As the weather begins to warm up, I’ve been noticing the homes behind all the melting snow. What am I seeing? I see a lot of fresh paint, updated siding colors, new stairs and other upgrades. When you drive down a street and see multiple houses with improvements, it makes you feel proud for these residents and their neighbors. It’s refreshing to see physical upgrades to homes that previously showed wear and tear.

The Knight Foundation conducted a three-year study called, Knight Soul of the Community. They studied indicators and attachments to communities. One of the areas that showed up as an indicator in all studied communities is aesthetics — physical beauty and green spaces. People move to a community or stay in a community because of its physical beauty and green spaces. That means the homes, businesses and infrastructure matter to residents.

If you’ve worked on a home project you know it takes time, physical ability and money to fix, improve or update something. When I see updated homes, I see the pride and work behind those projects. I also see how it improves and motivates the neighborhood. As neighbors start to notice changes, it becomes a motivator to fix or update something at their own home. They want to experience the same pride for their home.

The community has a long road before we’ll truly feel like we’ve recovered from the 2018 tornado. But, when you can drive down one street and see multiple homes updated, then you start to see recovery in action. People need to see these changes, appreciate them and celebrate them. Big or small, recovery is happening. Big or small, people are invested in their homes and have pride for how their home looks. And, when you can drive through an area in the community and see multiple streets with multiple homes, then people see how the community is constantly transforming.

While it’s not spring yet, season changes tend to bring new perspectives. People notice things they haven’t seen before. The landscape looks different and its appreciated more. I challenge you to notice one good thing about the community every day. See the small things. See the things that require lots of hard work, energy and money.

Marshalltown Pride is having pride in your community, your neighborhood and your home. Whether it’s a big change or a little change, it’s still pride. The pride you have can be seen and felt by the people around you. Help spread Marshalltown Pride to all!

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Kyley Leger is the Executive Director of Vision Marshalltown, a collaboration of community stakeholders focused on driving better solutions for housing, education and community pride.