TAKING THE NETWORK TO THE NEXT LEVEL

From the Desk of Dana C. Jackson - Network Member

Dana C. Jackson

This time last year the Network was all a buzz about the unprecedented change taking place in Washington, D.C.  We declared 2008 "the Year of Yes We Can" and we challenged ourselves, in 2009, to live a "Yes We Are" message.  Yes We Are delivering results for our community.  Yes We Are doing our part to make sure our children inherit a community and world that they can be proud of.  Yes We Are tirelessly working for justice and Yes We Are embracing our collective power to make things change.  This was no small challenge!

 

But a challenge without a check-in is meaningless.  So let’s check-in!  Over the last 12 months, your network has been busy.  We have:

  • Grown to over 3,200 members
  • Graduated 65 community leaders from Network 101, our 4-day orientation class that provides members the fundamentals of Network Organizing
  • Our Foreclosure Conciliation Project in partnership with Legal Aid, the Circuit Court, Metro Government, and Kentucky Housing Corporation, Louisville Urban League, Housing Partnership Inc. and other community partners has received national recognition and was noted as a Promising Practice in the New York Times
  • More than 27 volunteers knocked on 508 doors all across this great metro area to make sure neighbors who are being foreclosed on had information that might help them save their home
  • 227 members were connected to employment
  • 27 students from Wheatley Elementary participated in a Summer Reading Academy and the majority of them gained a grade level in reading
  • 3rd grade reading scores at Phillis Wheatley, our partner school, have increased 18%.

 

Members and Partners have worked diligently to deliver change and live a Yes We Are message.  We are headed in the right direction.

 

Now is the time to take it to the next level in our pursuit to deliver lasting change.  This will require us, as a Network, to be more clear-eyed than every before about what we are, who we are, what we want and how we get there.

 

So let’s get clear… We are a network of people who believe in the power of people and connections.  We believe ALL people to be creative, resourceful and whole.  The Network works by connecting families to one another, to opportunities for economic and academic success and to strong and supportive communities.  We believe relationships matter.  And we have made an unwavering commitment to results.

 

At its very core, the Network is about social change.  We are about intentional lasting change that knocks down long-standing and persistent inequities and social injustices.  We are about creating communities of opportunity where all children and families achieve their highest aspirations. 

 

We do have a point of view about how such large scale and lasting change will happen.  We call it our Theory of Change and it outlines four essential elements that must be in place for the Network to achieve the big aspirations outlined above:

  • Build community demand for results
  • Create new connections to systems and organizations
  • Transform the environment to sustain change
  • Hold ourselves and others accountable

 

What do you think?

 

Join me and the other Network members in April as we discuss more deeply the Theory of Change and what the Network must do to achieve change.  Check our website for a date and time to be announced soon.

 

Let’s Make Change Together!

 

Dana C. Jackson

Making Connections Network

 

THE NETWORK CAN'T MOVE FORWARD UNTIL YOU MAIL IT BACK!

The U.S. Census counts every resident in the United States, and is required by the Constitution to take place every 10 years.

 

The 2010 Census will help communities receive more than $400 billion in federal funds each year for things like:

  • Hospitals
  • Job training centers
  • Schools
  • Senior centers
  • Bridges, tunnels and other-public works projects
  • Emergency services

The data collected by the census also help determine the number of seats your state has in the U.S. House of Representatives.

YouTube-Video

We can't move forward until you mail it back.

In March of 2010, census forms will be delivered to every residence in the United States and Puerto Rico. When you receive yours, just answer the 10 short questions and then mail the form back in the postage-paid envelope provided. If you don't mail the form back, you may receive a visit from a census taker, who will ask you the questions from the form.

The majority of the country will receive English–only materials. Households in areas with high concentrations of Spanish-speaking residents may receive a bilingual (English/Spanish) form.

 

Any personal data you provide is protected under federal law.  For information about the 2010 Census visit louisvilleky.gov/census or census.gov.

 

Help us spread the word!  If you would like to participate in neighborhood outreach, please send an e mail to Anthony.Smith@MakeChangeTogether.org or call 618-5979.

CHANGEMAKERS VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS SMOKETOWN & SHELBY PARK

NETWORK SUPPORT OF KCHIP WORKS!

KCHIP Press Conference at the Ali Center 11/10/09

Governor Steve Beshear got a thank you card from Wheatley Elementary Students, Leighann Robinson, 8, left, and Key'Onna Ealy, 8 for the new federal stimulus money that will help enroll more children in Jefferson County in the Kentucky Children's Health Insurance Program. (KCHIP) (By Kylene Lloyd, The Courier-Journal) November 10, 2009.  Read the entire article here!