The East Hills Council of Neighbors was founded in 1981 to address crime and housing concerns in seven neighborhoods: Fitch Corner, Congress Park, Diamond Gate, Cherry Hill, Fairmount Square, Orchard Hill, and Wealthy Heights just east of downtown Grand Rapids, Mich.

Originally, the East Hills Council of Neighbors was almost exclusively a neighborhood crime watch group which included reporting housing violations and suspected drug houses, collecting data on crime rates, and posting notices for business owners and residents about criminal activity in the area. They soon expanded activities to include block clubs and parties, neighborhood improvement activities like gardening and trash clean up, information referrals, city planning, youth programs, and business district revitalization. Perhaps most notably the Council was central to a ten year effort to revitalize an empty and polluted former gas station into a thriving retail space which is both publicly and privately owned. The development is lovingly referred to by residents as the "Center of the Universe," located at 1001-1003 Lake Dr SE, Grand Rapids, Mich. The restoration of 920 Cherry St SE, the former site of the D.A. Blodgett Home for Children, and the surrounding neighborhood is another major achievement of the East Hills Council of Neighbors.

The East Hills Council of Neighbors continues community organization activities in 2017 with projects like East Hills Loves Congress, a grassroots effort to sustain and support a successful neighborhood public school in the center of the East Hills community. East Hills also remains very active in city government and city planning.