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A great community development initiative is beginning to get underway in the Joliet area. Getting Ahead Programs are based on author and speaker Ruby Payne's Bridges Out of Poverty concepts. The concepts lay the foundation for more deeply understanding the challenges and strengths of people dealing with poverty, and how communities can partner with them to create opportunities for success. The programs have had meaningful impacts in many other communities across the nation, and we hope to bring together various groups (school districts, community groups, businesses, churches, and service organizations) in our area to implement similar programs and make a difference in the lives of families.
More specifically, the Getting Ahead Program is a 16 week focus group type program that brings together about a dozen individuals experienced with living in poverty or near poverty. The groups are led by a trained facilitator that gains wisdom from shared experiences that can help improve public service. In addition, the participants are given the opportunity to reflect on their own situations and set personal goals.
A team of leaders has come together to bring this initiative to our area, which includes representatives from several local school districts and community focused organizations. We are excited about the collaborative interest that is beginning to grow, and even more so about the positive impact that we foresee occurring in the lives of families, and in our community as a whole.
Plans and Request for Financial Support:
Our hope is to launch the Bridges Out of Poverty initiative in our community by hosting a workshop to bring together various groups, mentioned above, to learn about the concepts and the Getting Ahead Program. From there, we anticipate training facilitators and starting some initial Getting Ahead groups. Finally, we plan to evaluate the implementation and then hope to extend the reach of the program within the community.
Our current need is financial support to host the initial workshop in an effort to build a collaborative network of supporters and introduce them to the Bridges Out Of Poverty concepts and the Getting Ahead Program. Ruby Payne's organization aha! Process provides certified trainers to present this comprehensive approach to understanding poverty to communities for the cost of $4,000 for one day. Our total expected cost to cover that day of bringing the community together for learning is $5,000 which also includes printed materials and refreshments. JTHS 204 has offered to provide their location, and the Harvey Brooks Foundation has offered to take fiscal responsibility of managing financial gifts if needed.
Our tentative timeline includes holding the workshop in early September 2018. We are considering the format of three mirrored sessions throughout the day, so that community members can attend the time that works best for them, enabling us to maximize our outreach to the community with the certified trainer. After gaining further support at the workshop, we intend to have facilitators trained and individuals invited in time to begin Getting Ahead Groups in January 2019. Our initial focus will be on inviting parents of young school aged children, as identified by local school districts, to be group participants.
Number of Rotarians Included: 20
Non-Rotarians: 60
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