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At the foundation of Community 3.0 is the concept of individual and community well-being. Our goal as a society must be to improve the human condition of all our fellow citizens, no matter what their socioeconomic level. The Front Porch network orbits around this objective.
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Community Solutions and Situational Leadership
Each business or Front Porch will sponsor community Solutions as part of their involvement in the Community 3.0 network. These Solutions are designed to fix the problems and take advantage of the opportunities in your community that too often are left unaddressed by our traditional institutions. They can range from organizing a cleanup effort, to fixing a playground, to even spearheading a high school mentoring or apprentice program. By being a 3.0 Member, you can become involved with whatever Solution fits your strengths and enhances your journey through life. Community 3.0 transforms our businesses into ones that you would be ashamed NOT to do business with … something no box store or chain store can compete with. And anchoring these Solutions will not be the traditional civic institutions, but rather peer leaders in your community. These are the real leaders; ones with a vested interest and a passion in the project they will insert themselves in. This is the phenomenon of Situational Leadership, the leadership that is rooted in our streets, not the ivory towers.
These Front Porch based Solutions will work hand-in-hand with the Community 3.0 philosophy of engagement being the remedy to our society’s ills and incubator for opportunities. Through involvement in these volunteer activities, petty ideological divides can be bridged and ignorance of those different of us will be replaced by empathy and situational collaboration. It’s hard to be working next to someone on a common goal – say restoring the school grounds where both your kids go … and not feel a kinship with that person that transcends political ideology.
The common thread that will be emphasized throughout these Solutions is environmental restoration and climate change intervention; and how it can impact our health both today and in the future. While national and even international government action (or inaction) receives all the attention – it’s here in our communities where the real change must happen. The 3.0 Front Porch network must lead the efforts directly through volunteer action, and indirectly through pressure on those we elect to positions of traditional institutional power.
Below are several possible Solution options your Front Porch can use to improve your community. These are only a few of the potential ways you can make an impact though. You are limited only by your imagination.
- “Label the Town” ~ Community “places of interest” labeling
- “Pretty Pictures on the Wall” ~ Amateur art showings
- “Is it Art” ~ Vacant area art projects: art, music, theatrical
- “Showing our Stuff” ~ Street fairs
- “Recess Time” ~ Playground restoration
- “Help Me … I’m Dirty” ~ Public and private space clean-up
- “Stop and Smell the Roses” ~ Public and private space beautification
- “Fixing the Neighborhood” ~ Neighborhood renewal and repair
- “Hey … We Need Some Help Over Here” ~ “On-demand” help services
- “Apollo 13 … Please Come Home” ~ Community “Resource Maximization”
- “Pop-up Community” ~ Vacant building resource maximization
- “I’m Not Alone Anymore” ~ Elderly and shut-in well-being assistance
- “Get Out of the House” ~ Adult athletic and intelligence leagues
- “Love Comes From the Ground” ~ Community gardens and farmers market
- “Play Ball” ~ Youth sports and intelligence leagues
- “Getting Up to Speed” ~ Student tutoring
- “This is What I Think … ” ~ Youth writing project
- “Making the Transition” ~ Apprenticeships and school transition assistance
- “Leadership 2020 Anti-Congress” ~ Student assembly
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“The greatest good you can do for another is not just share your riches, but to reveal to him his own.” ~ Benjamin Disraeli
Community-based activities that rid themselves of the hierarchical baggage don’t organize themselves though. We at Community 3.0 have thrown together some thoughts on how keep a decentralized inclusive network functioning productively in the guide, The Art of Collaboration.
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