2010 Coming Up

WELCOME to the Center for Strong Communities at Maryville College. 

Join with us in 2010 to build healthy, just and caring communities in East Tennessee.  Home website:   www.maryvillecollege.edu/about/csc
 

What’s happening next in 2010?    

 Planning for Green Infrastructure
Tuesday, February 16 at 6:00 pm
Maryville College, Bartlett Hall (ground floor) 

Executive Directors Nonprofit Networking Event
February 17 at 8:00 am
Maryville College – Clayton Center – Recital Hall Cafe 

Leadership Summit:  Health Care, Redefined
Friday, March 5 at 7:30 am – 1:30 pm
Maryville College – Clayton Center Grand Foyer 
Keynote:   ” Why strong local communities have more to do with health than does medical care”
Professor John McKnight, Northwestern University
CoDirector, Asset-based Community Development Institute

School for Nonprofits:  workshops January-May, 2010
Maryville College – most workshops in 205 Fayerweather Hall
See spring schedule of workshops. 
Register here. 

…and this was a great community forum!   Sorry if you missed it.
On Thursday, January 14, the Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Forum focused on the the topic of Latino civil rights.  Renata Soto of Conexion Americas and the National Council of La Raza gave a powerful presentation connecting the work of Dr. King with current needs for immigration reform and protection of civil rights of Latinos in the U.S.   Following her presentation, eight community organizations met with groups of participants to extend the discussion into local issues and commitment to local action.
  
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2010:  Building healthy, just and caring communities

 The Center for Strong Communities works to stimulate the kind of community conversation, service, learning, and social capital that will empower people in our region to build healthy, just and caring communities.    

 Strong Communities programs are intended to bring together people and ideas that will mobilize stronger civic engagement, community-building and collaborative efforts that improve the quality of life for the whole community and sustain our natural enviornment.    

Community forums on public issues continue throughout 2010, including forums on health care reform, Latino civil rights, green infrastructure, and other topics of public interest. 

On March 5th, we join with Leadership Blount  for the annual Leadership Summit on community wellness, entitled “Health Care, Redefined.”  The 2010 summit will be the first conference held in the Grand Foyer of the Clayton Center for the Arts.

Mark your calendar for these special events in 2010, and call us for more details: 

• January 21-May 25:  School for Nonprofits, workshops and seminars
• February 16:  Community planning for green infrastructure
• March 5:  Leadership Summit on health care and community wellness
• April 24:  Earth Roundup to be held at Maryville College
• May 25:    Nonprofit Training and Enrichment Seminars (conference)
• June 3:  Women’s Economic Summit 

Nonprofit management workshops and leadership seminars are offered through the School for Nonprofits.  Nonprofit staff, board members, students and community leaders may select from over 20 workshops, including grant writing, strategic planning, social media and communications, fundraising, and starting a 501c3.   On May 25, 2010, we host the Nonprofit Training and Enrichment Seminars, a spring confererence with multiple workshops in nonprofit management and community leadership. 

Community-based research continues with projects that connect students and faculty with community partners for careful study on social needs, community programs and regional issues. Current research partnerships include Wilderwood Service Dogs, Habitat for Humanity, Iva’s Place, Soil Conservation District, New Hope Child Advocacy, Habitat for Humanity and Haven House.    

 News articles:   To view CSC news articles from tis year and previous years,  click here .  Please continue to check our pages for announcements and updates. 

  
Billy Newton, Director
billy.newton@maryvillecollege.edu
Center for Strong Communities
865.273.8894

Go back to the CSC website  at Maryville College  

    

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MLK forum on Latino civil rights – Jan. 14

Latino Civil Rights, Obstacles and Opportunities

with New Neighbors in the South

Thursday, January 14, 2010

Maryville College / Alumni Gym

6:00 PM – 8:15 PM

Keynote Speaker:  Our keynote speaker is Renata Soto, founder/director of Conexion Americas in Nashville, TN and board member of National Council of La Raza, the largest Latino civil rights organization in the country.  Both organizations work to protect civil rights and promote opportunities for Latinos in the United States, while building bridges between Latinos and native-born U.S. Americans.   Click here  to read more about our speaker, Renata Soto.
 

Call to Action:   In the tradition of Dr. King’s persistent call to action, we will meet with regional organizations to discuss needs and resources for service and bridge-building in our own communities.

This program is free and open to the public.

Other participating organizations:   Centro Hispano, Catholic Hispanic Ministry Office (Knoxville Diocese), Legal Aid of East TN, CEDnet & Latino Task Force, Puentes Community Resources, Race Relations Center of East TN, United Methodist Church Hispanic Ministry (Knoxville & Maryville Districts)

For more information, contact Billy Newton at 865-273-8894,  billy.newton@maryvillecollege.edu.  The CSC presents this program in collaboration with the Blount County MLK Holiday Celebration week.  See the full schedule of activities:  MLK community programs 2010.

Renata Soto, keynote speaker for Jan. 14, 2010

 

MLK community forum 2009

 

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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