Positively Bella Vista offers helping hands
One of the founders of a popular citywide Facebook page has a goal to get people out from behind their computers. Positively Bella Vista is not just about positive attitudes, it’s also about volunteerism and getting to know your neighbors, founder Chris Taylor said recently.
Last weekend, the Positively Bella Vista Volunteer patrol was out helping those neighbors.
“We have a blast,” Taylor said. “It’s fun.”
About every other weekend, Taylor puts the word out on the Facebook page looking for projects.
“We’ll do about anything that needs to be done,” he said, although often the group settles on yard-work projects. Recently he got a call from a woman whose mother is a Bella Vista resident. When the older woman lost her husband, there just wasn’t anyone to do the yard work, so the volunteer patrol stepped in.
They have also been asked to help move furniture.
The Facebook page has more than 2,100 members. The volunteer patrol usually attracts about 12 members on a Saturday morning.
So far, the volunteers have been bringing their own equipment, but that’s becoming more of an issue as the work increases. Taylor is hoping someone will donate some commercial-grade yard equipment or the funds to buy it for the cause.
They can usually do two projects on a Saturday morning and there’s already a waiting list of people who need help, he said.
In return for a morning’s work, the volunteers earn a sense of accomplishment and the satisfaction of giving back.
“When you see the joy on these people’s faces” he said, it becomes very fulfilling.
The group has also held two getting-to-know-you events at Las Fajitas with more than 75 people attending. That’s another way for members to meet face to face, Taylor said.
He received a lot of positive feedback after the events, especially from people who are fairly new to the area.
Although the Facebook group isn’t about advertising, a couple of business people have benefited. The owner of a tree service, Josh Bunting, has volunteered with Taylor and now receives lots of recommendations from the Facebook group. Taylor would like other service providers to follow his lead.
For more information or to donate to the cause, contact Chris Taylor at 479644-6143.