The Latest

Building Strong Communities One Conversation at a Time

“So, let me get this straight, we’re inviting people over for a BBQ and the purpose is…just to…talk to each other?”

I had to laugh at my partner’s confusion when I recently hosted a gathering with the goal of fostering social connections and building community. Our BBQ was part of The Genwell Project, a campaign whose mission is to make the world a happier and healthier place by reminding people about the importance of face to face social connection and inspiring them to take action.

Read More

A Reflection on The Abundant Community

It fascinates me how the concept of community can be so different between people. I thought I had an accurate depiction of what a community is, but after reading The Abundant Community by John McKnight and Peter Block, I now realize there can be many definitions of community. There were a lot of beliefs brought up about what an abundant community should be, and I both agree and disagree with them. There were many ideas that I agreed with up to a certain point but then disagreed after relating it to my personal life.

Read More

How A Belonging Lens Can Transform Our Strategies And Impact

What if, we used a “belonging lens” to look at our world and began to see our social problems as a compass leading us directly to the values and relationships that need strengthening? When you really think about it, at the heart of any given social problem, you will find a group of people who feel “pushed out” and values that have been eroded.

Read More

Opioids! We need a Reconstruction of Community

Two words we most often hear together in the negative, “people are dying in our community from opioids” or we have a “community opioid crisis.”

But today, in the Globe and Mail, I, for the first time, heard the call that to fight the opioid crisis we need not a war on drugs but a reconstruction of community. In her column on September 24,  Margaret Wente shares, “the writer Andrew Sullivan talks about pain and trauma too.

Read More

Kitchener’s Love My Hood

The City of Kitchener recently received an award for planning excellence from the Canadian Institute of Planners. Kitchener’s Love My Hood strategy was awarded the prize for New and Emerging Planning initiatives for its innovative and unique methodology - providing small groups of residents the tools and permission to work with their community to formulate an action plan and make decisions.

Read More

Abundant Community: An Interview with Paul Born

I sent an email to Paul Born, the other day. It was a quick exchange – and from this a blog post was created. 

For this interview, I did not personally know anyone that was an abundant community pioneer, so I reached out to some of the resources listed in the back of a book. I got a response from Paul Born, who is the Co-CEO of Tamarack Institute in Canada. This institute focuses on being a connecting force for community change by offering tools, training, consulting, and learning communities to get from theory to practice to impact. Paul is also the author of four books, including two Canadian best sellers. The interview questions I asked were the following;

Read More