Nelson Committees

Committees are where the real work of community improvement takes place.

If you are not able or interested in attending monthly board meetings, we understand. Some members rarely participate in them but spend many hours helping neighbors through one or more of the Nelson committees.

If you are willing to help with one of our committees, please get in touch with the chair, who will be happy to share meeting times and locations with you.

Activities Committee

The Activities committee builds rapport within the NNIA and among neighborhood residents by organizing events focusing on community building, promoting the Nelson neighborhood, and fundraising for the NNIA. 

Contact the Activities Committee

Adopt-A-Lot 

Adopt-A-Lot volunteers support neighborhood beautification by caring for a vacant lot owned by the City of Muskegon. They maintain the grass using their equipment and keep the lot free of litter, sticks, and branches.  The City provides a stipend for each adopted lot – the amount depends on the size of the lot.  Our Adopt-A-Lot volunteers include police department employees, firefighters, churches, and individuals.  Several organizations are repeat adopters and take great pride in their lots.  Their work has spread throughout the City and helped to reduce blight.

Contact the Adopt-A-Lot Committee

Archive Committee

The mission of the Archive Committee is to provide Nelson Neighborhood Improvement Association members with a documented history of the organization. Responsibilities include the following activities: Inventory and index NNIA records, dispose of nonessential documents, scan and upload historical documents to an accessible site, develop material for the 50th Anniversary, 1970 to 2020

Contact the Archive Committee

Community Development Committee

The Community Development Committee was created to consider funding requests from other organizations and internal neighborhood projects. We determine where funds can best be used to impact Nelson Neighborhood.

Contact Community Development Committee

Community Engagement Committee

The Community Engagement Committee encourages all neighborhood residents to actively participate in achieving our organization’s mission to improve the quality of life in the Nelson Neighborhood. We promote organizational activities, manage all communication tools (website, newsletter, social media), build membership, and provide hospitality at monthly meetings. 

Contact the Community Engagement Committee

Garden Committee

Nelson Neighborhood Improvement Association supports community gardening in the neighborhood to ensure residents can have options to grow fresh produce, learn how to garden, and to promote relationships between neighbors. This committee oversees two gardens: Mike Miller Memorial Garden, 257 W. Muskegon Ave., and the Roger Allison Memorial Garden, 1349 Sixth St. There are individual garden beds, as well as community garden beds, which serve as classrooms for the Club 188 1st-4th graders. If you would like to apply for an individual bed, please click here. Also, volunteers are welcome to help keep the flower and perennial beds looking beautiful.

Contact the Garden Committee

Lakeshore Access Committee

The Lakeshore Access Committee was formed to address how to reconnect the Nelson Neighborhood with our shared waterfront environment. This renewed connectivity can help us all grow in ways that protect public health and the environment, expand economic opportunity and enhance our neighborhood and the City at large. Our first project was to create “Watch Us Go Boating” - a safe and affordable way for our families to experience being on the lake. We offer a free kayaking program through volunteers, ten kayaks donated from Hemisphere Design, and city support. Two storage racks have been constructed, with two launch sites available. This program has served hundreds of participants. 

As part of enjoying the waterfront, we support community stewardship projects. We have adopted Heritage Landing to monitor the native plantings and shoreline restoration. This work has expanded to include water quality monitoring and working with the GVSU Annis Water Resource Institute and the Muskegon Lake Watershed Partnership. 

Volunteers are needed for kayak lessons, shoreline monitoring, invasive plant removal, and programs with Nelson Elementary School. You can also donate a kayak or small sailboat! 

Contact the Lakeshore Access Committee

Nomination Committee

The Nomination Committee consists of three members who are responsible for the following activities: Recruit and interview potential candidates for open board positions, provide to all new directors packets of duties and Association information, make recommendations to the President for committees and chair appointments, make recommendations for honorary appointments and recognition of members to the Board.

Contact the Nomination Committee