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Our #nbrhdhero Nominees!

Every neighbourhood has their hero. Your hero might be the community developer who runs the neighbourhood Breakfast Club or the neighbour who never misses a city meeting and always fights for your community's needs. A Neighbourhood Hero's contributions could be grand-scale, creating big, bold changes – or their contributions might be seemingly small, everyday things that make for a beautiful life and a beautiful community.

One thing we know to be true, Neighbourhood Heroes deserve to be celebrated. That is why last month our team decided to put a call out for nominees for a Neighbourhood Hero.

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A Grand Way to Work Together

Water knows no boundaries. In this same spirit, boundaries fade when water managers collaborate. With shared goals to improve water quality, ensure sustainable water supplies, reduce flood damages and build resilience to deal with a changing climate, water managers across the Grand River watershed used Collective Impact as the framework to guide the updating of the Water Management Plan for the watershed. The Grand River Conservation Authority provided the support and facilitation to bring partners together.

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Five Questions to Mobilize Poverty Reduction

More and more voices are speaking of a movement to end poverty. In Edmonton, where I sit on Mayor Iveson's Task Force to Eliminate Poverty in a Generation, the fostering of a movement is front and centre on the minds around the table. There are nearly 60 communities today that are members of Vibrant Communities Canada – an example of movement building. Last month, our Cities Reducing Poverty Summit was a testimony to this growing movement. It was not only a forum for our political and community leaders;over 20% of the 350 people who attended were either people living with poverty or leaders from grassroots organizations. These were attendees who could not have been there without the support of funders stepped up to ensure their seats at the summit were free.

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Hammers, Saws and the Work of Deepening Community

Remember the old adage that cautions, "Just because you have a shiny new hammer, doesn't mean that everything you see is a nail?"

Renowned community builder John McKnight uses the analogy of hammers and saws to highlight an important distinction between the "tool" of community and the "tool" of service delivery organizations in the building of strong communities. He emphasizes that, "both tools are important but they each have specific uses. You don't use a hammer to cut wood or a saw to hammer nails. The trick is discernment."

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Nominate Your #NBRHDHERO!

Help your #Nbrhdhero win a full scholarship to the 2016 Deepening Community National Gathering!

Neighbourhood Heroes are those individuals that make our neighbourhoods healthier, more vibrant, and inclusive places to live. A neighbourhood hero is someone who has mastered the act of caring, and understands the art of neighbourliness.

Who is a #Nbrhdhero?

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Community Engagement: Why It Matters

There is a temptation, particularly in data-driven and evidence-based practices, to act in a top down manner in the design and implementation of community engagement programs.

But, there is power in those with lived experience and in reframing approaches and opportunities that engage community members directly in social change.

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