Rotary Club of Madison’s Post

Living in one of the most deprived areas of Bristol, and indeed England, is sometimes a challenge. When I finished secondary school, my teachers were naming the people who'd achieved big and went to uni. I heard under 10 names in the schools history. From my year alone I know 10. Myself included. And although that doesn't seem like a big achievement, for people growing up in Hartcliffe and Withywood it was a talking point. People didn't go to Uni. In June 2022, I was inspired by my children to try and make a change. Spacemakers Bristol was run down, and needed some TLC. And they pointed out that I was one of the original Young People - so shouldn't I be the one to make the change. (Check out the Spacemakers website and socials if you are not aware of the journey) Having met with some inspirational local people - some amazing Bristol City Council workers from the Parks and Community Development team - I subsequently chaired various meeting with like minded people. This led to a dozen or so of us working towards a survey to help make a change in the community, based off of the answers given by local people. A little over 2 years from starting this, and 18 months after our first community plan meeting - on Friday 1st November 2024 the Ignite Plan Community Survey was released. With the correct people, working together, we can make Hartcliffe and Withywood a better place. For anyone here from the area, please feel free to concrete thwu survey at the following link; https://lnkd.in/eVsubv9Q Every entry recieved before 24 Nov 2024 will be entered into a prize draw for £200. Just in time for Christmas. For anyone who is not from the area, just take from this that a child's influence can have a huge impact. And just because society says you cannot achieve, it doesn't mean you won't. Hayley Swift Kerry Bailes Vladi Stanchev #bristol #community #communitydevelopmentbristol #deprived #change

Our Vision is to eventually create a collaboratively developed, statewide system to meet the unique and comprehensive challenges our neighbors and schools face with declining enrollment caused by population shifts. The concept applies an evidence-based, community-impact model that lifts community voice, incentivizes district participation, and funnels resources into affected communities to mitigate the negative impacts of the shifts, which can result in school closures and rapid community decline. At its essence, it is an economic stimulus process where population shifts and declining enrollment are factors in community identification.

"Conversations about the need for third places often gloss over the unhoused population" In Jinny Kim's insightful piece for Daily Trojan, she highlights a crucial issue: while USC’s third places provide valuable community spaces for students, they often exclude unhoused individuals. Kim argues that genuine third places should be inclusive and accessible to everyone, not just select groups. She emphasizes the need for urban spaces in Los Angeles that bridge societal divides and ensure all community members, regardless of their housing status, feel welcomed and supported. Dive into the full article to understand why creating genuinely welcoming third places is crucial: https://lnkd.in/eB8xEuZv #thirdplaces #community #socialspaces

"Anchor institutions can embrace community wealth building, an alternative approach to economic development. While traditional economic development assumes that development will “trickle down” benefits to residents, community wealth building employs and builds on existing assets within the local community to build sustainable ecosystems that promote equity and provide direct benefit to local residents. The figure below outlines the drivers of community wealth building and highlights the differences between community wealth building and traditional approaches."

A summary of some of the key points from the Autumn Budget for health and education with some case studies of how we can help clients in some of these key areas. Please get in touch if you would like to chat through how we can support your organisation.

How do you cite a number to show how important your local park is to your community? Stats about acreage and visitors and dollars spent can seem trite compared to the inherent value we know parks have to the community. Our parks, trails, town squares and community institutions, like libraries and museums, are crucial to community wellbeing and, therefore, powerful economic drivers. But advocating for investment in these civic assets is often difficult because their return-on-investment isn't quantifiable using traditional metrics. That's beginning to change thanks to Reimagining the Civic Commons, which has developed a framework to quantify the importance of community assets. Their approach allows community members and policymakers to better articulate the value of these special places to seemingly intangible goals, like social cohesion and civic engagement. When added to more conventional data, like foot traffic and economic impact, these new insights can make an even more compelling case for investment in public spaces--one that resonates with community members as well as policymakers and funders. Check out their Measuring the Civic Commons toolkit for practical ways to capture community data, gauge impact and share it as an advocacy tool: https://lnkd.in/eHGC-uZQ? THE JPB FOUNDATION | The Kresge Foundation | William Penn Foundation

As part of an ongoing and participatory engagement and implementation process, Co-Creating Kensington published the second of three reports today. Co-Creating Kensington: Alignment argues that a model for community revitalization that leads to collective healing and sustained solutions is possible when stakeholders come together with shared resources and when residents retain power and ownership over the planning process and resulting interventions. In a guest commentary published in the Philadelphia Citizen today, Dr. Bill McKinney notes “we are at a critical moment as historic efforts to address Kensington’s challenges are not reaching their potential and are often unraveling due to the complexity and intersectionality of our situation. “It is through trauma-informed, participatory, and comprehensive strategies that are preventative in nature that a path for community healing can emerge and ensure that residents are active co-creators in the future of their neighborhoods.” This second report builds on the first report and is an invitation for government and the private sector to align plans designed for Kensington with the community and through that, a reparative and restorative path for government and private entities to move from short-term solutions to preventative and evidence-based strategies. Co-Creating Kensington has always been and will always be an iterative process focused on learning from the previous step. With a list of suggestions for each of the community’s self-defined priorities and support from government and private entities, we will use the momentum of this report to convene with residents and other stakeholders to co-create solutions for each of the six community-defined priorities: public spaces, community health, investing in human capital, housing stability, public safety, and economic development. To read the report, head to https://lnkd.in/eyura-J6. You can read Dr. Bill McKinney's editorial at https://lnkd.in/egVmJ99n #traumainformed #participatory #comprehensive #restorative #communityleddevelopment #reparativedevelopment

To create a more equitable education system in Washington State, a comprehensive approach is crucial. Enhancing funding through progressive taxation, allocating resources based on student needs, investing in wraparound services, and fostering community engagement are key strategies. By prioritizing these initiatives, Washington can ensure that every student has the support needed to succeed. #EducationEquity #WashingtonState #StudentSuccess

Rural school districts are essential to community growth. They serve as hubs for education, social interaction, and economic development. We're excited to partner with the STANDISH STERLING COMMUNITY SCHOOLS and FED Design/Builder to transform a former elementary school into the Sunrise Community Resource Center. This project, funded by the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity, will expand services and programming to promote overall growth and well-being within the community. Last week, Architect Todd Seidell and FED Estimator Chad Carstensen conducted their initial site visit to develop design ideas for expanding public health services at the center. #communitydevelopment #ruraldevelopment #publichealth #Michigan