National Night Out brought Naperville residents from at least 45 neighborhoods out into their community.
One such party was thrown by The Compass Church, hosting for the first time across the street from their future south Naperville campus.
“I had heard of National Night Out over the years. I never really participated but I knew it was something for neighborhoods to do, kind of a neighborhood block party,” said The Compass Church Pastor Jon Kalvig. “But the idea struck, ‘why not take advantage of the opportunity where the community would want to come out together?’ Kind of a final fling over the summer to get people together.”
Plenty of Activities
And they certainly pulled out all the stops: bounce houses, food trucks, yard games, balloon animals, and even live music kept the crowd busy all night.
“This has been going on for about six or seven years in Naperville and every year it’s gotten better and better. It’s great to see the community embracing it,” said Naperville Mayor Steve Chirico.
Fostering Police-Community Relationships
National Night Out is also called “America’s Night Out Against Crime” and is a nationwide effort to improve police-community relations.
Naperville police officers and other emergency responders made appearances at events across the city to encourage that partnership and give safety tips.
“It gives the opportunity for neighbors to get to know each other, so they can develop a relationship, strengthen those relationships and know who’s in your neighborhood. So they can help our police department be the eyes and ears of the police department,” said Naperville Police Chief Bob Marshall.
For a Good Cause
Residents who attended a National Night Out event were encouraged to make a donation to Family Shelter Service.
Bringing together communities, one party at a time.
Naperville News 17’s Casey Krajewski reports.
