Posts Tagged ‘Civic Parables’

The Very Big Deal

Monday, November 30th, 2009
 

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McCray

Everyone loves to get mail. I don’t mean ‘a bill’ or ‘a notice’, but an honest to goodness card, letter or package. My kids are no exception. The day the Imagination Library book arrives in the mail is a very big day.

I signed my son up for the Imagination Library out of curiosity about the program, not really considering what it would be like to actually get the book in the mail each month.

It’s a very big deal!

From birth to 5 years old, children that have been signed up for the the Imagination Library receive a book in the mail each month that is appropriate for their reading level. The day the book of the month arrives, my son Andrew comes running into the house shouting , “My new book is here! My new book is here! Open it Olivia!”

His sister Olivia helps to tear the plastic wrap off the book and then into the big, snuggly chair in our kitchen they climb. “Read it! Read it!” he begs, as if she may have forgotten this was the monthly routine. It’s one of those parenting moments you dream about when imagining what your kids will be like when they grow up. In this dream, they love to be together, never argue and take turns snuggling and reading to each other. It is a wonderful sight to see.

Each month when the books arrive, there are quite a few gifts that come with it. The love of reading that is being born right there in my kitchen is obvious, but I also see the pride my daughter feels when she ‘helps’ her brother out. When they are grown, I wonder if they will have a memory of snuggling together in the reading chair.

Andy’s Imagination Library is very important to him. For mailing purposes, the books are basically all the same size, so they stack together ‘just right’ on the bookshelf. He is proud to show off ‘his’ books to anyone who will read to him.

Last week Andy celebrated his 5th birthday. The week before that he received his final book in the mail. I think we were all a little sad to see this fun family tradition come to an end.

Thanks to Dolly Parton, the Imagination Library and the United Way of Olmsted County for making this such a wonderful part of our family.

Tracy McCray writes the “Talk of the Town” column for the Rochester Post-Bulletin.

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The Table

Monday, July 13th, 2009
 
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Lafflam

When was the last time you chatted over dinner with your neighbors? Compared with 50 years ago, long work days, technology overload, and precious time for family and friends make it almost unheard of to take an evening to share a meal and opinions with neighbors.

Partnering with the Diversity Council and the Post-Bulletin, RNeighbors (the Rochester Neighborhood Resource Center) recently helped organize Table Talk. Table Talk is an opportunity for neighbors to gather around the dinner table, discussing a pre-determined topic.

On June 30, more than 50 participants gathered in four homes in Rochester neighborhoods and one in Oronoco. The dinner conversation focused on immigrants, a topic that has been receiving great local and national attention lately.

Many issues happening on a national and global scale can be felt right here at home, and immigration is one of them. Minnesota has the 17th-largest immigrant population, and that figure is on the rise. The 2000 Census found that in Olmsted County there are 9,758 (7.9 percent) foreign-born individuals.

The purpose of Table Talk was not to debate this highly charged issue, but to discuss what are the challenges and assets of immigrants already living as a part of our community.

There are often false perceptions surrounding immigrants that, once dialogue begins, can be more accurately understood.

“Public opinion polls show that many established residents feel that immigrants are not adapting and assimilating to American life quickly enough,” states the League of Minnesota Cities in its “Understanding Our Population Trends” report. “But the reality is that today’s immigrant families are learning English more quickly and are less likely to return to their country of origin than were the immigrants of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.”

As I visited many of the Table Talk events, I was pleasantly surprised at the open dialogue and atmosphere in each home. It was almost family-like. As many of us know, family gatherings are not always conflict-free. We all come from different paths in life and form different opinions on the world around us. But hopefully, we can listen to differing options, be open-minded and then share our own thoughts. To ensure respectfulness, each participant of Table Talk was asked to follow such guidelines and to not steer the conversation.

Participants had many positive responses to the evening’s dialogue:

“Thanks again and I hope this discussion continues to move our community toward always looking for ways to respectfully help each other with controversial subjects.” — Jonathan S.

“Thank you so much for organizing last night’s event. I had the pleasure of hosting the event at my house in Oronoco, and I thoroughly enjoyed both the people and the discussion.” — Matthew W.

