Monroe Township will put an emphasis on the municipal alliance at NNO
National Night Out, an event born in the western Philadelphia suburbs, has morphed into a national phenomenon.
Matt Peskin, the founding father of NNO, got his start volunteering for the Lower Merion Community Watch program, a partner of the Lower Merion Police Department. Peskin started a newsletter to showcase the community’s success. As time went on, he found that stories were becoming hard to come by so he reached out to neighboring communities. From there, he realized there were many organizations just like his.
This led to the National Association of Town Watch being founded in 1981. It would give local groups the resources to stay informed and involved in the community. It was backed by law enforcement and members of the community and had a steady growth for the next three years, according to the NNO website.
NATW introduced National Night Out in August, 1984. The first NNO involved 2.5 million neighbors in 400 communities over 23 states. The humble origin of NNO was just to turn on the front porch light, talk to your neighbors and local law enforcement and maybe have a barbecue and throw a ball around. Since then, it has morphed into festivals, parades, cookouts, etc. According to the website, 38 million neighbors in 16,000 communities nationwide will take part in National Night Out.
This year, National Night Out will take place on Aug. 7, Monroe Township will hold a community event at Owens Park starting at 6 p.m., according to its Facebook page.
“It’s a great opportunity to get to know the police department and public employees,” Councilman Cody Miller said.
There will be bounce houses for the kids, free water ice, hot dogs and a photo booth for families to enjoy. The environment will be relaxed in an effort to bring the community together.
What sets Monroe Township’s celebration apart from the norm is its inclusion of the municipal alliance.
“This is our night to inform the community about the work the municipal alliance does,” Miller said. “There will be information about recovery resources and what the municipal alliance does for the township.”
Donna Gaudio, the municipal alliance chairperson, added a few more details about the night out.
“This year will be the third annual tug-of-war between the police department and fire department,” she said, adding the police have won the last two contests.
If you want to nominate someone for neighbor of the year or neighborhood of the year you can do that. According to the Monroe Township National Night Out Facebook page, one can submit nominations by Aug. 1. The winner will be announced the night of the event.
For more information about Monroe Township’s National Night Out festivities, visit its Facebook page.
