Citizen Action
Responding to Economic Inequality with Nurturance, Rather than Indifference
I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something; and because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do something I can do.
– Edward Everett Hale
Yesterday, I posted some reflections on the relationship between economic inequality and toxic stress - the kind of [...]
Feeling Energized by the Fresh Perspectives of Neighbors
Over the past three weeks, we’ve met with over a dozen individuals from neighborhoods throughout Sarasota County - individuals who are interested in working as Resident Community Changemakers in their home neighborhoods. These residents shared pictures of the places in their neighborhood they like best, described neighbor-led efforts already underway, and talked about their hopes [...]
At the Top of Our Game in Sarasota County
An article in the Sarasota Herald-Tribune talked about the graying of our global population as our planet hits the 7 billion population mark. Ted Fishman, author of “Shock of Gray”, was quoted,
“Longer life is what human beings have wanted ever since we started talking to spirits and mixing herbs in bowls. And we worked at [...]
Read All About It: Central-Cocoanut Neighbors Join Together in Fierce Devotion to their Neighborhood
In recent weeks, there have been many media reports about the local response to the mural painted in the Central-Cocoanut neighborhood of Newtown, on the corner of 10th Street and Central Avenue. As a community engagement organization, SCOPE has been anticipating headlines about the community-building brilliance of the neighborhood residents, as that’s what most impresses [...]
Community Wisdom
With the community research complete, the next step for the Aging with Dignity and Independence initiative is to share the fruits of the research, the six big themes that surfaced after examining the local lived-experiences of more than 500 older adults in Sarasota County.
The six themes that impact the experience of aging with dignity [...]
Attending to Equity Here in Sarasota County
This week at SCOPE we are participating in the e-conference of the Community Indicators Consortium. Today we listened to Angela Glover Blackwell, founder and CEO of PolicyLink, talk about “Equity, Measurement and the Future.” She defined her organization as a “community-building intermediary,” which is one way to describe SCOPE as well.
She talked about that point [...]
What is SCOPE’s Resident Community Changemakers Fellowship?
On Tuesday, SCOPE will host an information session regarding the Resident Community Changemakers fellowship, which will be starting up in January 2012. This is a nine-month fellowship for individuals who are living in Sarasota County and are interested in devoting themselves to resident-initiated, resident-led community change efforts beginning in their own neighborhood. SCOPE will provide [...]
In Search of Aspiring Resident Community Changemakers
Over the past year, SCOPE has been developing a community fellowship for “resident community changemakers.” See this January 2011 blog post for a description of what that means. In January 2012, a new cadre of local residents will begin the 9-month fellowship. SCOPE will provide weekly reflective consultation and access to various resources on community-building [...]
3rd Annual Communiplexity Summit
The 3rd Annual Communiplexity Summit will be taking place here in Sarasota on Friday, November 18th from 8:30 - 4:30 in the Community Room at the Herald-Tribune. SCOPE will be co-hosting the summit with Banyan Sprout, Inc. “Communiplexity” refers to combined theories of community and complexity which, when explored together, can yield innovative approaches to [...]
Maps to Inform Redistricting Efforts
Using ArcGIS software, SCOPE created the following maps to further inform discussions and deliberations regarding redistricting here in Sarasota County:
Map of Existing Districts for the State of Florida House of Representatives: Note that Sarasota County includes 5 Districts: 69, 55, 67, 70 and 71. Only District 70 lies entirely within the boundaries of Sarasota County. [...]