Orland Park Rolls Out Innovative New Community Engagement Program
Orland Park Mayor Dan McClaughlin announced via the city’s website recently that Orland Park would take part in an ambitious civic engagement program which rewards citizens for their involvement in local business and community affairs. The program is titled, “In Our Community™ of Orland Park” and began its run at the end of January.
“This is a free program that people join to be rewarded for doing things that add to the spirit of community in Orland Park,” McLaughlin explained. “It’s a neat and innovative way to get people involved on the local level.”
There is currently 18 different categories that members can earn points out of, some of which are as simple as liking an Orland Park eatery’s Facebook page, while some require a great deal more effort such as taking a certified CPR class with the Orland Park Fire Department.
There are five categories for redeeming points. One such category offers a choice of gift cards for restaurants including the Pancake House, while another category offers a surprisingly personal experience — a lunch with Mayor McClaughlin himself.
Redeeming the points for rewards themselves is not as easy as it may seem, however. Prizes are not simply “bought” with points, rather community members use their points to bid on rewards and whoever volunteers the most of their points receives the prize. If you lose the bid, your points are restored, however this can be aggravating as it’s difficult to gauge how much monetary value your points have. Each reward starts at a minimum bid, but the highest bid can rise quickly and become unattainable for newer members.Additionally each point-earning-task awards a relative amount of points, but there does not seem to be a standard.
Of course, this is a program the encourages citizen engagement and loyalty and not simply a way for the tech savvy to game businesses into free stuff. One does not need to be a citizen of Orland Park to participate, but one must be a participant in and of Orland Park itself to reap the rewards.
Less than two months old, InOur.Community/OrlandPark is still very much in it’s pilot stage and will seemingly see a host of improvements in the coming months, as well as an increased number of prizes and ways to earn points.
