Changing your name? It’s a big step. Couples choose to marry and use one family name or in other cases – choose to join two family names with a hyphen. Rarely do people change their given names, let alone a family name. Nicknames are used by many of us. Naming in itself carries significance – whether it’s our child or our organization.

So, it was a big step and risk for us to think about changing COCAAN’s name. In agency jargon, COCAAN is an acronym for Central Oregon Community Action Agency Network. It’s been the local community action agency working in Crook, Deschutes and Jefferson counties for the last 21 years.

For most of my 20-year history with the organization – folks have been trying to figure out what our name means or sometimes mispronouncing it so that the name sounds like a controlled substance. So many people in our community know us as the food bank or perhaps the place to go for emergency help. Some know that we have a shelter and apartments for families trying to put homelessness behind them. Others might know that every year, 270 of our most needy families and young children are prepared for school and the future in our Head Start program. Others may know us because they purchased their first home with our help or started a savings program for the first time.

The overall weakness of our old name was that it reinforced the public image that COCAAN was just a collection of public services – rather than a mission-driven nonprofit organization that was helping families make profound life changes. The image of us being no more than an umbrella organization or a network of disparate and distinct services was simply getting in the way of helping families. This image made it difficult to tell the story of our impact and effectiveness with families. It made it hard for the public to know how to support us.

This information led to the board’s decision to create a new name, a name that would reflect the true character of the organization and the work that we do. They wanted the new name to transform how clients, staff and the public understood our purpose and role. The board wanted this name to reflect the new strategic path it had set for the organization. This path focuses on new ways to connect families to our services. It focuses on making our array of services work for families. It focuses on measuring the impact that we have on families. This new way of doing business was designed to change how we and the public think about the organization and our work with families.

We’ve taken the plunge. After years of people advising us to change our name, we did it. Our legal name is NeighborImpact, short, no acronym, simple in its meaning.

Why NeighborImpact? Our new name is meant to convey the profound impact we have on our neighbors’ lives. We are all neighbors, whether connected through our work, schools, churches, social groups and even sports. When I moved to Bend, almost 21 years ago, I was impressed by the neighborliness of our communities. People cared deeply about the community and took personal responsibility for helping a friend or neighbor in need. I was impressed by the sincere warmth and compassion of the people that I met. Today – I am still impressed by these attributes in old-timers and newcomers alike. You as neighbors are moved to action – moved to be involved when inspired by a story of need or a cry for help. But who are these neighbors that need our help? Look around your office today or your child’s classroom – and you will most likely see the face of a person or child that has been helped by NeighborImpact.

NeighborImpact is about you and us having an impact by helping people who live and work in our community. Not strangers, but our neighbors. There is no way that NeighborImpact could be successful in helping so many of our neighbors without you. Without us working together, many of our neighbors would lose hope. Many would be hungry. Many would be cold. Many would go unsheltered.

There are ways that you can be a good neighbor by joining with NeighborImpact. Your business, club or church could sponsor a child or a family for a month or a year. You, your family or friends could volunteer, organize a food drive or spend an hour reading to a child. Having an impact on our neighbors and community can be accomplished by each of us. Please know us by our new name NeighborImpact and join us in making a profound impact on our neighbors’ lives.