Game Changers: The Conscious Culture 2019 Community Edition 45 Years of Community Servi | Page 10

Wh en you ar e in volved in you r com m u n it y, you
w or k f or t h e gen er al w elf ar e of t h at com m u n it y.
Th is in volves u n der st an din g pu blic policy issu es,
su ppor t in g legislat ive in it iat ives, pr om ot in g
vot er r egist r at ion , an d par t icipat ion in t h e
elect ion s, f r om local, St at e, t o Feder al. You w ill
em br ace h igh er edu cat ion , seek ou t
com m u n it y m em ber s w it h t ech n ical an d
m an ager ial sk ills an d exper ien ce t o su ppor t
plan n in g an d t r ain in g f or t h e you t h .
Wor k in g in t h e com m u n it y in volves developin g
coalit ion s w h ich valu e an d su ppor t t h e cu lt u r al
dif f er en ces am on g u s. We u se t h e diver se
t alen t s t o in cr ease su ppor t ive en gagem en t , as
w e addr ess a m u lt iplicit y of issu es su ch as
w or k in g on en r ich in g t h e lives of sen ior cit izen s,
assist in g ou r vet er an s, evalu at in g t h e issu es of
Com m u n it y
In volvem en t :
t een age pr egn an cy, copin g w it h gan g violen ce,
u n der st an din g an d w or k in g on pr even t in g
su bst an ce abu se, w or k in g w it h t h e sch ool
Yea or Nay
boar d t o addr ess sch olast ic issu es, ect . Th e list
Sar ah M . Billu ps, M SW, LCSW,
of com m u n it y issu es w h ich can be addr essed
ACSW
t h r ou gh com m u n it y in volvem en t is var ied an d
Th e call f or com m u n it y in volvem en t is per son al of t en pr essin g.
f or each of u s. It is a self -im posed du t y w h ich
Th e r ole of t h e ch u r ch can n ot be over st at ed,
in volves a sacr if ice of t im e, f in an cial r esou r ces,
an d aw ak en in g an d or gan izin g t h e pow er of t h e
an d diligen ce, t h e sam e as ou r place of
black ch u r ch an d t h e black cler gy, is on e of t h e
em ploym en t . For t h ose of u s w h o an sw er t h e
m ost im por t an t object ives f or su ccessf u l
call, it is a lar ger t h an lif e r espon sibilit y w h ich
in t er ven t ion in ou r com m u n it ies. Hist or ically,
can im pact ot h er s f or year s t o com e.
t h e black ch u r ch h as been f r on t an d cen t er in
To t h e m an y w h o pon der com m u n it y
an sw er in g t h e call of com m u n it y leader sh ip.
in volvem en t , an d can n ot decide w h et h er t h ey
So if you ar e con sider in g w h et h er you sh ou ld
sh ou ld an sw er t h e call, I w an t t o sh ar e w it h you
get u p an d an sw er t h e call f or com m u n it y
som e of t h e in cr edible ben ef it s w h ich com e w it h
ser vice. It r equ ir es t h at w e u n der st an d t h e
an sw er ?YEA!!!?, becau se t h er e is n o on e else in
diver se n eeds w it h in t h e com m u n it y. It in volves
people com in g t oget h er explor in g gr eat ideas,
open in g door s w h ich m igh t ot h er w ise be closed
in volvem en t , let m e en cou r age you st r on gly t o
t h e com m u n it y w h o can w alk you r w alk , or
br in g t o t h e t able YOUR specif ic sk ill set w h ich
God h as given YOU.
t o t h e com m u n it y, cr eat in g oppor t u n it ies
t h r ou gh sh ar ed con cept s, bu ildin g br idges
bet w een diver se com m u n it ies, an d cu lt ivat in g
leader sh ip t h r ou gh gr ou p in t er act ion s.
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