Real Change Happens at the Community Level
Posted by Mary Ajax, President and CEO | Tuesday, July 20, 2010
I learned the value of community at the kitchen table.
My family came from Ireland to Burnsville in the 1860s. While I was growing up, my two sisters went to a one-room schoolhouse where the high school football field is today. One sister was the only first grader in her class; Burnsville was very much an Irish Catholic community. Halfway through second grade, a boy moved in. He was Lutheran and that was diversity in Burnsville in the 1950s.
To attend high school, families sent their kids to Bloomington, Rosemount or Shakopee High School. So the families in our community – my ancestors – had a vision. They wanted a high school. They got to work, rolled up their sleeves, met at the kitchen table, and created ISD 191. Now my two sons are the fifth generation of my family living in Burnsville.
When I was a kid growing up in Burnsville, our mailing address was Savage. As our city grew, our civic leaders knew it was time we had our own mailing address. Again, I remember the community – my ancestors – working at the kitchen table on plans for the post office and zip code, which we soon acquired.
One story after another of “community organizing” happened at the kitchen table, on the front porch, at the back swing, and in the living room. This was true grassroots community building. I grew up with people who cared for one another, created a future together, and welcomed newcomers, change, opportunity, and growth.
They embraced the future and saw what it would require to achieve, then worked together to make it happen. It wasn’t someone else’s responsibility to build community; it was their civic responsibility.
As I began my professional career I had the privilege of being involved in the battered women’s movement. What an honor it has been for me to have women share their most personal stories with me. The lessons they taught me made a profound impact on my life. The battered women’s movement was not top-down; it was grassroots. Significant change in our society has happened as a result of this work. More needs to happen, but it all began at the grassroots level.
At
360 Communities, we have structured our entire organization to support people and communities to create their own positive future. We actively bring community leaders together to look at the key measures of a healthy community as established by MN Compass. We see where the community is trending and we work with the communities to establish priorities for turning the negatives into positives.
360 Communities is leading this effort to engage community members in owning the success of their communities.
I know that real change happens at the community level. Each of us is responsible for vibrant, healthy communities. I am forever grateful for the lessons of community I learned from my family – at the kitchen table and in the living room.
360 Communities exists to bring people together to build relationships to achieve our community’s goals. It happens through conversation and over coffee; it happens deliberately because we have the will to work together to create a strong future. Come join us! We have the courage to work together to create the future, and we know how to get things done; it’s who we are and thankfully, it’s in our DNA!
Warmest regards,
Mary Ajax, President and CEO