(By Ryan Pitkin, Creative Loafing Charlotte)

Author Ryan Pitkin writes, "It's this self-motivation that made Reid Park a perfect fit for community engagement group Sustain Charlotte to offer a helping hand in the form of its Sustainable Neighborhoods Program. This grant program, funded by Wells Fargo, brings Sustain Charlotte organizers into lower-income neighborhoods to help residents create long-term sustainability plans for their community. With the help of Sustain Charlotte, Reid Park residents have now created a proactive plan to deal with issues like street safety, littering and park maintenance that includes short- and long-term goals with resources to help reach them.They say it has been a relief to start seeing projects get done, especially as they enlist the community's youth to complete them."