Stories of Where It's Working - Abundant Community

From Backyard Lettuce to “Learning Garden” Sweet Potatoes

January 30, 2012 ()

In a unique school-community collaboration, a retirement home, a church and three neighborhoods adjoining surrounding Ashlawn Elementary School in Arlington, VA grew enough lettuce in their yards to feed 500 people. Ashlawn’s fourth Lawns 2 Lettuce 4 Lunch celebration lunch also featured sweet potatoes the students harvested from founder Joan Horwitts’s latest brainchild, a “learning garden” started on a nearby historic dairy farm.… read more »

Libraries Leading Community

by Laura Fulton on January 27, 2012 ()

Libraries are getting more and more creative in coming up with ways to build communities around them. Read about six innovative strategies that might work in your neighborhood.… read more »

Inspirations for 2012 Community

by Jan Bennett on January 20, 2012 ()

Dafna Michaelson quit her job, cashed in her 401(k), and set out on a year-long mission: To visit one state each week and interview people changing their communities, and then share their stories to inspire others.… read more »

The First Wednesday Conversation in Olympia, WA

by Steve Byers on January 9, 2012 ()

Since July 2007 Steve Byers has hosted a monthly conversation in his community where people have a chance to explore something new or share their perspective in a welcoming environment. One reason it works? He always shows up.… read more »

Welcoming Schools: ABCD in Action

by Jim Welling on December 13, 2011 ()

A veteran educator shows how a simple shift in thinking from deficiencies to gifts can produce big results.… read more »

Sweet Potatoes Newest Star of Lawns 2 Lettuce 4 Lunch

December 6, 2011 ()

Sweet potato soup, salad and dessert are the latest lesson in growing and eating healthy foods and developing new relationships between Ashlawn Elementary School and its neighbors,… read more »

Bring & Fix

November 30, 2011 ()

Philippe Granger of Lewisham in the Greater London area came up with a simple and brilliant idea for building community that anyone anywhere can put into action. It’s called Bring & Fix, and it’s like a “gifts fair” where people share their knowledge and skills with their neighbors.… read more »

Elementz: A Place for Hip Hop and Respect

November 30, 2011 ()

Elementz is "a place for hip hop and respect" where Cincinnati teens learn creativity by telling their stories in the various forms provided by hip hop culture: audio, music, poetry/rap, dance and graffiti/visual art. Take a look at their Fall 2011 digital newsletter to learn how it's working.… read more »

Small Steps to Creating Community

November 22, 2011 ()

Two examples of small steps people can make to create community where they live, encouraging interaction and building trust.… read more »

Little Free Library

November 18, 2011 ()

The simple phrase "take a book, return a book" has made Little Free Library a movement with huge implications for building community, one little box at a time.… read more »

Leading from the Back and Front...Can It Be Done?

by April Doner on November 16, 2011 ()

The questions confronting volunteer leaders in building organizations characterized by strong internal commitment, a spirit of mutual support, integrity and inclusiveness, and constant creativity and adaptation.… read more »

Actions Speak Louder…

by Joe Erpenbeck on November 7, 2011 ()

Think of Cincinnati's Westwood Works more as a way of looking at things than as your typical "civic group"… read more »

How Do You Change the World?

by Susan Fleetwood, William Sparks on October 24, 2011 ()

In creating a powerful and engaging experience for their last alumni event, the organizers of the Pepperdine University Master of Science in Organization Development alumni "un-conference" came up with six design principles to help stay focused on community as a place where gifts are recognized and shared with one another.… read more »

The San Diego Social Innovation Trust

by Meredith McNair on October 13, 2011 ()

The San Diego Social Innovation Trust is building a "culture of collaboration and creativity" in which businesses, foundations and non-profit organizations work together to become more efficient, effective and innovative. They want to show that each sector can meet its own goals while sharing a wider agenda.… read more »

Pie Day at the Hardware Store

by Melissa Lee on October 7, 2011 ()

Insight into what some people in a small town in Washington State are doing to keep their community going.… read more »

PlacerSustain: One Community’s Exploration of the Possibility of a Sustainable Future

by Jeffrey Bordelon on September 20, 2011 ()

Learn how PlacerSustain fulfills its mission of "connecting people and inspiring collaboration to build healthy communities and thriving local economies" in Placer County, CA by building relationships, sharing information and learning, and supporting collaborative actions based on sustainability principles.… read more »

Third Place Commons: The Heart of Community

by Anne Stadler on September 16, 2011 ()

An unusual partnership in Lake Forest Park, WA makes Third Place Commons a place for true community.… read more »

The Neighborhood Café and Other Hospitable Places

by Joe Erpenbeck on September 9, 2011 ()

A warm welcome and a focus on the gifts of those who are present in the hospitable places in Joe Erpenbeck’s neighborhood make more associations, joyous hospitality and a stronger neighborhood full of even more gifts possible.… read more »

Wiser Together: Partnering Across Generations

by Juanita Brown, Ashley Cooper on August 30, 2011 ()

In western North Carolina World Cafe pioneer Juanita Brown is co-creating with young leaders as well as her 90 year-old mother a gathering place nurturing multi-generational partnerships for community resilience… read more »

Milwaukee: Transformation in Process

by Meredith McNair on August 25, 2011 ()

The Milwaukee Community Transformation Project is uniting Milwaukee citizens and institutions in collaborating on asset-based approaches to the community's future… read more »

The Golden Girls 2.0

by Jan Bennett on August 22, 2011 ()

The people of the Glacier Circle Community in Davis, CA are senior-only co-housing pioneers with a unique take on independence, commitment and community… read more »

What Is Enough?

