Today, we’re sharing an excerpt from a post by Peter Block of Abundant Community. He tells how one community keeps growing the list of things to be thankful for: each other. To read the original excerpt in its entirety, click here.

Seeing the Abundance in the Neighborhood

Source: pointloma.edu

The [following] story has the elements of what we can call a competent neighborhood. Creating competence starts with making visible the gifts of everyone in the neighborhood—the families, the young people, the old people, the vulnerable people, the troublesome people. Everyone. We do this not out of altruism, but to create the elements of a satisfying life. Here is a perfect example of how it works:

Last summer, when Theron looked through the open door of the metalworking shop Mr. Thompson had set up in his garage, the old man invited him in. Something clicked. Theron began to stop by every day, and he started bringing home metal pieces he’d learned to make.

Naomi could see Theron change. He was proud of what he made—Mr. Thompson even paid him to make a few things. Naomi said she’d finally stopped worrying about what Theron was doing after school. Jackie admitted that her son Alvin was in trouble, and she asked Naomi if there might be someone in the neighborhood whose skills would interest Alvin.

They knew that Gerald Lilly was into fishing, and that Sam Wheatley was a saxophonist, but that was about it. They decided to ask all the men in the neighborhood about their interests and skills. Mr. Thompson agreed to go with them. It took three weeks to visit all the men on the block. When they were done, they were amazed at what they had found: men who knew juggling, barbecuing, bookkeeping, hunting, haircutting, bowling, investigating crimes, writing poems, fixing cars, weightlifting, choral singing, teaching dogs tricks, mathematics, praying, and how to play trumpet, drums, and sax.

Source: tlc.howstuffworks.com

They found enough talent for all the kids in the neighborhood to tap into. Three of the men they met—Charles Wilt, Mark Sutter, and Sonny Reed—joined Naomi, Jackie, and Mr. Thompson in finding out what the kids on the block were interested in learning.

When they got together after interviewing the kids, Mark talked about a boy he met who knew about computers. Why not ask all the kids what they knew about? Then they could match adults to the kids, just as they planned to match up the kids with the grown-ups. When they were done, they found they had 22 things the young people knew that might interest some adults on the block.

The six neighbors named themselves the Matchmakers and, as they got more experience, they began to connect neighbors who shared the same interests.

The members of this community share this sentiment, “All the lines are broken; we’re all connected.  We’re a real community now.”

[These stories are what] thicken the social fabric. It makes the community’s gifts more widely available in support of the family. If we do it, even in small way, we find that much of what we once purchased is at hand: carpentry, Internet knowledge, listening, driving a truck, math, auto repair, organizing ability, gardening, haircutting, wallpapering, making videos, babysitting, house painting, accounting, soccer coaching, artistic abilities, cooking, fitness knowledge, sitting with the old or the ill, health remedies, sewing. And some of those things will come from the elderly, the young, the isolated, and the unemployed.

These local connections can give the modern family what the extended family once provided: A place with a strong culture of kin, friends, and neighbors. Together we raise our children, manage health, support local enterprise, and care for those on the margin.

SOTRU gives a tip of the hat to neighbors who create a self-reliant community, and more importantly, become a family through caring and sharing. This is an essential element of true community. This is what makes a great Thanksgiving story. Do you have a special tone running through your community that rings out songs of thankfulness? We would love for you to share them with us. It would give SOTRU one more thing to be thankful for.

Peter Block co-authored the book “The Abundant Community: Awakening the Power of Families and Neighborhoods.” He is a partner in Designed Learning, a training company that offers workshops to build the skills outlined in his books. He is the author of Flawless Consulting, Stewardship, The Answer to How Is Yes, and Community. He is the recipient of numerous awards, most recently the Organization Development Network’s 2008 Lifetime Achievement Award.

