Blue Valley School District’s Post

Draft for a Statement of Human Obligation* - A Fall workshop on Mise en scène - the 'setting' of what makes a good neighborhood**. *(Inspired by Simone Weil, French philosopher. PBS.org. Other Voices ) ** (Inspired by the West Fullerton Civic Engagement work of Dr. Robert Emry and Owen Holmes of Cal State Fullerton funded by the California Stories project, League of Women Voters entitled Hope & Civic Renewal) Long post warning: The human soul has need of both personal property and collective property. Personal property never consists in the possession of a sum of money, but in the ownership of concrete objects like a house, a field, furniture, tools, which seem to the soul to be an extension of itself and of the body. Justice requires that personal property, in this sense, should be, like liberty, inalienable. Collective property is not defined by a legal title but by the feeling among members of a human milieu that certain objects are like an extension or development of the milieu. This feeling is only possible in certain objective conditions. - Simone Weil, French philosopher. Workshop dates and sign-up links coming soon. Two hour sessions with 10-15 people using Grove graphic facilitations methodology and community building & problem solving. Where you live is situated IN a neighborhood.

Today, we’re stepping out of the digital realm and into the heart of our community at St. Michael's Block Party, teaming up with the Billy D Foundation! 👋 At Webmark Group, we believe technology bridges gaps, but it’s the human connection that builds bridges to the future. That’s why we're all about supporting initiatives that make a real difference. And what better way than celebrating the power of inclusivity and empowerment with the Billy D Foundation? The Billy D Foundation has been a beacon of hope, providing scholarships that open doors for individuals with special needs, enabling them to shine bright at every stage of their lives. 🩵 From education to personal development, these scholarships are more than just financial aid; they’re stepping stones to success, independence, and achieving dreams. As we enjoy the festivities at St. Michael Special School today, let's take a moment to appreciate the incredible work of the Billy D Foundation. Their commitment to empowering the special needs community resonates deeply with our ethos at WebMark Consulting Group - where we harness technology not just to create, but to make a meaningful impact. Together, we’re not just attending a block party; we're part of something bigger. A celebration of potential, progress, and the powerful changes we can create when we come together for a noble cause. Help us Give back Here: https://lnkd.in/dpS8DVsh #BillyDFoundation #WebMarkGivesBack #CommunityEmpowerment #SpecialNeedsSuccess #StMichaelsBlockParty #InclusivityInAction #EmpowermentThroughEducation #MakeADifferenceToday

The secret to thriving school districts? An engaged community. Establishing trust within the community is paramount for school districts as they navigate through polarization, legislative challenges, and budget constraints. By elevating the voices of your educational partners—teachers, students, parents, staff, and community members—and acting on the insights you surface, you'll be setting up your initiatives for success. Want to get more authentic community engagement in your district? We created a tool kit to help you get there! Get our tips and tactics for: ✅ Creating a better community engagement plan ✅ Building community trust in your district, and more! Download the tool kit here 👇 🔗 https://bit.ly/48MqNqY #CommunityEngagement #EducationalLeadership

Glass half empty post, but hear me out, because I/we/schools need you... So many needs are going unmet, and it pains me every day. In my role, I need people power and a semi-truckload of funding power every day, but today I/my team needs it STAT to further our reach. Activate Good received THIRTY applications for The eLOVEate Schools Project (nearly double the number we received last year!). It pained me to close the application when today's deadline came. Many moons ago I was a teacher in the lowest performing district of SC, and I KNOW the vastness of the needs of public schools and still aim to be a champion for them. As I review these applications, I am blown away by the sheer volume of needs that is detailed within them.  Due to this being the last year of our funding for this project and our small but mighty capacity, we can only select SIX schools for the next cohort. This also really pains me. Currently this program brings volunteer support and community resources to under-resourced schools in Wake County, and countless impacts have been made over our two years of this heart driven work. Other counties have reached out to inquire about expanding this program. We DREAM of broadening our reach and are filled with ideas, but we would LOVE to talk through them with the people who can really care and can HELP us expand our efforts. We need more staff on our team, we need more sponsors for transformative projects, and we need it all right now to help meet the needs in our schools and beyond. If you're passionate about education, we need you to volunteer. If your company, church, university, or group can financially support transformative projects, we need your support. If you're still reading my soapbox rant, know that I appreciate you more than you know. As you ponder how to help our scappy team with its efforts, let these quotes from the applications sink in: "Everything is old and feels trashed." 💔 "We need to have a building that screams a welcoming, positive, and clean environment for both staff, students and families." "We want our students to SEE themselves in our building and feel like this is a place they want to be (attendance is hovering around 51% missing 6 or more days a year). School should be a place of JOY, and we need help getting there!" EVERY school community should have this and SO MUCH MORE.

