Cielo Grande Community Celebrates Carnival Fest as PSCDC Resident Services Start Strong

CALEXICO, CA – November 14, 2023 – Martha Ayala, PSCDC Resident Services Coordinator for Cielo Grande, has been working hard to ramp up PSCDC hosted servies and involvement within her new community. Despite being our newest addition to our Calexico portfolio, Cielo Grande and its community have shown impressive residential support towards services and events organized by Martha and the Imperial PSCDC team. Last month, Martha and the Imperial PSCDC team organized a special carnival-themed day to further introduce themselves to the community as part of our community building strategy.

"Carnival Fest" brought the fun and excitement of a carnival directly to the Cielo Grande community. A total of 65 residents, consisting of 29 adults and 36 children, attended the exclusively PSCDC-funded event at the community center to play giant versions of classic games. From 3:00 to 5:00 pm, residents of all ages participated in activities such as Connect 4, Jenga, Tic-Tac-Toe, potato sack races, Tug-of-war, and many more! Residents were also treated to carnival-themed foods such as freshly grilled hot dogs, popcorn, chips, juices, and water, all prepared by Martha and the Imperial PSCDC team. Attending residents also received small goodies, such as candies for adults and keychains for the children.

Amongst the carnival fun, Martha and the Imperial PSCDC staff introduced themselves to residents, shared information on the services that PSCDC offers, and noted down the recommendations and types of services that residents were interested in.

"Many of the residents were surprised by the services we offer," shared Martha Ayala. "They were excited to learn that they can use the community room. The program that interested the adults the most is the ESL class and food distributions. For the kids, the after-school program. We received positive feedback about this carnival event, with many residents mentioning that it was a good way to meet other residents and for their children to have a good time playing."

The launch of PSCDC services at a new community is always a difficult task. A successful sservice program at a property begins with visibility, but most importantly resident acitivity. The biggest way to advertise PSCDC events and services are through word-of-mouth within the community. "Carnival Fest," for example, was advertised through flyers across common areas of the property, and by passing out flyers to each apartment.

"I think the most challenging thing in starting services at a new property is getting residents to show interest in the programs," Martha shares. "However, at Cielo Grande, there are many new families and they have shown interest in the programs that we offer. They have proven to be a very participatory community."

With another big community event successfully in the books for the Cielo Grande community, Martha is considering the possibility of another community building event in January, while she looks to set-up every day residential services and being available for her residents.