Week 4 - Full

Discussions

1. Master List
    
   Update the table that you created in Week One to include all of the resources that you have been able to identify in your community for each of the eight categories (some organizations may be listed under multiple categories based on their vision and mission). Create a master list of each agency/organization you have identified that includes their mission/ vision statement and basic contact information – phone number, web address, etc.
   
   Identify any organizations that are involved in collaborative efforts (local ministerial associations, etc.) Repost your table and master list in the discussion forum.
   
    
2. Features Chart 
    
   Review each of the following nationally recognized programs’ websites:
   
   
   • Whatever It Takes: Athens, GA (http://www.witathens.org/)
   • Harlem Children’s Zone (http://www.hcz.org/)
   • Girl Scouts USA (http://www.girlscouts.org/)
   • Boys and Girls Clubs of America (http://www.bgca.org/Pages/index.aspx)
   • Boy Scouts of America (http://www.scouting.org/)
   • Communities in Schools (http://www.communitiesinschools.org/)
   • YMCA (http://www.ymca.net/)
   • Special Olympics (http://www.specialolympics.org/)
   • The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (http://www.gatesfoundation.org/Pages/home.aspx)
     
   Select three from the list and identify the following using a semantic feature analysis chart:
   
   • Their Mission/Vision Statement
   • Do they provide free resources?
   • How do you start a program in your community?
   • Any grant or scholarship opportunities?
   • Are they part of a collaborative project? If so, with whom?
   • Do they have a presence in your community?
     
   
   

Assignment

Power of One (Part II)

Create a two- to four-page paper (excluding the title and reference pages) that provides:

1. A reflective narrative on how you arrived at your initiative. You will want to include: 
   
   
   1. How you accessed necessary supports
      • Evaluate what barriers you faced in the development of your initiative. Examine how you overcame the barriers identified.
      • Summarize how you were able to recruit committee or group members.
      • Illustrate how you were able to secure school or community support.
        
        
   2. Your process for developing your mission/vision statement
      • Analyze what barriers you had to overcome in the development of your mission and vision statement.
      • Evaluate how you were able to reach consensus.
      • Specify what community needs are focused on in your initiative. 
        
        
2. A design of a graphic or narrative that outlines the steps that you have taken or will take to achieve your mission/vision.
   
   
3. A defense of how your initiative will include at least four of the Five Action Strategies.

Your paper must be formatted according to APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center, two to four pages in length, and cite at least three scholarly sources in addition to your textbook.

Carefully review the Grading Rubric for the criteria that will be used to evaluate your assignment.

Required Resources

1. Read from your text, Assets in Action: A Handbook for Making Communities Better Places to Grow Up:
   
   • Chapter 7 – Over the Long Haul: Sustaining Your Initiative
• Epilogue – Nourishing the Spirit of the Community Change Leaders
   
2. Boy Scouts of America. Retrieved from http://www.scouting.org/
   
   • This is the website for the national program dedicated to supporting boys.
      
3. Boys and Girls Clubs of America. Retrieved from http://www.bgca.org/Pages/index.aspx
   
   • This is the website for the national program dedicated to supporting and empowering youth in the communities that they serve.
      
4. Communities in Schools. Retrieved from http://www.communitiesinschools.org/
   
   • This is the website for the national program designed to support youth through their communities.
      
5. Girl Scouts USA. Retrieved from http://www.girlscouts.org/
   
   • This is the website for the national program dedicated to empowering girls.
      
6. Harlem Children’s Zone. Retrieved from http://www.hcz.org/
   
   • This website how a local collaborative project is improving the Harlem, NY community.
      
7. Special Olympics. Retrieved from http://www.specialolympics.org/#
   
   • Through the power of sport, Special Olympics strives to create a better world by fostering the acceptance and inclusion of all people.
      
8. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Retrieved from http://www.gatesfoundation.org/Pages/home.aspx
   
   • This is the website for an educational initiative program.
      
9. Whatever It Takes: Athens, GA. Retrieved from http://www.witathens.org/
   
   • This website exhibits how local collaborative partnership work to improve the Athens, GA community.
      
10. YMCA. Retrieved from http://www.ymca.net/
    
    • This is the website for the national program dedicated to empowering and supporting communities through youth development, healthy living, and social responsibility.