City Year’s “Ubuntu” Philosophy

Students, schools, education reform, policy and educational politics … there seems to be a never-ending stream of checklist items for America’s schools. With the mounting complications for our education system, it is easy to lose sight of simple solutions – us. That’s right, you and me. In past SOTRU School Spotlights, educational initiatives such as American Graduate and Grade Level Reading have been explored, highlighting efforts to close the gap on various educational concerns. For this week’s School Spotlight, we’re highlighting another community based effort to improve education, City Year.

Source: contributionsreport.amgen.com

According to its Web site, City Year is a country-wide school-based service organization providing “teams of diverse young people called corps members [who] serve full-time in schools for 10 months working to improve student attendance, behavior and course performance in English and math.”

GOOD Magazine’s A City Education series explores what motivates City Year corps volunteer members’ service to the public education system. (To read the original post in its entirety, click here.)

The commonality found in City Year’s members can be summed up with one word: Ubuntu. A shortened version of meaning for this a Zulu proverb is “I am a person through other people. My humanity is tied to yours.” One member said her reason for joining was because she thrived in a community environment where a shared goal and vision became a catalyst for action. Through working at the school, these members have learned “how to effectively connect students, parents, and community resources to ensure students excel.”

There are many service opportunities provided by City Year corps members. Whether it’s one on one tutoring, assisting teachers in classrooms or helping with homework centers in after school programs, these corps members are making a difference.

Although the City Year model is new, support for community schools is growing. According to the article, “In 2009, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan expressed his support, saying, ‘Where schools truly become the centers of the community, great things happen.’”

The symbol representing "Ubuntu" - Source: acercadeubuntu.blogspot.com

Megan Malone, a City Year corps member says of her time so far with City Year, “Serving with City Year in a community school, I am reminded every day of Ubuntu as I experience firsthand a model that illustrates the importance of connecting our humanity to those inside the school and in the community. I have no doubt that helping students succeed requires a community effort, and I’m looking forward to seeing the results of our shared vision and collective action.”

Delving into school and the politics behind education, it is quite easy to lose focus on what all of the fuss is about: our children and how best to provide them with a quality education. The notion of Ubuntu should ring true for all citizens. Perhaps understanding the philosophy behind “I am a person through other people. My humanity is tied to yours” will help us all get there.

There are so many great ways that education is changing, and seeing people in communities mobilize change through their own actions is an encouraging start. The  “it takes a village” approach, I am finding, is an earmark in many great educational solutions that are rapidly popping up. What other community actions do you know of that have made a difference in your schools? We are always interested in passing along success stories of community, so write it down and send it our way.

State of the Re:Union contributor Mike McGrath of the National Civic League shares the logic behind how such a simplistic and classicly iconic game, Pac-Man, is helping youths in L.A.’s inner city to learn in-depth understanding and engage in critical thinking regarding digital media and its role in their futures.

Source: anticool.com

I read an article in the New York Times recently that noted that some of the top execs at Silicon Valley firms were sending their kids to private schools where the students aren’t allowed to use computers.

Learning is about using your own brain, not some artificial intelligence, so it makes some sense. I sometimes think Google, Wikipedia and IMDB are atrophying my memory. But if tech execs are really sending their kids to computer-free schools it’s more than a little ironic. Will the luxury of not becoming computer literate until middle school become a new badge of affluence, like summering in the Hamptons?

I ask this because out in the everyday world, nonprofits, foundations and educators are trying to figure out how to get kids from low income communities to use more computers, more broadband, more devices—and to be more savvy and critical about the media they encounter in everyday life.

As one activist from the tribal areas of San Diego County pointed out in an interview I did a while ago, you can’t even apply for a job at Home Depot if you can’t use a computer. In fact, new information and technologies (ICTs) have tremendous potential for empowering kids and narrowing the gaps between haves and have-nots in our communities.

That’s the premise, at any rate, of the most recent issue of the National Civic Review, which is in its one-hundredth year of publishing. The issue attacks this question from a number of different angles, but among the most original is Katynka Martinez’s essay, “Pac-Man Meets the Minutemen: Video Games by Los Angeles Latino Youth.” The article relates lessons learned from a project in the Pico Union and Korea Town sections of Los Angeles to teach kids media literacy and creativity by having them design their own versions of the classic, first generation computer game, Pac-Man.

