To the editor:
Citizens of Spring Valley and those concerned with our future,
After what seemed like a never-ending election cycle of rhetoric and negative ad campaigns the results are in: Spring Valley still needs your help! During the process, I saw so many passionate people who genuinely believed their ideas and candidates were best for our country, all which helped inspire me. I felt that the passion of these residents would surely carry into wanting to help their own community, which is what the Spring Valley Citizens Association is all about.
Our purpose is to “improve the quality of life and community image of Spring Valley, CA. Our mission is to establish a sense of neighborhood, build community relationships, and disseminate information.”
Knocking on doors, handing out fliers, e-mailing, Facebook, websites, and media ads are some of the ways we have tried to reach out and gain more interested members willing to commit themselves to helping Spring Valley however they can.
However, the most common responses are “not interested” no matter how it’s stated. So now we have a decision to make as the SVCA. With our longstanding members aging and tiring; membership is down, morale is lessened, and the possibility of disbanding is upon us.
As President, I do not want to disband and am convinced that the people of Spring Valley will once again rally for their community. I believe that the services we provide are too valuable to call it quits.
While there are other organizations fighting for Spring Valley and doing a great job, they can’t do everything. What other local organizations are regularly hosting community forums with Congresswoman Susan Davis, Supervisor Jacob, and other community leaders to talk about our local issues?
We are simply here to serve you and your interests as residents of this community.
Over the last two years, we have hosted the San Miguel Fire District, talking about disaster preparedness and transition to CalFire, the Sherriff’s Department talking about local crime and how to stop human trafficking, Otay Water talking about water shortages and the future of our water supply, animal control training and how to handle dangerous situations with wild life and domesticated animals.
We have organized regular community clean ups, mobilized our citizens to battle the eye sores such as trash, dumping, and graffiti in our streets. Our most popular event is hosting the Sweetwater Reservoir tour for the community, which is always a bright spot for the year.
For over a decade the SVCA has been uniting citizens for a better Spring Valley. We have helped numerous people unite, cleaned literally tons upon tons of trash off our streets, painted out countless graffiti tags, pushed local law enforcement for better patrols, helped our business community when the county was attacking them, pushed for more and better parks in the area, and made many friends and lots of progress along the way.
Spring Valley continues to get better and now is not the time to disband a great group that is fighting for a better community. If you can spare the time and energy, please help us fight for Spring Valley. Help is needed for our “Adopt-A-Street” program, managing our website and Facebook page, and helping to spread our message.
On Dec. 20, we will be hosting our annual holiday party and also deciding where we go from here. There will be two options on the table for us: either disband and hope that other groups will carry on the work we were doing; or we will carry on with meetings on a quarterly basis as opposed to monthly and continue making a difference.
If you are passionate about Spring Valley, please show your support one way or another. We are looking for volunteers of all ages and backgrounds. Students who volunteer are able to gain community service hours and are great candidates for our technology support team.
Please pass on this letter or forward this link to your neighbors, friends, and colleagues. That alone will be a big contribution to Spring Valley as we realize not everyone can help, but everyone knows someone who can help and we need them now more than ever.
If interested in joining us in continuing the SVCA's ongoing mission for a better Spring Valley, please do not hesitate to contact me through the website, my personal phone number (619-665-5867), or my e-mail steven_relyea@yahoo.com.
Thanks in advance for contributing to the cause.
Sincerely,
Steven Relyea
President, SVCA
