Just before five o’clock on Tuesday evening, numerous organizations such as the Opelika Police Department and the NAACP of Lee County began setting up booths for community members to visit during Opelika’s annual National Night Out event.
These booths, along with other activities such as bounce houses, games and emergency service vehicles were located in courthouse square in the center of downtown Opelika. Manning the booths were locals who were in attendance to promote their cause and give back to their community.
Tipi Miller was one such volunteer, representing United Way of Lee County, an organization that aims to supply resources to satisfy the basic human needs of the citizens of Lee County.
“I love the satisfaction of knowing that we help families,” Miller said.
She spoke passionately about the services that United Way provides to the Lee County area, recalling multiple stories of their work within the community.
“Last week we helped pay for a hotel for a single mom with four kids because she had just started a new job and just needed a little help for a short amount of time,” Miller said.
She expressed her enthusiasm for her organization by proudly recalling the work that United Way has done for the greater Lee County area.
“The week before Christmas, we had temperatures down in the teens and we were able to help several individuals who just didn’t have adequate housing throughout the whole county, so that was really cool," Miller said.
Miller was one of many locals who have been attending National Night Out for years. President of the City of Opelika Citizens Police Academy, Sherry Cook, is another Opelika native who has observed the evolution of National Night Out with pleasure. She began to attend the event as a community member when she was growing up and celebrates the success as a volunteer.
“It’s quadrupled,” Cook said, emphasizing that the growth began to occur exponentially after more organizations directly associated with the city, like the police force, began participating.
Cook was especially excited that the event seemed to be flourishing, as she explained that she believed it was helping bridge the gap between the authority figures of Opelika and the community members, noting that “It’s made the community closer.”
Cook was in attendance to promote Chief Healey’s Western Roundup, an event which will raise money for the Opelika Police Department’s Homeless Assistance Program.
The growth has occurred not only in the amount of booths present, but the types of people reached. Numerous organizations handed out pamphlets and brochures with more information about volunteering or supporting their cause in both English and Spanish, making giving back to the community even more accessible.
National Night Out was an event to attend with family, friends and pets. It was easy to see that those in attendance cared deeply for their community. With free food, drinks, candy and endless education about the services that were available to Lee County locals, nobody went home empty-handed.
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