By Libby McClure, MS Candidate, Vital Village Emerging Leader
We are working to leverage existing data systems to establish benchmarks for assessing the well-being of children and indicators of risk and protective factors. Our goal is to improve the quality of data and tools that allow community residents and community institutions to promote family and community safety. We hope these benchmarks and shared data system will be a catalyst for community engagement and accountability.
Many partners entered the 90 Day Challenge at unique starting points. Not only did they have unique aims, but many had plans that were specific to different organizational structures. Guided by critical feedback from our network meetings to improve transparency and opportunity within the network we created a BigTent online communication platform dedicated to supporting partners to utilize the network throughout the 90-Day Challenge. We all wondered: would anyone use it?
Mirlande Joseph is a Community Organizer for the Mattapan Food and Fitness Coalition (MFFC). In this role, Mirlande worked with MFFC to engage residents in planning and opening the Woolson St. Community Garden this past fall. Following the leadership summit, Mirlande set her 90-day challenge aim on building a neighborhood association in the Woolson Street neighborhood. AmeriCorps VISTA member, Meghna Nandi, reflects on her work around community mobilization and her process of learning what community engagement looks like in real life – in “real time”: Through Mirlande’s emphasis on building strong relationships and listening to stories, she realized that community engagement is not about having a set “one-size fits all” roadmap, but about constructing the circumstances that empower residents to draw their own roadmap.
On October 21st and 22nd we hosted a 2-day leadership summit attended by over 75 community residents, practitioners, advocates, educators, and service providers. The toolkit for this leadership and learning process was facilitated by the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) and the Interaction Institute for Social Change (IISC) and aided our network in establishing a common foundation for improvement work to promote child, family and community wellbeing.
Immediately following the summit the 90-Day Challenge was launched, where partners set their own aims and took action within our learning community.
Following the 2-Day Leadership Summit held on October 21st and 22nd, the first 90 Day Challenge Cycle began. Here is a brief recap of the Leadership Summit and the first week of the 90 Day Challenge.
