Early preview for what’s in store for the March 22nd Forum:

The Earth’s population has reached an estimated 7 billion people. Our resources are shrinking as we need more and more to function in life. Our oil is diminishing, and our landfills are overfilling into what once were healthy wooded forests. Our drinking water becomes increasingly dangerous to drink as medications, car oil, and various pollutants seep into the watershed. It is up to those of us who care and love for the Mother Earth who can create change, or least stop the abuse of the Earth. This means changing our lifestyle to one that is sustainable…

Here is a video brought to us by the TedX Talks that may serve as a reminder of how precious our Earth is and all of her inhabitants: http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/en/louie_schwartzberg_nature_beauty_gratitude.html

* This picture is from keneva.com.*

Last month’s Forum, “Creating the Culture for Community Transformation: Maximizing Resources and Funds,” gave us insightful information on how creating collaborative efforts for social change can be more successful than trying to do it on our own. Society as a whole benefits more when as combine our resources and share our strategies for success. Thank you to all of you who showed up and helped make it a successful event!

We’d like to thank our panelists for their time, extensive knowledge, and passion :                                                                         

John Rostykus, First Congregational UCC, Longmont
Ken Miller, Project Revive, Cornerstone Church
Patrick Monacelli, Foothills United Way
Kathy Fedler, City of Longmont, LHOT
  
  Here are some valuable resources:

• Robert Putnam: Robert Putnam is the man behind the idea of social capital. His book, Bowling Alone, discusses civic engagement and social capital in detail. Putnam says, “Whereas physical capital refers to physical objects and human capital refers to the properties of individuals, social capital refers to connections among individuals.” 
• Bettertogether.org Learn about the ways that Americans are connecting together to maximize resources and funds. Better Together says, ”We will become a better place when assessing social capital impact becomes a standard part of decision-making.” Click on the quote to read more.
• 150 ways to build social capital. Click here.

Please Help Us Win $1000:

Every month Precision Plumbing runs a drawing for a local charity or good cause. The charity that receives the most votes in one month wins $1,000.  With one click, follow this link to the nomination page. For the organization name, enter “FOCUS/Restoring the Soul.”  Thank you for helping our program prosper and thrive.

    ”Creating the Culture for Community Transformation: Maximizing Resources and Funds.”

Panelists:

Patrick Monacelli, Foothills United Way, Kathy Fedler, City of Longmont, LHOT, Edwina Salazar, ED of the OUR Center, Ken Miller, Project REVIVE

WHEN: Thursday, January 26th

TIME:  11:30 a.m.-1 p.m.

HOST: Congregation Har HasShem

3950 Baseline Road, Boulder 80303

* Free of charge * All are welcome * Free and easy parking * Snacks provided * Panelists TBA *

You may also bring a vegetarian lunch as our host site is kosher.

“Collaboration doesn’t mean that you are fighting over scarcity of resources. It means you’re making the resource pie bigger.”

Many non-profit agencies have to transform the way they run their programs. This is due to the rough economy and less grant money to apply for. No longer can non-profits run as separate programs. Instead, they must form collaborations of ideas and resources in order to thrive.  This is called social capital. 

On January 26th, we will be hosting a forum titled, Creating the Culture for Community Transformation: Maximizing Resources and Funds. 

I will be posting more forum and panel information shortly. Until then, here are a few informative websites that have some wonderful articles:

The Collaboration Foundation

“For Non-Profits, Collaboration is the Name of the Game.”

“Non-Profit Collaboration: Doesn’t it Make the Pie Bigger.”

Our other program, FOCUS, an offender mentoring program, is always looking for new mentors. January trainings are in the making. The more the merrier, so please don’t hesitate to contact us. You can check out the website by clicking here, or give us a call at (720) 304-6446. Looking forward to hearing from you!

Mark your calendars for November 17th to learn more about what our local businesses are doing to contribute to the community. We are honored to have such an experienced panel of business leaders and look forward to seeing you all there!

When: Thursday, November 17th, 2011. 11:30 a.m. -1 p.m. 

Where: Congregation Har HaShem, 3950 Baseline Rd., Boulder CO 80303

Who:

Facilitator:  

• David Page, Owner of David Page Photography 

Panelists:

• Joshua Onysko, Owner of Pangea Organics,
• John Tayer, Public Affairs and Communication Director of Corden Pharma, and
• Rich Lotterhos, Owner of Urban Mattress

Co-sponsored by Precision Plumbing

Join us for our monthly forum and discuss this rising social problem. Reentry and reintegration have become crucially important to Boulder County because those released from the county jail return back into our neighborhoods. Listen to our knowledgeable panelist discuss what we can do to assist these offenders back into the community safely. With collaboration, we can enhance community safety, help offenders find jobs and housing so they are off the streets, and better the living environment for all. After all, we are all humans and all make mistakes and the recidivism rate of 70% proves that jail isn’t the answer anymore. 

When: Thursday, October 27th, 2011. 11:30 a.m. -1 p.m. 

Where: Congregation Har HaShem, 3950 Baseline Rd., Boulder CO 80303

Who:

• Elise Flesher, Research and Analyst, Longmont Police Department
• Joy Eckstine, Executive Director, Bridge House (formerly Carriage House)
• Tim Schaaf, Lead Case Manager, Boulder Shelter for the Homeless
• Jose Nieves, life experience of the issues.
• Leslie Ogeda, Facilitator, Program Specialist, Community Justice Services