Mary
November 2, 2011 Leave a Comment
Rick Droog – Siouxland Diaconal Conference
Kurt & Emily Rietema’s stories of life and love in the Argentine neighborhood of Kansas City, Kansas, and in Croc, Mexico
Before ye cast your first stone at me, admit it. You, dear reader, are not that different than I. At fundraiser brainstorming sessions, you give an honest attempt, hoping for something new, something novel and innovative. With populist ideals, you hope for the wisdom of the common man to rise up and shame the cynics. You hope for that one, moment of brilliance, like the humble offering of one small boy with a few fishes and loaves of bread, feeding the five thousand again and leaving behind twelve baskets overflowing with fistfuls of twenty dollar bills. But you can sense the suppressed bake sales and 25- cent lemonade stands gasping for air. You brace yourself for it like the frontman in a washed-up, cover band waiting for the drunk guy in the back to start yelling, “Freebird! Freeeebird!!!” Yet it comes just as inevitably. “I think we should do a car wash.” Let’s speak plainly for a moment. Car washes are dumb ideas. Most of us swear them off in fifth grade. And as much as I’ve wanted to put my learning into practice and embrace locals’ ideas and empower and support them in implementing them, my conceit won out. I couldn’t help but think that Mary’s suggestion of a car wash fundraiser for the Franklin Center was a dumb idea. Nate did some quick, careful redirecting that day, but months later, on August 20 there we were in the Franklin Center parking lot. Rain coming down. Washing cars.
When I meet with business leaders it is almost guaranteed that I will get a question early in the conversation that goes something like: “How do you measure success”? OR “How do you know you are being successful”?, OR “Define transformation – what does it look like”?
Although the day was cold and rainy, turnout was great for a day of neighborhood beautification on the north side of Chicago. I work with many different demographics in the Rogers Park neighborhood, and I’d spent several months learning about the felt needs of our neighbors, as well as the strengths that already exist in our community. One idea that came through loud and clear was the desire to beautify our streets. Neighbors wanted a way to feel ownership and responsibility in our community.
that had been growing in the greenhouse at Gale Academy, a local public school, for months.
These are difficult days in our West side of Grand Rapids community. Housing values have cratered. Long-term neighborhood businesses are closing. Unemployment has soared, particularly for our community members of color. And so, it is particularly delightful when hard work and opportunity come together for those who care enough about their neighborhood to stay involved in the work of community development.
Pictured from left to right are Juan, from the City of Hamptonʼs Social Services
The picture to the right shows two local ministries providing free haircuts and clothing during one of the Sunday evening Street Church services. We are getting to know one another as well as the residents of the apartment complex.
Several months ago Jay Van Groningen from Communities First Association taught a three day intensive workshop on Asset Based Community Development. One question Jay asked us over and over again is “When you look in the rear view mirror, do you see a community transformation story?”
Allen Avenue CRC was ready for a change and wanted to become involved in our community in a different way than we had been in the past. However, we were unsure what that change was going to look like before being introduced to Asset Based Community Development earlier this year. After a few months, we have started to see a shift in the way that we think about and relate to our neighbors and the neighborhood. In the past, the statistics of this area have resulted in a skewed perception of the Angell neighborhood. Our opinions had been clouded by the things we were reading and hearing about concerning the crime rates, drug trafficking, violence, high rates of unemployment, and so forth.We had lost touch of the good things that were going on in our neighborhood and the strengths and assets already existing within it. Even more, we stopped knowing who are neighbors really were.
Another new member has joined CFA! Phil Hissom also works with the Polis Institute using Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD) to improve the cities of Orlando, FL and Atlanta, GA. Welcome Phil! Go to Phil’s members page for more information.
Our newest member is Rebecca Lujan Loveless. She works in the greater Orlando, FL area with the POLIS Institute. Check out her member page for more information.