August 19, 2011 ()

The key question for citizens today, Alachua County Manager Randall Reid says, is: What is enough? Gainesville, FL-area citizens answered that question over the several months of of “Courageous Conversations” citizen engagement workshops.… read more »

Growing Community I: What, Why & How?

by Laura Fulton on August 17, 2011 ()

Background and useful links for families and neighborhoods interested in creating community gardens as a way to come together and learn about one another… read more »

Library? Or Welcome Wagon, Day Care, Counseling and Job Center?

August 1, 2011 ()

How a public library can become a hub of community life -- on an annual budget of $300… read more »

Slow Down and Stay Awhile – Roads and Community

by Brenton Crozier on July 28, 2011 ()

How Willow Creek, CA slowed things down and created a downtown community… read more »

Q & A

July 26, 2011 ()

We asked, "If it takes a village to raise a child, what do you think this would look like?" New answers from our neighbors and friends… read more »

Why You Should Bring Community to the Table

by Paul Born on July 22, 2011 ()

Tamarack president and co-founder Paul Born on the power of community-wide collaboration and engagement… read more »

Cup Mail

by Ron Dwyer-Voss on July 14, 2011 ()

The Falling Rock Cafe and Bookstore in Munising, Michigan is cooking up community along with coffee and cupcakes.… read more »

Welcome Vashon

by Bruce Anderson on July 11, 2011 ()

"Welcome Vashon" is a hub for projects and activities that strengthen belonging for everyone on Vashon Island, WA… read more »

Blessings Revealed

by Puanani Burgess on June 21, 2011 ()

A story of the power of discovering your gift, told by community organizer, mediator, poet and Zen priest Pua Burgess… read more »

The Art of Neighboring ... Continued

by John McKnight on June 14, 2011 ()

Don and Terry Vande Krol came up with a simple initiative to build community in the neighborhood around them… read more »

Together We Grow Healthy Food, Family and Friends

May 24, 2011 ()

"Together we grow healthy food, family, and friends" is the motto of Shalom Farms, a regional food security and community building project in Richmond, Virginia.… read more »

Guest Blog: Our Second Community Meeting

by Jennifer Sommerness on May 12, 2011 ()

When Jennifer mentioned her goal of becoming a community connector in her review of The Abundant Community, we asked her to write a guest blog so others could share and learn from her experiences.… read more »

The Last Shot in DC

by Susan Doherty on May 6, 2011 ()

How a series of conversations in a tough Cincinnati neighborhood turned into a compelling film project that explores the dreams, dangers, hopes and hard choices of a group of streetwise teenagers.… read more »

Growing Food, Knowledge and Community

by John McKnight on May 5, 2011 ()

From dairy farm to "learning garden," Joan Horwitt promotes healthy eating and, in the process, community.… read more »

ABCD in Action

by John McKnight on April 14, 2011 ()

Check out ABCD in Action for a look at current practice in Asset Based Community Development… read more »

Guest Blog: Becoming a Community Connector

by Jennifer Sommerness on March 28, 2011 ()

When Jennifer mentioned her goal of becoming a community connector in her review of The Abundant Community, we asked her to write a guest blog so others could share and learn from her experiences.… read more »

Deep Connections

by Tim Vogt on March 14, 2011 ()

Bellevue KY community connectors Tim and Bridget Vogt on the joys and sorrows of neighborliness… read more »

Leveraging Capacity for Change

by John McKnight on March 14, 2011 ()

From a recent newsletter from the New Economics Institute, models of neighborhood initiatives then and now.… read more »

Uhuru Child and Fountain of Hope Youth Initiative Honored by Community Tool Box

by Bill Berkowitz, Ph.D. on February 16, 2011 ()

Uhuru Child and Fountain of Hope Youth, both located in Kenya, received the Community Tool Box “Out of the Box” prize for 2010; the award was created to recognize and honor the most promising grassroots initiatives that strengthen community development and community health worldwide.… read more »

Four Questions, Twenty-Five Neighbors, and a Community Garden

by Margaret Rahn on January 11, 2011 ()

From baking cookies for new neighbors Tim Vogt, of Bellevue, KY, developed an intentional practice of being a neighborhood connector.… read more »

The Art of Neighboring

by John McKnight on July 26, 2010 ()

In North Port, FL, a relatively new community, Don Vande Krol felt he needed to know his neighbors.… read more »

Share Some Sugar Community Website

by John McKnight on July 14, 2010 ()

Why buy when you can borrow?… read more »

Share Tompkins

by Shira Golding on July 12, 2010 ()

We've been working on ways to better share resources in Tompkins County, NY. A few months ago we started organizing Community Swap Meets where people can give away, share or barter goods, services and labor with a focus on being as local and sustainable as possible. We are also working on creating coops for housing, child care and more.… read more »

Mead Street Manifesto

by Mikala Woodward on July 6, 2010 ()

People all over the country lament the loss of community, neighborhoods, local culture. "Nobody knows their neighbors anymore," they say. . . . Here on Mead Street we're not buying it.… read more »

Al Etmanski

by Peter Block on June 21, 2010 ()

Al Etmanski is one of North America's best social inventors.… read more »