Dear Subscriber First Name,

I’m proud to report that ENA has continued to thrive over the past year. ENA is a membership organization with nearly 1,000 members who elect the all-volunteer board of directors. The ENA Annual Meeting, held last month, is an opportunity for us to report back to you, the members, on ENA’s programs, events, and finances. I encourage you to review our Annual Report at eastwoodneighbor.com/news. About 100 members attended and elected two new individuals to our board of directors. We’re excited about the ideas and skills they bring. We were also treated to a great presentation by Sarah Simiele, owner of The Curd Nerd, about her decision to locate and expand her small business in Eastwood.

What has ENA been up to over the past year?

• Meet & Greet with Santa & Mrs. Claus + free screening of Ice Age: A Mammoth Christmas. ~130 attended and toy donations for Huntington Elementary were collected.

• Earth Day Neighborhood Cleanup, planned with Eastwood TNT and Growing Good Works, drew over 50 volunteers even on a rainy day. Thank you to Luv Handlz for providing frozen yogurt to the volunteers.

• Eastwood Memorial Day Parade. Over 300 people attended the parade. ENA recruited ~20 volunteers to manage traffic.

• Eastwood Pride Flag Raising. On June 1 we hosted Eastwood’s first official Pride Month Flag Raising at Greenway Memorial Park. Councilor Jimmy Monto donated ice cream. 

• 2nd Annual Eastwood Home & Garden Tour presented by Sarah Barrows, Keller Williams Realty highlighted five beautiful Eastwood homes. 170 tickets sold, raising $1,650 for Eastwood beautification projects. Thank you to the generous homeowners who opened their homes and led tours.

• Over 50 vendors showcased their wares at Eastwood Market Day in August.

• 18th Annual Eastwood Five-Mile Run presented by Skinner & Associates Realty. Thank you to Race Director Meghan Vitale and Volunteer Coordinator Vanessa Miller for all their hard work – as well as our sponsors and the ~70 day-of volunteers who make this event possible. The run raises money for our Community Scholarships.

• $3,000 in Community Scholarships. The Aaron Wood Memorial Scholarship was awarded to the Henninger H.S. Cross Country team to support their fall 2024 trip to the Manhattan College Cross Country Invitational. To graduating Eastwood seniors: the Tom White Memorial Scholarship was awarded to Ben Ayers and the Margaret McVicker Memorial Scholarship was awarded to Ryan Millay.

• We partnered with Syracuse Parks & Rec for a second year to offer skateboarding classes to kids ages 8-13 on the Second Saturday of each month from May – September at the East Woods Skate Plaza. The Skate Park Committee is working with Parks & Rec on the expansion of the skate park expected in 2025.

• The Eastwood Community Garden continues to thrive, wrapping up their 9th growing season. They’ve expanded the fruit orchard behind the garden. Garden volunteer Lynne Logan organized a series of six educational workshops called Tuesdays in the Garden. Keep your eyes peeled for more workshops this winter and in the coming year. Designs were finalized for landscaping and accessible paths; Councilor Jimmy Monto secured $25,000 in the City budget for these improvements – watch for installation in the spring.

• Beautification. ENA supported volunteers gardening Eastwood’s many public flower beds, held several volunteer gardening events, and purchased a planter for James Street.

• Health & Wellness. ENA offered two series of aerobic classes.  

• 2025 Dogs of Eastwood calendar. The first of what will hopefully be an annual fundraiser. Over 30 people submitted photos of their dogs in Eastwood locations and over 1,100 people voted on their favorites. The calendars are now for sale for $10 each at The Curd Nerd. They make great stocking stuffers! Thank you to the following sponsors:

  ·        Eastwood TNT

  ·        5th District Common Councilor, Jimmy Monto

  ·        Blessed Sacrament School

  ·        Bishop Grimes Jr/Sr High School

  ·        Wool Skateboards

  ·        Group 1 Design

  ·        Home HeadQuarters, Inc.

  ·        Greater Syracuse Land Bank

  ·        Chadwick’s Bar & Grill

  ·        The Curd Nerd

• Messina Springs Cemetery Cleanup. In September, board member Donna Marra coordinated volunteers to clean up overgrowth and trash at this cemetery. She’s been working to restore damaged headstones, and we hope to lead an educational walking tour here next year.

• At the ENA Annual Meeting, we awarded the 2024 ENA Good Neighbor Award to Mary Dunn-Blazy and the Volunteer of the Year award to Sean Radney. ENA Members elected Jimmy Monto and David Falci the winners of the Curb Appeal contest.

None of this can accomplished without you, our members, our donors, and volunteers. You are what makes this organization and Eastwood great.

In lieu of annual membership dues, we ask ENA members to make an annual donation to defray ENA’s operational expenses that make all of this great programming possible. Please consider making a donation to support ENA. Using the button below you can find options to donate via our website or Venmo or where to mail your donation. 

You can learn more about upcoming events on our website and please sign up for our email list to get monthly updates. Thank you for supporting ENA and our wonderful Eastwood neighborhood. We appreciate all that you do.

Sincerely,

Meet & Greet Santa & Mrs. Claus

Sunday, December 1 from 2:30 – 4:30 PM

Palace Theater; Free and Open to the Public

Take photos with Santa & Mrs. Claus.

Shrek the Halls (30 minutes) will play on loop.

2025 Dogs of Eastwood calendars for sale for $10

Please consider bringing a new unwrapped toy donation for Huntington Elementary families in need.