| Brushy
Fork Institute of Berea College has partnered with the town of
Big Stone Gap, Va., to implement the Institute’s new Community
Transformation Program. The program combines the Institute’s
18 years of experience in leadership and community development
with residents’ enthusiasm and work around community improvement
in Big Stone Gap.
The goal of the Community Transformation Program is to build
the capacity in a community to guide the use of resources and
tap local energy for positive change. The program will include
leadership and community development workshops for residents.
Community members will take on team projects in a variety of
community sectors.
Along with the team projects, residents will participate in
a strategic planning process that pulls together existing and
new planning efforts. A core team of residents will coordinate
the work in the community and will travel to Berea College in
September to attend the Brushy Fork Annual Institute. At the
Annual Institute, core team members will gain hands-on skills
to use in the Community Transformation Program.
“When we designed this program, we envisioned partnering
with a community that was close to a tipping point,” said
Peter Hille, Director of Brushy Fork Institute. “Big Stone
is a community where energy is bubbling and people are ready
to move toward positive, long-term transformation.”
Bringing the program to a community was as much about the community
selecting Brushy Fork as it was about Brushy Fork selecting the
community, noted Hille. Brushy Fork staff traveled to Big Stone
Gap in late January, where they met with a large group interested
in the program. When Big Stone Gap was invited officially to
participate in the Community Transformation Program, members
of the community gave a resounding yes.
Planning for the Community Transformation Program was underwritten
by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. The W.K. Kellogg Foundation was
established in 1930 “to help people help themselves through
the practical application of knowledge and resources to improve
their quality of life and that of future generations.” Its
programming activities center around the common vision of a world
in which each person has a sense of worth; accepts responsibility
for self, family, community and societal well-being; and has
the capacity to be productive, and to help create nurturing families,
responsive institutions, and healthy communities.
As an outreach program of Berea College, Brushy Fork Institute
works to develop strong leadership in the mountains of Appalachia.
The Institute’s programs promote leadership perspectives
and practices that are developmental, collaborative, accountable,
ethical and effective. For more information about Brushy Fork
Institute, visit www.brushyfork.org.
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