Do you know about the Bayer Center for Nonprofit Management at RMU? They build a stronger community by helping to build stronger, more knowledgeable nonprofits. Check out their offerings if you are looking to strengthen your nonprofit!

It's official! The Trust for Civic Life has launched! An exciting day for folks building civic infrastructure, particularly in rural communities. From Hollie Russon Gilman, Ph.D.: The Trust is a new philanthropic collaborative and learning network with a simple mission: support local efforts that bring residents together to solve challenges they decide are most critical for their community to thrive. In times of polarization, we believe this is one critical step in the process of rebuilding trust in each other and forging a deeper democracy. https://lnkd.in/gQwUbPPH #democracy

🎉 Big News from the Student Basic Needs Coalition! 🎉 We’re excited to share that SBNC has been awarded a $100,000 grant from the Annie E. Casey Foundation. This grant will enable us to expand our peer navigator program to more community colleges, helping thousands of students gain access to SNAP benefits and tackle food insecurity. Community colleges are a vital gateway to education for students from low-income backgrounds, yet many eligible students still face barriers to receiving SNAP benefits. The SNAP gap—where students miss out on benefits they’re entitled to—can have serious consequences, from increased stress to lower academic performance. Thanks to this generous grant, we’re expanding our peer navigator program, where student leaders with lived experience guide their peers through the SNAP application process. These peer navigators play a critical role in reducing stigma and making the process more accessible. We’re also creating a new full-time Campus Program Manager role to oversee these efforts and ensure more students get the support they need. This initiative is about more than just increasing SNAP enrollment—it’s about creating a sustainable model that can be replicated across other schools, amplifying our impact. We’re incredibly grateful to the Annie E. Casey Foundation for their commitment to this crucial work. Stay connected with us as we continue to push forward in our mission to make college more affordable and accessible for all students. Learn more about this initiative and how you can get involved: https://lnkd.in/gsYfE7dz #SocialJustice #StudentAdvocacy #SNAPGap #FoodInsecurity #CommunityColleges #StudentLeaders #SBNC #HigherEducation #CollegeAccess #PeerSupport #NonprofitOrganization #EducationEquity #StudentSuccess #CampusCommunity #AdvocacyWork #SocialImpact #StudentAffairs

Sharing this post from Rose Thompson with my #linkedin network as Activate Good looks to do more good in local schools this year! If you can help, please reach out and connect with me as #boardchair.

One of the best things you’ll see today. Not only is this heartwarming, life changing and impactful but for those on this platform it helps to remind us to shift our paradigm. Ask better questions to get better answers from those your solution, product or service will be used by. #Engineer a better world. In this case the students asked people who hardly, if ever are asked “what would help you?” Then built what THEY needed. Not what they thought people needed. As students many of them did not understand problems faced by the homeless as intimately as those who it was a lived experience. Build a solution to the problem designed by people who know what the purview is. Don’t build a solution looking for a problem. My engineer grandfather would love the fact that my daughter is likely the only kid in her daycare who knows the Kettering quote “a problem well stated is a problem half solved.” #engineerlove #engineerkindness #solveproblems #blockbyblock #seepeople #kindnessfirst #universalbasicdignity If your company or you personally are interested in helping to sponsor or in building these to deploy in cities across the United States please reach out as we are hoping to deploy bus fulls of hope.

Having grown up in a small town, many of the components of "community school" makes sense to me. We may not have called what we had "integrated support services", it was just school. #community #schools #family #safe #education "A full-service community school includes four elements: various integrated support services through nonprofits, businesses and higher-education institutions; active family and community engagement; expanded and enriched learning, which can include after-school, weekends and summers; and collaborative partnerships among parents, students, school administrators and community leaders" https://lnkd.in/gnwt5pQJ