The two most important steps we at Southwick Grange #46 have taken in our efforts to rebuild our Grange are to open the Grange door and to reach out to the community.

To succeed in our efforts, we first needed to assess our capabilities and resources and identify those we could best exploit. Our biggest asset, we decided, was our building. We had been doing interior and exterior cosmetic work and decided it was time to open our building to other organizations in town.

Three scout groups and four 4-H clubs now meet in our building free of charge. We have also connected with the Southwick Family Support Coalition, an independent agency that addresses the needs of families in our community. Over the past two years, our Grange has collected toys and hosted the coalition's Christmas Giving Tree in our hall. This is a two-day affair that offers families in need a chance to select new toys, donated by members of the community, for their children at Christmas. At least 80 to 100 families came into our building for this event.

Our second step was to conduct projects and programs that offered groups and individuals an opportunity to come by and "check us out." We held Halloween and Christmas parties in our hall and invited the organizations that had been regularly using our hall as well as any other families wishing to attend. Over 40 families attended these events, including many non-Grange families. We received many compliments and thanks for these events.

We have also implemented a community involvement project called Care, Share, Wear. This project started with a request to the public for donations of any unused yarn to make mittens, scarves and hats for children and lap robes and shoulderettes for nursing home patients. Three months later, we offered free knitting and crocheting lessons to anyone who would like to come and work with us at the Grange. We had 10 to 12 participants this year, and we already have at least the same number of new people signed up to participate when we start up again in September. This effort has produced over 300 hand-made items that have been distributed in the area, and one of the great advantages of this project is that it is free.

We realized early that we needed to publicize these moves to make them work. Publicity has been the most important ingredient to our success. Information about every event and project has been delivered or mailed to the area newspapers and our local public access channel. This includes updates and thank you notes, all of which were published free-of-charge as news releases or organization information. We have also put up fliers in local businesses announcing each event.

Our expectation is that these events and our Care, Share, Wear project will begin to attract people who will decide to become members as a result of their involvement in our activities. We have accepted that we have to continue to persevere and hope that we will reap the benefits of our labor in the future.

Diana Tardiff