A small-town mayor is sort of like a "community organizer" except that you have actual responsibilities.
"'Scuse me, Mrs. Palin. I'd like to know why the Points of Light Foundation is training and utilizing community organizers in their programs if they don't have any, you know, actual responsibilities? Let's see if I remember correctly. President Bush’s vision of 'a thousand points of light' was the inspiration for the the Foundation, wasn't it?
Wait a minute, though. It says here that faith groups should use community organizers in their outreach.
Outreach to Faith Groups
Today, faith-based and congregational networks are potentially the most influential allies in community organizing as they play an integral role in shaping communities.
I think there are some other places in Points of Light manuals where they make that point about building communities and strengthening families. Let's see, where are those manuals . . . ?
Working Solutions
CommunityINVOLVE list serve – a moderated listserve geared to the needs of volunteer managers, grassroots leaders and community organizers engaged in community building work that strengthens families and transforms neighborhoods. Members can share and learn about effective practices, leadership development, funding and training opportunities, as well as tools and products relevant to community building, volunteer management, and grassroots leadership.
A Matter of Survival: Volunteering
"As a society, we have lost a sense of community. Everything is about my space, my car, my yard, and my land. We have got to get back to looking to each other for solutions." Lucy, a community leader in a low-income neighborhood in Greensboro, North Carolina, offered this recommendation for communities like hers across the country.1 As an experienced organizer, volunteer, and neighborhood figurehead, she was skeptical of the efforts of middle-class volunteer organizations that were always "coming into" the neighborhood to "give back" while her fellow residents were on the receiving end. In her mind, when children grow up seeing their families continually receiving and not giving at all, "it’s not a good lesson to learn." It is also not healthy for the communities in which the children will grow up.
Community Liaison: Resident representing the community to other neighborhood groups
Community Developer/Organizer: Person used in community development organizations as change agents
Neighboring: Building connections among residents that support positive individual and community behavior based on mutual respect, responsibility and ownership
Faith Partners
Domestic Violence Ended, Incorporated (DOVE, Inc.)
Dove, Inc., of Decatur, Illinois, is a multi-service agency, formed as a coalition of religious congregations in 1970 to provide human services in a variety of areas of need. Its major programs include: comprehensive domestic violence shelter and services, community organizing, senior volunteer opportunities, emergency assistance, women's advocacy, youth drug abuse prevention, recycling, diversity training, and services to the homeless population.
Faith Based Programs
The Andrew Cader Foundation Faith Grant
In the wake of Hurricane Katrina the City of New Orleans struggles to rebuild itself. Most of the work has been carried out by volunteers, through creative and sustainable community organizing. The Points of Light Foundation & Volunteer Center National Network, in partnership with Volunteer Center of New Orleans, other volunteer centers, Interfaith Works and The Andrew Cader Foundation, have extended a grant to the American Clergy Leadership Conference (ACLC) in order to fight "Katrina Fatigue". One hundred and fifty youth volunteers from neighboring states will convene with local community members to learn about what faith groups are doing to help their own communities and each other.
Gosh, I guess those organizers just sit around waiting for people to tell them what to do, since they don't have responsibilities. Seems kind of a waste, since the manuals think they could be so important to the Points of Light programs. Maybe the local mayors can whip them into shape.