2009-10 Coming Up

WELCOME to the Center for Strong Communities at Maryville College;  www.maryvillecollege.edu/about/csc
 

 What’s happening next?    

 

December 3:   SCHOOL FOR NONPROFITS
The Art of Asking for Money

Dec. 3 Workshop Leaders:  Eric Bellah and Brandon Bruce
Location:  Maryville College / Fayerweather Hall 205
 Please register in advance.  Click here.

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Blog:  Sharing Resources for Strong Communities    

The Center for Strong Communities works to stimulate the kind of social capital, service, learning, research and collaboration that will empower people in our region to build healthy, just and caring communities.   Here is an updated glimpse of our current year.

2009-10 is a year for considering greater involvement in issues that matter most to our communities. Our mission is all about civic engagement and community-building, which we do by bringing together local leaders, grassroots workers, nonprofit organizations, college faculty/staff and students to learn, serve and seek solutions that improve our communities.

Community forums on public issues continue throughout the year.  This fall, people packed the Blount County library without disruption to learn more about health care reform and the legislation process.   In September, the CSC joined with Welcoming Tennessee Initiative and TIRRC to discuss  immigration issues and host the premier of the documentary, Second Battle, which brings to light a local immigration case that is still pending.  In November, about 100 middle school and high school girls met for the Sister to Sister Summit to explore issues the girls identified as most important to their lives.  

This winter and spring:

• Thurs. January 14, 2010:  MLK Community Forum on New Neighbors and Latino Civil Rights
• Mark your calendars now for the March 5th  Leadership Summit, which will focus on health care and community wellness.
• Earth Roundup is Saturday, April 24 at Maryville College.
• Coming June 3rd is the Women’s Economic Summit, with keynote speakers and workshops on women’s professional and personal well-being. 

For the CSC, community forums are always partnership events, and we are thankful for the current sponsors and collaborators with whom we work:  Leadership Blount, Blount Chamber, United Way of Blount County, AAUW, League of Women Voters, Welcoming Tennessee, TN Immigration and Refugee Rights Coalition, TN Campaign for Health Care, the MLK Celebraton Committee, Community Economic Development Network (CEDnet), and the Tennessee Economic Council on Women.   The CSC is always looking for partners to facilitate study, dialogue and strategizing that can strengthen our communities. 

Nonprofit management workshops and leadership seminars are offered through the SCHOOL FOR NONPROFITS and the Nonprofit Community Collaboration.  Nonprofit staff, board members, students and community leaders may select from over 20 workshops this year, including grant writing, outcomes planning, social media and communications, fund raising, conflict resolution, and starting a 501c3.   On May 23, 2010, we will host the Nonprofit Training and Enrichment Seminars, a spring confererence with multiple workshops in nonprofit management and community leadership.  Call us at 865-273-8894 for an updated schedule of workshops.

In 2009-10, we are glad to partner with the Hispanic Chamber of East TN, Hola-Hora-Latina and Puentes Community Resources to create more opportunities for Latino networking in East TN and to foster positive relationships among new neighbors.   In October, the Hispanic Chamber met with other community leaders and educators at Maryville College to broaden professional networks and forge new relationships.  We are happy to announce that MLK birthday activities in Blount County will include a January 14 presentation and community forum on Latino civil rights, featuring guest speaker Renata Soto of Conexion Americas and National Council of La Raza.

Community-based research continues with projects that connect students and faculty with community partners for careful study on social needs, agency programs and regional issues. Current research partnerships include Wilderwood Service Dogs, Habitat for Humanity, Iva’s Place, Soil Conservation District, New Hope Child Advocacy and Haven House.  New research underway are eco-friendly home landscaping practices, life stories of homeless women in East TN, and a multi-year project to collect Hispanic oral histories in East TN.   This fall, we hosted CBR workshops with faculty from five colleges and 12 community leaders to study and strategize academy-community research partnerships that focus on community development outcomes. 

Please continue to check our pages for announcements and updates.

To view CSC news articles,  click here .

Billy Newton, Director
Center for Strong Communities
back to the CSC website  at Maryville College / 865.273.8894

 

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Workshops on Community-based Research

 Community-based Research (CBR) and Service Learning:
“MOVING TOWARD A COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT MODEL”

On November 6-7, teams from five colleges and five community organizations gathered with the Center for Strong Communities at Maryville College to study academy-community partnerships and research that effectively advance community development. 
Two workshops were led by Dr. Randy Stoecker, Professor in the Department of Community and Environmental Sociology at the University of Wisconsin, with a joint appointment in the Center for Community and Economic Development. 

Session One:   Friday afternoon, Nov. 6 at 3:30-5:30
In sessin one, Stoecker presented an overview of how service-learning and community research have developed in higher education over the last 20 years.   Whereas, it is clear that service-learning has a tremendous student impact,  it remains questionable how it impacts the community.  The group discussed how an intentional model of community development driven by community outcomes would change the way organizations and colleges approach partnerships projects. 

Session Two:  Saturday morning, Nov. 7
Breakfast at 9am.  Workshop at 9:30-12:30.
Session two was a hand-on workshop for academy-community teams to design potential partnerships in community develop.  Teams shaped plans for ways that stduents, faculty qnd institutions can follow the lead of nonprofits and grassroots organizers to idenitfy research and development needs, while drawing on multiple college resources to advance community problem solving. 

Coming from four states, participating colleges and community organizations were Maryville College, New Hope Blount County Child Advocacy Center, Community Economic Development Network, Tusculum College, Warren Wilson College, Clearkfork Learning Institute, Woodland Community Land Trust, Big Creek People in Action, Auburn University, Carson-Newman College, Emory & Henry College, and Just Connections.

Many thanks —once again— to the Bonner Foundation of Princeton, NJ for funding these workshops and for continued support of the Center for Strong Communities at Maryville College.

More information on publications by Randy Stoecker:

The Unheard Voices: Community Organizations and Service Learning by Randy Stoecker and Elizabeth A. Tryon, 2009

Research Methods for Community Change: A Project-Based Approach by Dr. Randy R. Stoecker , 2005

Community-Based Research and Higher Education: Principles and Practices (Jossey Bass), 2003

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Practicum for Community-based Research

Research comes alive when it actually benefits the broader community.  In community-based research, undergraduate students combine a passion for service and social change with academic interests and research skills.  The Center for Strong Communities connects students and faculty with community research requests .  In addition to the valuable learning experience for students, this research is designed for community outcomes that can improve social or envrionmental conditions.  Community partners tell us the information they need, so the cooperative research can help answer real questions  and lead to problem solving solutions. 

CBR Practicum:  We have now established a community research practicum for up to 3-hours academic credit for students who wish to work intensively with a community partner.  Solution-seeking research may address social or envrionmental issues, such as affordable housing, education, health care, community poverty, environmental hazards, land use, green development, or marginalized populations.  Many thanks to the Bonner Foundation in Princeton, NJ for supporting the Center for Strong Communities in launching the CBR practicum program.

What is community-based research?  At the Center for Strong Communities, we define CBR as collaborative, change-oriented research that engages faculty, students and community partners in projects that address community-identified needs and contribute to the common good.

CBR and Service-Learning Expo:   At the end of each year, the community is invited to a reception to see and hear the results of our collaborative research and service-learning projects.  Please check our calendar of events for recise day and time in early May. 

For more information on community-based research aand service-learning at Maryville College, speak to Billy Newton at 865-273-8894.email:  billy.newton@maryvillecollege.edu
webpage: http://www.maryvillecollege.edu/about/csc/