Building and Working with Communities

Define neighborhood and community Identify needs and assets of each Examine current comfort zone and environment Provide concrete examples of “community connections” Develop action plan for utilizing assets and building relationships Objectives

Mind Mapping Exercise What is a Neighborhood? What are your neighborhoods’ assets? What are their needs? What is a Community? What are your communities’ assets? What are their needs? How are they the same? How are they different?

Sample mind map Schools Businesses Boys and Girls Club 4

Have You Considered ALL Assets? Youth, Elderly, or Singles Groups Block Clubs Foundations and Charities Community Colleges Banks Hospitals Libraries Parks Social Service Agencies Public Service Organizations (Fire, Police, Aldermen) Who/what else? 5

The Mission of PTA Transcends… Race Religion Economics Geography 6

Your Comfort Zone Whom do you interact with… Daily? Weekly? Monthly? Annually? Never? Highlight these on your mind map 7

Make the Connection Breakout Groups Choose a bullet point. Provide concrete examples of what this could “look like” in action. Consider the assets that your community already has when providing examples. 7

Examine Your Surroundings School environment Communication Special events Cultural practices Community perception 8

Examine Your PTA’s Unspoken “Rules” How are decisions made? Is the process clear to all members? What is done to orient new members so they feel comfortable enough to participate? How are unwritten rules shared? 9

Building Relationships with Care Avoid questions that begin with the words “How do people from your country/race/religion feel about…” Check out a question by first asking it of yourself. 10

What’s in it for You? “Ensuring that the leadership and membership of your PTA truly reflects the surrounding community will _______________________.” 11

Personal Action Plan I will lead the effort of __________________________ by utilizing the following community assets; _____________ _____________________________ and reaching out to the following people and groups _______________________. My PTA and community will benefit in the following ways:_____________________________________________. 12

PTA Membership Quick Reference Guide on pta.org ntrod-building.html Reprinted with permission of John P. Kretzmann and John L. McKnight, pp. 1-11, from Building Communities from the Inside Out: A Path Toward Finding and Mobilizing a Community's Assets, Evanston, IL: Institute for Policy Research (1993). Resources

Building and Working with Communities