“My guests were engaged, enthusiastic, and eager to learn from each other. Hosting a dinner was a positive experience that I hope can be repeated.” Vicki S.

“With the growing numbers of talents that we have yet to uncover, more events like this are great ways to open our eyes and become better neighborhoods!” — Dottie H.

As Rochester continues to grow, neighborhood challenges and problems will also continue. Many of our city neighborhood associations such as Slatterly Park, Cimarron Court, and Eastside Pioneers — just to name a few — are working together to reduce isolation, unify and make proactive decisions for their neighborhoods.

“The neighborhood is the fundamental organizing principle of human society, and practical efforts to save the planet start right there. Issues that seem overwhelming such as climate change, sprawl or economic injustice can be effectively tackled close to home,” wrote Jay Walljasper, in “The Great Neighborhood Book.”

“That’s because the people who live in a particular locale are the experts on that place, with the wisdom and commitment to get things done.”

RNeighbors is proud to have helped organize Table Talk as a tool to engage neighbors in a positive and constructive dialogue. Each of the Table Talk participants, hosts, and facilitators should be commended for jumping into a brand-new concept in Rochester.

It is my hope that each conversation will be the start of an ongoing positive dialogue throughout our city and beyond.

Rene Jones Lafflam is Executive Director of RNeighbors, the Rochester Neighborhood Resource Center.

[Previously published in the Rochester Post-Bulletin, July 11, 2009]

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The Superintendent’s Desk

Sunday, June 28th, 2009

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…[T]oo often the hiring and the inevitable firing of the school superintendent is a spectator sport in a community…. - Brian Gallagher, President of United Way of America

 

Dave Beal

Beal

When Brian Gallagher made this observation during a panel discussion at the opening general session of the 2008 United Way of America Community Leaders Conference, the response of the other panelists and the audience indicated an all too familiar acquaintance with the fate of school superintendents in many places.

My first thought was, “Apparently, things are rough all over.”

Rich Harwood, the panel’s moderator, observed this is the frequent fate of people to whom communities turn for leadership. Upon whom we bestow - by virtue of election, employment, or nomination – the responsibilities of leadership.

 

Too often, after we turn to these people, especially in times of difficult transformation, we abandon them in the midst of the very changes we have asked them to achieve on our behalf. In the aftermath of difficult decisions we have called upon them to make, we leave them on their own to answer the inevitable opponents to which any change gives rise.

 

Harwood writes in Make Hope Real, that these leaders are “left standing alone naked in the public square just at the moment when they most need us to stand beside them and vouch for their worthiness.” He asks of us,

[W]hen a leader comes under fire, do we step forward to offer our support:

 

• by literally standing beside the individual and vouching for the person’s integrity, even when we do not agree with a particular position?

• by saying clearly that the individual leader is a good person, and that we and others will not stand for scurrilous and mean spirited attacks against such a person?

• by praising an individual leader for taking a tough-minded and principled stand, whether we agree with the person or not?

 

“If we want good leaders,” Harwood concludes, “then we must vow not to abandon them and instead find ways to show our support.”

 

What happens to those who assume positions of leadership is also shared by those who provide leadership in the responsibilities they take on as part of the civic life of a community. These people serve on committees. They meet with neighbors. They convene. They converse. They write. They speak. They stand up. They give their names to the causes in which they believe. They are present to be seen in public gatherings.

 

This leadership assumed by virtue of the positions we accept or the actions in which we engage is open to us all. Doing so entails risk and requires a measure of courage. Gallagher and others on the panel made this clear as they discussed the nature of the transformations contemplated by many communities seeking to advance the common good. 

 

Harwood and Gallagher agree, “Live United” means taking sides. “Making a difference right where we live,” assumes something different is required. “Creating lasting change,” means changing. “Advancing the common good,” declares there is good we hold in common.

 

“Live United” is not a plea to “get along.” It is a call to action that also summons what Harwood describes as the “enemies of the public good - enemies like inertia, cynicism, mechanized responses to human problems, false hope, distorted reality, and superficial efforts to take on real challenges.”

