I have the best neighbors a homeowner could ask for.  We borrow eggs, we carpool, we watch over each other's homes while on vacations, most of us even have a key to another neighbor's home.  I truly live in a fantastic neighborhood and the single most important reason I haven't moved is because of the wonderful people who live around me.

Yesterday, my closest neighbor family faced an emergency with one of their children.  Their sweet little 10-week old baby boy was taken to the hospital after it was discovered he wasn't breathing.  Dad had to stay home with the two oldest children while mom and the baby rushed to the hospital for ugent care. The doctors and nurses say the baby will be fine, but might require a hospital stay anywhere from a few days to a couple of weeks. Beth, my neighbor, knows that her baby will get well soon but as she focuses on helping him get better, her other two children and husband are going to be missing mom and all she does for the family for a little while.

That's when the idea of Neighborhood Care Teams hit me. 

We all know of the neighbor who is in need from time to time.  Some neighbors care for elderly family members, some bring babies into the world, some have a medical procedure that sends them home to recuperate. 

We all want to help somehow, right?

We can.  Here's how:

In my neighborhood, there are 214 residences.  Of the 214, I am going on a mission to find at least 6 neighbors that are willing to prepare homecooked and ready to go meals that just need to be heated and served, 3 that are willing to care for pets, water the lawn, check the mail or bring in the paper and 5 more that are willing to call the neighbor in need before they make their own trip to the post office, pharmacy, dry cleaner or grocery store. That's 15 of us, including me and I plan on coordinating the effort along with some cooking when the needs arise.

Sounds easy enough.   

I'm challenging my fellow Active Rain friends to take 20 minutes of each day for as long as it takes to assemble their own Neighborhood Care Team.  I think every neighborhood has someone that is excellent at "spreading the word" so be sure to contact that person first.  If you think of any other helpful ideas or ways to go about assembling a Neighborhood Care Team, please share them!

What a great way to get to know your neighbors!  Will you rise to the challenge?

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I am Amanda Hall, a Realtor and Owner of Hall Team Homes and I am proud to serve my local community with their real estate needs and beyond.

Hall Team Homes offers full service real estate brokerage in the Greater Fort Worth area including Arlington, Grapevine, Southlake, Colleyville, Keller, Hurst, Euless and Bedford.

www.hallteamhomes.com