Organizer recruiting more volunteers for Block Parents in Wellington North

WELLINGTON NORTH - Around a year after council here endorsed the creation of a local Block Parent program, chair Barb Leigh is hoping to see more bold red and white signs hanging in neighbourhood windows.

Committee member Joe Wettlaufer said it’s one of the easiest volunteer opportunities around.

“You do it from your home,” Leigh added. Volunteers place the tell-tale Block Parent sign in a street-facing window when available, indicating a background-checked adult, or a “safe stranger,” is home to provide help if needed.

“A block parent is someone that is home and willing to help a child or other person should the need arise,” Leigh previously told the Community News.

The volunteer-run charity began in London, Ontario in 1968, with the recognizable signs proliferating across Ontario neighbourhoods. Participation has largely waned since, with the exception of some outlier success stories.

Others, such as Leigh, are working to revive the program in their communities.

Mount Forest was once home to block parents, said Leigh, until the program became extinct by a lack of volunteers.

Since launching last year, eight volunteers across the township have signed up, but Leigh wants to see signs on every street in town.

“I’d like to get at least three on every block – that’s my goal,” she said. “So that everywhere we go somebody has somewhere safe to go.”

Wettlaufer said Block Parent volunteers help build “engaged and connected neighbourhoods.”

As COVID restrictions ease and events return, the group aims to become more involved in the community.

A Block Parent committee is currently planning for a yet-to-be announced anniversary celebration.

Businesses can also sign up to be “block parents” and three locations in both communities are offering volunteer applications: Kids Corner, Imagination Space, and The Eco Den.

Interested in volunteering? Leigh can be reached through Facebook or by email at nwbp@wightman.ca.