National Night Out Partners with Nextdoor to Help Build Stronger and Safer Neighborhoods Year Round
To Help Facilitate Communication and the Organization of Events, such as National Night Out, Nextdoor Launches Groups
SAN FRANCISCO, June 12, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Each year tens of millions of neighbors participate in National Night Out(TM)(NNO), the annual, nationwide crime prevention event, created by the National Association of Town Watch (NATW). This year NATW is partnering with Nextdoor, the free and private social network for neighborhoods, to help residents plan NNO events and come together to build stronger, safer and happier neighborhoods all-year long.
"Like National Night Out, Nextdoor's mission is to bring back a sense of community to the neighborhood. Neighborhood spirit is a powerful weapon in our fight for a safer nation," said Nirav Tolia, CEO and Co-founder of Nextdoor. "When neighbors connect, good things happen. More specifically, neighbors who get to know each other, look out for each other."
Since its launch less than a year ago, Nextdoor has quickly been adopted by over 2,700 neighborhoods in 48 states. Nextdoor is a private and secure way to quickly connect everyone in the neighborhood, easily report suspicious activity, share recommendations, and organize community events such as National Night Out.
All Nextdoor members must verify their address to help create a safe and trusting environment where members feel comfortable sharing online the kinds of things they would be okay sharing in person.
"Nextdoor is a perfect match for National Night Out organizers and participants. Nextdoor uses the power of technology to connect neighbors, bring a community together and build safer neighborhoods," said Matt Peskin, Executive Director of National Association of Town Watch.
"In preparation for their August 7th event, we encourage community organizers to use Nextdoor to spread the word about NNO events. Nextdoor also makes it possible to easily extend a sense of community all year long with private social networks designed just for the neighborhood," continued Peskin.
To help facilitate organizational activities around NNO, Nextdoor also announced today the launch of its "Groups" feature. Nextdoor Groups enable two or more neighbors to create a dedicated area of their Nextdoor website to easily communicate about common interests, topics or hobbies.
Neighbors can create Nextdoor Groups for any number of reasons such as bringing together residents of a specific block who wish to plan an NNO block party, mommy or new parent groups, HOA members, neighborhood watch or even for dog owners. It is common for several NNO events to take place within a given neighborhood and Nextdoor Groups allows members to create a forum for conversations pertaining to their individual events.
About Nextdoor.com, Inc.
Nextdoor (http://www.nextdoor.com) is a private social network for the neighborhood. Using Nextdoor's free online platform, neighbors create private neighborhood websites where members can ask questions, get to know one another and exchange local advice and recommendations. Nextdoor is specifically designed to provide a trusted environment for neighbor-to-neighbor communication. Neighborhoods across the country are using Nextdoor to build happier, safer places to call home.
Based in San Francisco, California, Nextdoor was founded in 2010 by Internet veterans who have spent their careers creating thriving online communities.
About National Night Out
National Night Out (NNO) is a nationwide crime prevention event created by the National Association of Town Watch (NATW). Since 1984, the event has grown to involve over 37 million people in more than 15,000 communities from all 50 states, U.S. Territories and military bases worldwide. Culminating on the first Tuesday each August, NNO is designed to: (1) Heighten crime prevention awareness; (2) Generate support for, and participation in, local anticrime efforts; (3) Strengthen neighborhood spirit and police-community partnerships; and (4) Send a message to criminals that neighborhoods across the USA are organized and fighting back. NNO creator Matt Peskin says, "The event features block parties, cookouts, parades, visits from local police, displays, festivals and contests -- all designed to get neighbors out, communicating and thus making their communities safer, more caring places." For more information, please visit http://www.nationalnightout.org.