There is a popular notion in Edmonton and beyond that if you want to have a sense of community in your neighbourhood, you should move to a street lined with single-family homes. However, if you live here in Boyle Street, a ground-floor front door is probably not your reality. According to the latest city census data, 94 percent of Boyle Street residents live in an apartment building or condo complex.

As a community league, our job is to help neighbours connect socially and mobilize civically. Unlike leagues in lower-density neighbourhoods, we can’t knock on your door because we don’t know your buzzer number. If we want to throw a block party on the street in front of your house, we can’t do that if your street is Jasper Avenue.

To create community in Boyle Street, we have to rethink how we, as your neighbourhood association, connect with you as our fellow residents. One of the most important ways we have done that is through Boyle McCauley News. When it became clear that the News could no longer afford Canada Post delivery to our neighbourhood, we immediately teamed up with the paper to find a solution. But that solution depends on you and your willingness to help.

To transform this challenge into an opportunity, the BSCL is recruiting Apartment Ambassadors and Condo Connectors. The titles are different, but the responsibilities are the same:

1. Buzz in the Boyle McCauley News when a member of its crew comes to drop off a stack of newspapers. (This is after we get permission from your management to put a newsstand in your lobby.)
2. Hang up a poster, or two, or a few, if it comes in with the newspaper and your building has a community bulletin board.
3. Receive occasional emails from the BSCL board about important community updates and spread the word however you see fit.

The minimum time commitment ranges between five seconds and five minutes a month to simply buzz in the News rep and hang a poster if it comes with the paper. This, on its own, makes a major impact and we will be grateful for your help. The rest is up to you. You can invest as much time and creativity as you’d like in finding the best way to be an ambassador to your apartment or condo community.

Together, we can create a vibrant, connected community. All we need, quite literally, is to get our foot in the door. If you can help, or if you simply want more information, contact info@boylestreetcl.com.

Joelle Reiniger is vice president of the Boyle Street Community League.