Why Pac-Man? That’s part of the fun of this article. The students, who attended a high school just west of downtown L.A., thought they were going to work on something comparable to Guitar Hero, say, or Counter Strike. “Instead they were told that they’d be creating a version of Pac-Man,” writes Martinez, . They grumbled upon hearing the news. The 1980s game is pretty simple, does not involve serious acts of violence, and does not feature scantily clad women. For that matter, it features no humans. The storyline—chomping on pellets and the occasional fruit while running away from ghosts—is quite different from the actions of professional athletes or skilled marksman. Pac-Man was an anomaly among space shooter games that were popular when it was released, and it continues to stand out when compared to contemporary games.”

The project began with students putting pencil to paper and creating maps of their neighborhoods and homes. Then they were asked to match this urban landscape with the Pac-Man maze. In one of the student games, Pac-Man became a boy who was helping a hot dog vendor in MacArthur Park who is being menaced by demonic hot dog chomping ducks. In another version, the hero is a boy running away from aggressive, alcoholic homeless men in his neighborhood. In a third version, an immigrant is being chased by anti-immigration “Minutemen” vigilantes.

The games allowed these students to reconstruct their own urban landscapes and grapple with issue and challenges people face in those neighborhoods in ways that defy the prevailing stereotypes from the media in all its forms, video games not excluded.

The goal is to help these students develop a critical distance from and understanding of digital media in general, and more specifically, games, which are being used these days for everything from on the job training at McDonald’s to Army recruitment.

“It is essential that today’s youth learn to deconstruct and read video games as they would a novel or a poem in school,” write Martinez. Educators and media activists should engage in productive conversations with youth to discover what attracts them to the game they play.”

While I’m on the subject of media, congratulations to Youth Radio, which recently won a Peabody Award. Another article in the review focuses on Youth Radio’s uses of mobile media.

The National Civic Review issue on technology and media was published with the support of ZeroDivide. Electronic versions of the articles are available free of charge at the Wiley Online Library.

Spin around in any direction and there is a 99 percent chance that what your eyes land on is somehow connected with the digital realm. There is very little in modern society that is not affected by digital media. Think about it, what is the role of digital media in your existence? What additional advice, experience or knowledge can be offered to those looking toward the future of digital media? We know that many readers have nuggets of wisdom just waiting to be heard, so what are you waiting for? Of course we want to know.

Mike McGrath is senior editor and chief information officer for the National Civic League. A former newspaper reporter and magazine writer, he is editor of the quarterly National Civic Review, which will be beginning its centennial year of publishing this spring.

Mike’s posts will appear every Thursday on the State of the Re:Union website.

State of the Re:Union would like to welcome our newest contributor to SOTRU, Garlin Gilchrist II. Hailing from Detroit, Michigan, Garlin created Detroit Diaspora, an active Detroit community network of people looking to stay connected. As a National Campaign Director for MoveOn.org, he currently resides in Washington D.C. with his beautiful wife, Ellen.

After graduating with degrees in Computer Engineering and Computer Science from the University of Michigan, he became a Software Engineer at Microsoft. By day, Garlin helped build SharePoint into the fastest growth product in the company’s history. On his personal time, Garlin sought out opportunities to connect his technical skills with community building efforts across the country.

This led to Garlin’s co-founding The SuperSpade: Black Thought at the Highest Level, a leading Black political blog. He served as Social Media Manager for the 2008 Obama campaign in Washington, and then became Director of New Media at the Center for Community Change.

Today Garlin works at the crossroads of traditional political organizing and online activism. He speaks before diverse audiences on empowerment in revolutionary new organizing spaces, increasing civic engagement & participation though emerging technologies and protecting civil rights in the age of the Internet.

