Community Dialogue Scheduled for First Baptist Church October 2
Staff Reports
AshevilleConnects will hold its third day-long community dialogue on Saturday, October 2 in downtown’s First Baptist Church at 5 Oak Street. The program begins at 9 a.m. and continues until 3 p.m.
AshevilleConnects brings members of the helping community together to strengthen working relationships and increase the effectiveness of service groups to serve more people. Founder Kathleen Osta offers an open forum for participants to discuss topics they have passion for, raise awareness about services, and identify practical actions that will keep the momentum of working together moving forward.
A 30-year veteran of community organizing, Osta established
AshevilleConnects in September 2009 when 40 people from 25 different
organizations and groups attended the introductory meeting. She was
inspired by the Martin Luther King, Jr. Prayer Breakfast that she
attended in 2005 when she saw a broad cross-section of the community in
the same room. She wondered, “What if this kind of group pulled together
to make sure that whoever needed servcies got them?” She believed that
anything is possible. She notes, “By reducing duplicated efforts and
closing service gaps, our local resources will be better used.”
Osta believes when you get people in a room talking about what matters
to them (in this case, serving those in need and supporting each other),
good things happen. Opportunities for combined efforts ranging from
simple, one-time actions to new, previously unthought-of alliances and
mutually beneficial relationships surface. That’s been the case so far.
“Ultimately the idea is to get more people served,” she says. “One way
to do that is to make sure that people providing services in this
challenging economic environment get the support they need; by hooking
up with others in the helping community. Everybody needs to recharge
their batteries.” This is like an active 211 freecycle — talk about what
they need and what they have.
This notion has struck a chord with organizations supporting
AshevilleConnects. They include Eliada Home, United Way, ARP/Phoenix,
Building Bridges, Children First/Communities in Schools, the YMI
Cultural Center, and several others.
The upcoming dialogue will be supported by contributions from
participating organizations and individuals from all parts of the
community. Register by Friday, September 24, by visiting
ashevilleconnects.wordpress.com, or email [email protected], or
call Kathleen at (828) 685-7822. Checks payable to AshevilleConnects
should be mailed to 34 Wall St., Asheville, NC 28801.