 

We must recognize viciousness in speech as a mask for a deep and abiding indifference - a voice that speaks only of itself and about nothing.

 

“Live United” is something to which we aspire, that comes only as a renewing achievement, and for which we are all accountable to each other. Sometimes – maybe always – it means looking out for each other. Standing up and standing for and standing with.

 

We must return to public spaces for only in public spaces is taking a stand possible - not because we agree, but because we agree to engage in the hope of coming to agreement.

 

“Live United” is a call to action that calls us forth into public places. Public places where we bestow the position of leadership upon some and require acts of leadership from many.

 

Living united, we are part of the change.

 

Dave Beal is Vice-President for Communication and Advocacy at United Way of Olmsted County.

 

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The Street

Sunday, June 28th, 2009

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  “PREVENTION IS A VIABLE INTERVENTION”
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Douglas

 The issue of “street gang” activity in Rochester has become a hot topic lately! Drive-by shootings, stabbings, large group fights, muggings, burglaries, vandalism, thefts, drug-related crimes, random gunfire and acts of violence, etc., have been on the rise in our area and has catapulted into a multifarious problem!

We now have a community-at-large perplexed with mixed emotions! Do we have meaningful answers to the questions that begin with who, what, when, where and how?

What options have we explored to deal with this emerging problem that is negatively impacting our community? To name a few, I’ve witnessed the formation of neighborhood associations to discuss the issues and provide a watchful eye; Town Hall meetings have been held to raise awareness; school programs have been implemented to prevent bullying; the police department have stepped up patrol; local volunteers have formed a chapter of the Guardian Angels; there has been an increased presence of the Southeast Minnesota Narcotics and Gang Task Force; and we’ve launched an interactive crime website - http://www.rochester911.com/.

When did the pedestrian walkways of our relatively small community become plagued with this “street gang” activity? Who are the offenders? Why do they engage in such criminal activity? Where do they come from? How  do we adequately deal with this crisis?

I think in order for us to effectively tackle the surface issues of what some gang members do (i.e. break the law, sell and use drugs, condemn authority, promote destruction), we need to understand the make-up of the inner being of these troublesome youth groups!

What is going on within the minds and hearts of these street-oriented individuals, who are in opposition to mainstream norms? Why do they adopt & promote the negative aspects of “street gang” culture, instead of endorsing and encouraging the positive attributes of their “ethnic” culture?

Let us keep in the forefront of our humane and rational psyche; we are referring to our youth and young adults who may feel disenfranchised, alienated, neglected or abused!

Community-at-large, my suggested INTERVENTION to help PREVENT this multifarious problem is to have these troubled human beings sit down and allow us to ask the tough questions, as aforementioned! Let them tell us  why they succumb to negative peer pressure, what are their inner values, who are their role models, how do they intend to be productive members of society, when will they look inside themselves and allow their positive self-identity to resonate, and where do they want to see themselves in the future?

Frederick Douglas is a member of the United Way of Olmsted County African-American Leadership Council

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The Garden Path

Wednesday, June 24th, 2009

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Lafflam

 

It has been my experience that in this journey of life, change is inevitable. It is sometimes huge, what seems like earth shattering at the time, and sometimes so tiny, that you don’t even realize it is happening until you reflect back months or even years later.

 

When I began my current job at RNeighbors the organizations’ mission was to “ensure a great city through programs supporting neighbors in building community and improving neighborhoods.” When my friends and family asked what my new job entailed I replied “building community through neighborhood associations.” I was a little in the dark on what that actually meant. Now in my third year at RNeighbors, I had no idea how I would grow both personally and professionally through the position and the organization would grow organically to truly be a resource to Rochester neighborhoods.

 

Yesterday I had the treat of being given some lettuce picked from my intern’s parent’s garden. It was the perfect start to my dinner last night. That lettuce did not magically appear in the dirt one day. It grew through a organic process, a journey. The ground was cultivated, seeds planted and watered, weeds kept at bay, sun nurtured the plant, and somehow the hungry bunnies were kept away until finally the lettuce was ready to eat.