Now, as the latest contributor to our website, Garlin lends his experience and sage advice, helping SOTRU continue engaging with and connecting community. Look for his first post next Wednesday.

On this Tuesday, State of the Re:Union contributor Rich Harwood of the Harwood Institute for Public Innovation shares about one young man serving as an inspiration, offering an uplifting story to counter that of the scandalous tragedy currently inundating the airwaves.

Source: Zimbio.com

A horrid child-abuse scandal is unfolding at Penn State University, where people’s integrity, care of vulnerable children, and betrayal of privilege all are at issue. Today I offer a counter-point: a short, 5-minute speech by Michigan State University’s quarterback, where he speaks about privilege and responsibility. In these times, his words are uplifting and worth listening to.

I have been a fan of Kirk Cousins, MSU’s quarterback, long before I heard about and then listed to his speech, where he had been given the huge honor to kick-off the Big Ten annual conference. There, he spoke before his follow Big Ten football players and coaches, among others. His speech drew widespread media attention and plaudits. He received an extended standing ovation. Here’s why – and why I urge you to watch this short video.

In his speech, Kirk Cousins did not obsess about himself, his football exploits or serve as mere cheerleader for the Big Ten. Instead, he stood tall before all his peers and coaches from throughout the Big Ten and laid down a marker. Remember, Kirk Cousins is all of 23 years old.

He said that playing big-time college football is a ‘privilege’ because of the platform big-time football provides. He and his fellow players are treated to playing on television – a life-long dream many have held since their childhood; that kids seek them out for autographs; that they are granted opportunities to speak to young kids; and that they have the unique opportunity to come together as players to achieve something that none of them could achieve on their own. In short, each player holds a special place that is afforded to them.

But Kirk Cousins then makes this point: “But it is here in this place of privilege that danger lies.”

Source: holtlutheran.org

He asserts that this danger can lead to a sense of entitlement: “The notion that I deserve to be treated special because I am privileged.” For Kirk Cousins, it’s just the opposite. He believes deeply that such privilege leads to a ‘responsibility’ – in fact, it leads to holding a greater responsibility because of the nature of the privilege and an athlete’s standing in society.

For instance, he believes college football players hold a special responsibility to children. He talks simply, and thus with a beautiful eloquence, about how players can set a standard for how to treat others – that they can embody what it means to be a person of integrity – that they can show young people that excellence in the classroom is a worthy pursuit. He says that players can demonstrate that it is more important to do what is right, than what feels right.

At the end of his talk, with wisdom beyond his years, he remarks: “While I believe that we as players do not deserve the platform we’ve been given, we have it nonetheless. It comes with the territory of being a college football player in the Big Ten.” He then offers this, “May we as players have the wisdom to handle this privilege, and the courage to fulfill the responsibility we’ve been given.”

Perhaps folks at Penn State will watch the Kirk Cousins speech once more and remind themselves of their own privilege and responsibility to others; and they will hear the call to step forward and do what is right. Meantime, may the rest of us, in our own daily lives, listen to Kirk Cousins words, and let them be a reminder of the innate goodness in people, and that we must be vigilant in our response to the forces that weigh upon us each day.

A dynamic public speaker, Rich Harwood is a frequent keynote for foundations and national organizations. He is an expert contributor on national and syndicated media outlets including MSNBC, NPR, The Christian Science Monitor, CNN’s Inside Politics, The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, Special Report with Brit Hume, C-SPAN, and many others. He is also the author of Hope Unraveled: The people\’92s retreat and our way back (2005), Make Hope Real: How we can accelerate change for the public good (2008) and numerous studies, articles and essays chronicling vital issues of our time. His most recent written work, Why We\’92re Here: The Powerful Impact of Public Broadcasters When They Turn Outward, is being published and distributed in Spring 2011. You can follow him on twitter @RichHarwood and facebook.com/richharwood.

You can read Rich’s posts every Tuesday on State of the Re:Union’s website.

