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Sharing Ideas August 2011

Grassroots Projects Started by Neighbors

Sharing Ideas is a panel presentation and discussion that showcases the grassroots efforts of neighbors throughout the Portland metro-area.  All of the projects are volunteer or non-profit driven, have a community benefit, and could be replicated in other neighborhoods.  Our hope is that these events inspire people to initiate similar projects in their own neighborhood.  Panelists share the spark that ignited their idea, the tools and strategies they used to turn it into action and their hopes and dreams for their project into the future.

August, 2011 Panelists

African Youth Community Organization: Jamal Dar is Co-Founder and Executive Director of the African Youth Community Organization (AYCO), a nonprofit begun by volunteers in 2010.  Borne out of his own experience, Jamal understands the challenges faced by immigrant and refugee children and youth.  When AYCO began, he said, it was important to understand “what the kids wanted and what they wanted was sports, someone to mentor them, to motivate them and inspire them.”  Working with 30 children in three schools – Markham Elementary, Jefferson and Wilson High Schools – AYCO facilitates sports activities coupled with a mentoring program to encourage youth towards higher education and positive engagement in their community.  Educational success is paramount and to qualify and be a member of AYCO, youth need to enroll in tutoring and maintain their GPA.  Jamal says, “the idea is that [they] will be good at school, academically improving and have a lot of activity.”

AYCO’s programs support youth of all ages, both boys and girls, from elementary to college with older youth volunteering their time and skills to those in grades below their own.  This model fosters a spirit of cooperation and promotes shared leadership among the youth involved.  Programs at AYCO are open to all that want to participate based on its mission to support all youth to create a vibrant, more inclusive community.  Jamal’s aspirations for AYCO include seeing youth graduate, increasing unity and laying a strong foundation of youth to mentor the next generation.  To accomplish this, Jamal says, AYCO needs volunteers and people passionate about helping youth achieve success. 

Read an article about AYCO in the Portland Observer.  Learn more about AYCO at www.aycopdx.org. 

Compass Junction: “Being connected to the social fabric [of your community] is not an old-fashioned idea”, said Ivy Stovall, a neighbor in Compass Junction.  Immediately recognized by the freshly painted compass at the intersection of Edison and St. Louis Avenue in the Cathedral Park neighborhood, Compass Junction is a collaborative effort by neighbors to strengthen their community.  Based on the” simple yet plentiful efforts of many, community and sustainability are fostered through the sharing of resources and neighborhood awareness.” 

The project idea was put forth by a neighbor, Tamara.  Following a leadership class, Tamara came away with the idea that she “could connect with anyone, anywhere and that she could do that with her neighbors too.”  Tamara’s initial idea was to start a neighborhood lending networking but she soon realized that there were websites already doing this.  Instead, she turned her attention to designing a neighborhood website that would provide structure to Compass Junction and encourage regular social gatherings, such as a happy hour.  To begin, she wrote down her vision and desired goals for her neighborhood; next, she sought feedback from a community-building organization; then she shared her vision with neighbors.  A local business offered to host the website and a neighbor helped with the design.  When it came time for the first happy hour, Tamara knocked on every single door in her neighborhood, personally inviting everyone. 

Compass Junction is moving forward with plans to initiate a neighborhood disaster preparedness plan, a directory of services, a care-taking network, game nights and happy hours.  The ultimate goal as Ivy puts it, “[is to] build enough trust to live interdependently….[to make the] network more accessible to people who might not talk across their back fence but live within a few blocks of each other.”

Learn more about Compass Junction at www.compassjunction.org.

St Johns Farmer’s Market: Located in the heart of St. Johns, the St. Johns Farmers Market (SJFM) kicked off its first season in 2009.  Run by neighbors for neighbors, it is a true community market.  Jana LaFrenier, President of the Market’s Board, shared her experience as well as the highlights and challenges of opening a Farmer’s Market in St. Johns.  The idea brought together an array of people with different reasons for wanting a Farmers Market – local economy, local food, a place to gather, an outlet for other organizations, cross-cultural dialogue, farm-direct nutrition and food access were just a few. 

In the spirit of a community market, SJFM volunteers reached out to the community through a survey that helped to determine the viability of a market in St. Johns.  A community meeting further helped to instill local ownership of the project.  The meeting provided a venue for everyone to have a voice and from that the SJFM’s mission statement was developed: The SJFM supports local, sustainable food supply while providing opportunity for emerging farmers, contributing to the health of all local residents, encouraging cross-cultural connections and dialogue, and enhancing the community and business vitality of St. Johns.  By relying on the existing resources available to them instead of starting from scratch, the group was able to open the SJFM fairly quickly. 

Jana notes that the biggest challenge faced by the SJFM was volunteers.  Establishing a strong volunteer base and recruiting a volunteer coordinator at the outset of the project was a lesson learned and emphasized.  Jana comments that “a main concern was volunteer burnout, make sure you have fresh faces and [don’t] rely entirely on the Board.”  To support volunteers and encourage new ideas, the Market operates an “open policy” where volunteers with ideas and plans to achieve them are welcomed by the Board.  Sprout Corner, a food demo booth and entertainment are positive outcomes of inviting community input. 

Learn more about the St. Johns Farmers Market at www.sjfarmersmarket.com. 

 

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