It Takes a Whole Community to Create a Whole Community

Some reflections on the Casselberry Task Force that I have been working with...

As the Casselberry Community Task Force reaches its nine month anniversary, there is much to celebrate. Thousands of pounds of food have been distributed, thousands of dollars have been benevolently invested in people to help them stand on their feet, and hundreds of people have been helped. We have seen improbable dreams accomplished and the precious commodity of hope restored to many who had lost it.  Most importantly, there are children in our schools who go to bed with food in their stomachs and families who we have fought alongside in trying to avoid the desperate trap of poverty.

While the nine month anniversary is a cause to celebrate, it is also provides a time to reflect. There is much to ponder as we seek to gain a better understanding of how we can more effectively help, how we have been able to harness our community’s assets to serve the needy, and how this project has captured people’s imaginations so profoundly. As I reflect, I am grateful for the relationships we have built and the generosity, passion and commitment of our great Casselberry community.

At this stage in the story of the Task Force it seems like three objectives have emerged through our efforts:

1)            We are caring for kids.

2)            We are serving our schools.

3)            We are building a stronger community.

While many are drawn to the fact that we are caring for our kids as the most important priority, it is my sense that the most lasting and transformative area of our work will be in building a stronger community. The foundation of our work has been through the community relationships that we have been able to develop with over thirty different groups, churches, non-profits, businesses, civic groups and individuals. It is because of these relationships and through our shared purpose, trust and respect that what we do works. At the core of the movement is the fact that we are community members who are caring for our community. This powerful dynamic allows us to harness resources with ease, use community and individual gifts, and also appreciate the part that each person plays as well as providing a relational infrastructure that is much stronger than any organizational business model.

It is my belief that this part of our work will have the greatest and most lasting impact. Before we export our school centric model of care we first need to model for people how to come together, talk to each other and learn to function together. I believe it takes a whole community to create a healthy and whole community.

Think about it. When people are caring for people and a relational, community wide web exists within a city, all the other challenges a city faces become a little easier to address.

When a community is functioning well:

·          Crime is reduced – People keep their eyes open and speak up for injustice that they see and perceive. This happens because people are looking after each other.

·          Better care is provided – Neighbors help neighbors. People support people. People are not isolated and are less dependent on social services and the government to meet their needs.

·          Deeper ownership exists – People begin to take pride in their community. They pick up trash when they see it on the street, they start to appreciate the great services that our city provides and they want to personally contribute to the city’s development. With greater ownership comes a great understanding of civic responsibility.

·          Morality Increases – In a place where people know each other, a relational accountability is built into the fabric of a community.

·          Families become stronger – It really does take a village, or a community, to raise a child. When families engage together with positive external inputs, families become stronger.

·          Economies thrive – People and businesses want to invest in a healthy community because the return on their investment is more easily and significantly increased.

·          People develop– Through interaction, people become equipped with better life skills, people are willing to invest in one another, and schools become stronger.

I am sure that there are many other benefits that exist when the people in a community come together, but this list is a start.

It is my hope, and I believe the hope of the Casselberry Community Task Force, that more than just meeting a need in our city we are building a stronger community. It is my hope that in a few short years from now Casselberry will have a solid reputation as a community that cares for its own.

Is this all too idealistic? Perhaps. But there’s a much better chance that we can fulfill our ideals if we try to accomplish them than if we don’t.

At our nine month anniversary, perhaps the greatest revelation thus far has been that it takes a whole community to create a whole community. The care and commitment of our community through this difficult and heartbreaking struggle with child hunger and homelessness bears witness to this.

Where do we go from here? Well… we’ll keep doing what we are learning to do well. Caring for kids. As we do this, we’ll make sure that we are strengthening the relationships that build a great community.