It is harvest time for many communities in America, which just happens to coincide with many a celebrated day in the upcoming months. Translation: food, and lots of it (for many fortunate people). Although ingredients for dishes greatly vary among culinary cultures, there is one humble vegetable that remains steadfast in its appeal to all, the onion. In the spirit of community, State of the Re:Union intern Melissa Lee shares her story of how this mighty bulb veggie continues to work its delicious magic to bring a community together.

My summer kicked off with a twenty five pound bag of onions. I really only wanted ten, but I was talked into the bigger bag. These weren’t just any onions, Sean, the onion grower, told me. They were Walla Walla sweets, famous for being “so sweet you can eat them like an apple.” They are, in fact, the official Washington State vegetable, signed into law in 2007.  Maybe you’ve heard of them.

Onions run deep here in the Walla Walla valley. Onion growers can trace their roots back to the late 1800s when the sweet onion seed was brought from the Island of Corsica to Walla Walla by a Peter Pieri, a French soldier. The crop was cultivated by generations of Italian immigrant farmers, choosing the best from each crop to develop the next. It is the low sulfur content in the onions, as well as Walla Walla’s mild climate and rich volcanic soil that causes the sweetness. Sean’s family is one of about 30 onion growers in the Walla Walla valley, with farms ranging from two to three hundred acres, to those that are only half an acre in size.

“It’s always been part of this community. We have our wines and our colleges, but the onions were here first. And that was from back in the day when families lived off of their gardens. They called them truck gardeners back then,” said Kathy Fry-Trommald, director of marketing of the Walla Walla Sweet Onion Committee.

When it’s sweet onion season from mid-June to mid-September, little roadside onion stands like Sean’s pop up all over Walla Walla. These are usually the old-family growers, the ones that have been farming sweet onions for three or four generations. And it is not only the stands that indicate that onion harvesting has begun – it’s a community affair, culminating in the Sweet Onion Festival. Originating from the early days when farmers would help each other harvest, celebrating once they were finished, the festival eventually became an institution.

“Some of the older guys that I know remember as young kids how the families would all get together and help each other out. It was a big job, a huge job, so that was the way things were done,” said Fry-Trommald. “I think there has always been a harvest celebration once the work was done.”

This community celebration has become an official annual event; this summer’s being the 27th, though that’s just 27 since they’ve been counting. Hosting from 5,000 – 10,000 people over the weekend, vendors fill the streets with everything from onion mustard to caramel covered onions to little stuffed versions of “Sweety”, the sweet onion mascot.

Bands play on the street and chefs give demonstrations on the numerous options for preparing sweet onions. Next year’s festival may reinstate some older traditions – like producer competitions – offering a platform for farmers to show off their biggest, most pristine onions and pack houses to display boxes of extraordinarily well-packed onions. And should the trivia contest come back as well, here’s a fact to give you a leg up on the competition: On average, 32,500 pounds of onions are harvested from one acre of land.

As I spoke with Sean at his family’s roadside stand, he told me his family has been in the onion business for three generations. They invented the strain of onions that they were selling.  In fact, every family has their own strain; each onion has its own family name. Literature on the sweet onions points out that growers are not just “raising sweet onions, but cultivating a tradition.” And I can see that in the pride Sean takes in his family’s onions, to the way it still brings people out to the streets when it’s sweet onion time. Sean also gave me a few tips about onions. Try placing an onion in each corner of the cellar to keep mice away and keeping a slice of lemon in your mouth while cutting an onion to keep the tears from falling.

Here in Walla Walla, onions aren’t only something you eat, they are a part of the history of the place; part of what created the community that it is today. Here onions are something to celebrate and are part of a tradition that brings people together. As a new-comer to Walla Walla, I was glad to get to know a little more about the place through this wondrous little piece of produce, and as the cold winter approaches, all I need to do is get out some of my remaining onions to bring a little of the sweetness of summer back.

This is the season of traditions. Some will continue on, while others will begin anew. What are some ways that you will celebrate community in the upcoming weeks? What unique item or quirky tradition represents the community you call home?