Talking about community building in Kenya

The health of our children is perhaps one of the most crucial areas of community development. That is one of the areas on which Eve Puffer, my daughter, is working in her third year as a Post Doctoral Fellow at the Duke Global Health Initiative. There is an article in the Duke Global Health newsletter talking about some of this work. I think you will find it of interest and may even find some relevance to other community building work needed right here in Hartsville, South Carolina and the U.S.

Coordinating Council Coordinating in Darlington County

"Stronger together" is the them of the Darlington County Services Forum 2010 being held at the Lakeview Baptist Church in Hartsville on October 14.

The event, which was kicked off by Senator Gerald Malloy and Representative Jay Lucas, had nearly 40 agencies meeting together and giving very short blurbs about their mission and service opportunities. The Forum is a chance for the various groups, whose primary mission is serving people, to learn how all might work together even better to improve services, get a bigger return on funds invested and make even more of a difference in building community. The Darlington County Coordinating Council meetings on a monthly basis to ensure more frequent contact but they hold an annual forum to help each other get a strong feel for the bigger picture.

One of the key events at this forum will be a presentation about the state budget and state funding estimates for the next fiscal year. That is probably not going to be an optimistic picture as predictions are that the state budget may be even tighter next year than it is right now. That is one more reason the coordinating council is playing such an important role. While some people aren't keen on government, I wondered as I sat listening to presentations, what the people served by these agencies would do if these agencies did not exist. For me, that was a scary thought!

Growing Young Leaders

Dr. Tim Elmore is on a quest to grow young leaders and I have some of his materials and think he has some very interesting ideas about leadership growth among the younger generation. His newest book is GENERATION IY, OUR LAST CHANCE TO SAVE THEIR FUTURE. This morning he has a blog post from one of his student interns. I really like the idea of having young people talk to each other about things they have found important and think that is a good way of communicating. I hope to use a few of his ideas in the First Year experience I am teaching at Coker College. Since leadership is so important to Growing Community, I thought I would share the 10-2-10 blog post they distributed. Here is is:

Tim Elmore - Guest blog post by Growing Leaders Intern, Tess Harper


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Guest blog post by Growing Leaders Intern, Tess Harper
Posted: 01 Oct 2010 04:00 AM PDT
For the past few months, I have had the wonderful opportunity to serve as an intern at a non-profit organization called Growing Leaders. Created in 2003 by Dr. Tim Elmore, the mission of the company is to reach out to students by providing them with resources on how to be successful leaders. The most captivating part is that their definition of “leader” is not necessarily someone of success or wealth, but rather someone of great values and immense character. This concept of leadership has enabled me to discover my own capabilities as a person of influence.
I graduated in 2009 with a degree in Journalism and Media Studies. As a freshman, I was very intent on one day becoming a broadcast journalist, and being a platform for the unheard voices of my generation. However, with the inundation of technology in the classroom during my college career, my journalistic dream had to transition into one that embraced social media and online blogging as a way to stay “connected.” My internship at Growing Leaders has allowed me to do just that; connect with children and young people, as well as older adults who have an interest in transforming society.
Upon my arrival at Growing Leaders, Dr. Elmore was in the process of promoting his book, Generation iY: Our Last Chance to Save Their Future. This was a great time for me to join the team, because I felt that the book highlighted all of the frustrations I had felt with not only my generation during college, but also the hampering side effects technology had on our society. Before, I felt as if I saw my peers becoming less and less engaging and personable as they were immersed in the culture of social media and its isolating effects. The best part though was that the book, as well as the organization itself, offered authentic solutions to the apathetic ethos young people had created and how everyone involved, whether it be students, parents or teachers, could help.
If I were asked to choose one word for my internship experience thus far, I would choose “growth.” There have been a few challenges to my internship, which have caused me to recognize my weaknesses and find ways to improve them. The experience has also highlighted my strengths and showed me how to use these skills to become a successful leader. I have been given the opportunity to interact with Generation iYers and provide ways, as Tim likes to say, “influence the influencers,” which is an invaluable experience.
Tess
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For more info about internship opportunities with us at Growing Leaders, check out our website here. We are currently looking for a spring intern to begin in January 2011. We’d love for you to join us!
If you would like to speak with someone here at our office with any questions or need more info, please contact us at 770.495.3332. Thanks!
Tim