Community Spotlight: Essential Workers Show Us How to Be Good Neighbors at 2000 West Creek Apartments

As we have continued to reach out to our Richmond community and learn what various groups and organizations are doing to help their family, friends, and neighbors during the COVID-19 crisis, we have been amazed at the creativity and generosity of so many people. Today, we want to highlight a special group of essential workers at 2000 West Creek Apartments.

Essential workers are the ones who head out every day to help keep our hospitals, doctors’ offices, grocery stores, food distribution services, and other offices open and running. They are the ones who have allowed us to maintain some semblance of normalcy and security during these uncertain times – despite putting themselves at risk. Whether it’s the payroll manager who goes in to the office to make sure checks get out on time or the grocery store employee who keeps the shelves stocked, we are beyond grateful to these “front line” employees who have shown themselves to be essential workers in every sense.

At 2000 West Creek Apartments, members of the property management team are considered essential workers as they are the ones who manage leases, oversee building and grounds maintenance, and overall, ensure the highest quality of life possible for their residents. And while their day-to-day responsibilities are important, we are recognizing them today because this team has gone above and beyond to serve their community – and in doing so, they have provided us with the perfect example of what it means to “be a good neighbor.”

Brina Brigham is the Community Manager at 2000 West Creek Apartments and she shared with us some of the efforts her team has been making, including:

• Delivering toilet paper to all 373 apartments with a note that said “While we are missing spending time with each of you today, we still wanted to put a smile on your face”
• Delivering bags of chalk to all buildings and asking residents to “Brighten our sidewalks.”
• Decorating the community commons spaces with inspirational quotes, fun pictures, smiley faces, and more.
• Hosting a virtual cutest pet contest.
• Supporting Dover Hall by offering residents free delivery on April 8th – then having staff pick up and deliver orders.
• Hosting an “Easter Egg hunt” in which residents could place a decorative egg print in their window for other residents to find while walking through community.
• Providing ongoing support for local restaurants and food trucks by scheduling days for them to come to the community and provide no-contact service for residents (which also alleviates the need for residents to leave home for food).
• Delivering residents’ packages to their doors so they don’t have to come to the centralized mail location. (Plus, they add encouraging notes of their own with each delivery!)

Brigham said, “I know everyone on my team is feeling immense stress as we are listening to stories each day of why our residents lost their jobs, or they found out someone they love is sick, etc. I want my team to know how much they are appreciated and that the work they are doing is absolutely essential.”

While we may not all be in a position to give back on the scale that many essential workers do, the team at 2000 West Creek Apartments has given us an example of how we can brighten the lives of those around us – no matter what community we are in.