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The Community Transformation Program is an
intensive, long-term process that includes training opportunities
for local residents,
community improvement projects and strategic planning efforts. When
a community joins the program, a core team of leaders partners with
Brushy Fork to implement the program. Members of the core team represent
various sectors of the community, for example: economic developers,
local entrepreneurs, businesses and banks, community agencies and
nonprofits, youth, the school system, elected officials and volunteers.
The core team members should be decision-makers who have enough knowledge
of their sector to recognize challenges and opportunities and who
have enough influence to address these challenges and opportunities.
The core group serves as facilitators and a driving force for tapping
the energy around various sectors in the community and for pulling
together efforts in these sectors toward a shared vision.
The program is customized to meet the needs of the partnering
community. Some of the elements it could include are:
Training
The core team of leaders attend the Brushy Fork Annual Institute on the campus
of Berea College, where they gain hands-on skills and unique perspectives
related to leadership and community development.
Other citizens in the community participate in workshops on leadership
development and project planning that take place in the county.
Brushy Fork staff lead these workshop sessions. As an outcome of
the in-county workshops, the participants undertake projects as
described below.
Community Projects
The core team recruits and organizes community members to take on multiple,
diverse community improvement projects. These projects are in the various community
sectors, such as health care, youth, education, economic development and recreation.
Strategic Planning
The community engages in a strategic planning process that builds on existing
strategic plans and connect to the community transformation process. The
strategic plan addresses all sectors of the community and serves as a unifying
force for community development efforts.
Leadership Development Infrastructure Assessment Brushy Fork staff
works with the community to assess the existing programs and opportunities
that increase local leadership capacity. Where gaps are identified,
the community may implement new, local programs to train emerging
leaders. Brushy Fork provides technical assistance for program
design.
Leveraging of Internal/External Resources The community explores
other resources that are available and partners with Brushy Fork
to identify ways to increase their capacity to leverage these resources.
Such resources might include business loans, internship programs,
foundation or government grants or other training programs.
The first community to partner with Brushy Fork in the Community
Transformation Program is Big Stone Gap, Virginia. The group adopted
the name Bridging the Gap. To learn more about their efforts, visit www.bridgthegap.com.
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