4
> Association tax-exempt status, because in Part III of the application, it
> is essential to say that the community is not gated, but open (in many
> respects) to the public.  Plain and simple, the tax exemption cannot simply
> benefit just the Members of the Cohousing group.
> 
> Thank you for your contribution to what we hope will be a lively discussion!
> 
> Yours,
> Joel Bartlett, R/A
> Project Manager for the Members
> www.altairecovillage.org
> 610-220-6172
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