 

As with the lettuce, RNeighbors has changed and grown through a process, a journey. RNeighbors, the Rochester Neighborhood Resource Center was formed through the leadership of then Mayor Chuck Canfield and the City Council in 2001. As with any new job, taking the reins at RNeighbors seemed daunting and overwhelming to me. There were several board members who were enthusiastic and ready to make some huge changes in the organization including creation of additional programs and plunging into writing several large grants. I felt like I was along for the ride but hadn’t really figured out exactly what my professional role was to “build community” or for that matter, what RNeighbors’ role was in our City. It seemed that first year I couldn’t quite get my feet under me or the organization.

 

My brain does not think strategically in spread sheets, and ironically enough for someone who works in neighborhoods, I’m not skilled at reading maps (I can’t tell you how many times I’ve ended up lost going to neighborhood association meetings). What I have learned along my journey the past three years is that I am skilled at helping people work together for a common cause and thinking creatively at how to bring resources to Rochester neighborhoods. Now I build on my strengths and bring in volunteers who have talents in areas that I am deficient in.

 

Today RNeighbors has strong roots. Each day seems to bring new opportunities to serve our City. Through the journey, partnerships were cultivated with City and County entities. Seeds were planted with other non profits and service groups and working together we’ve both benefited. Weeds, like prohibitive costs have been lessened by community donations of both materials, like paint brushes and monetary sponsorships. Engaged board members and volunteers have poured their time into nurturing projects and programs. And our rabbits, difficult to work with individuals, do get through the fence occasionally but now there are procedures and best practices that lessen their negative impact. The organization’s growing season is certainly not completed. We continue to be challenged by things such as financial droughts and a shortage of time but that’s all part of our path.

 

Each of us must make the decisions that lead us zigzagging through our life journeys. As Rochester continues to expand and change, it is my hope as a community that we can choose to build on and nurture our strengths (such as the amazing volunteers found in our neighborhoods, schools, and organizations), learn from the weed patches like things that didn’t go well, and be an active and engaged part of our community’s growth.

 

Rene Lafflam is Executive Director of RNeighbors in Rochester, MN.

 

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Civic Parables

Monday, May 18th, 2009

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Early in 2008, after returning from United Way of America’s Community Leadership Conference, Richard Hardwood, founder and president of the Hardwood Institute for Public Innovation wrote “10 Keys to Living United in America.” 

The ninth key is the inspiration for a new category of our blog.

We must learn to tell stories of hope and change - what might be called civic parables [emphasis added]- so that people can see themselves in public life. But this requires us to reject the usual hype and glossed-over public relations, and instead turn to authentic reflections of people’s journeys around change, including why they started out where they did, how they progressed, what went wrong along the way, and what worked. Then maybe more people will step forward.civicparablestxtbox2

In CIVIC PARABLES we invite people to share their “stories of hope and change.” 

  • We are soliciting contributions from “agents of change” who take the risk of authentic reflection on what change requires of us. 
  • We are inviting your comments that in turn reflect upon the story or extend it by adding a story of your own.

We are mindful of Harwood’s observation that, “Bringing about hope and change was never easy, and there is absolutely no reason to believe that our current time will be any different.” 

We also appreciate his take on what “Live United” means (and what it doesn’t mean).

It would be easy to translate the phrase “Live United” to mean that we all simply want to get along, that we envision a world in which disagreements and tensions do not exist. But such a vision would be naive and deny the realities of public life. For me, “Live United” is not rooted in a utopian vision. Rather, it is a call for each of us to step forward to engage with one another and to do our best to repair breaches in our lives and society.

To repair a breach, it must first be acknowledged - so, we expect some of our civic parables may challenge us - but they aim to inspire more than incite. In any event, civic parables aspire to be about what Hardwood calls, in Making Hope Real, “authentic hope.”

Authentic hope is gained when we tell stories of people striving to improve conditions, even when those stories contain their struggles, even their failings, for then people can see and hear themselves.

We’ve invited our first contributors. Expect to hear from them soon. Speaking for ourselves, we can’t wait.

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