A Journey in Community Engagement:How can you build a community movement for change? In Kingsville and Leamington, two farming community in Southern Ontario, many residents feel frustrated by the divides between their international workforce and long-term residents in the community. Language, cultural differences, and few opportunities to connect with each other, have sometimes created tensions between these unique groups in the community.
To respond to this challenge, Ontario Greenhouse Vegetable Growers (OGVG) organized a series of community meetings to share diverse perspectives in the issue and build a shared vision and collaborative plan for change. OGVG worked with Galen MacLusky and Sylvia Cheuy, Tamarack’s Directors of Community Innovation and Collective Impact, to facilitate this series of conversations with community members.
Kingsville-Leamington Community Engagement has brought together over 160 residents from faith communities, local businesses, social and healthcare services, consulates, education, charities, and local government. Despite their unique perspectives, these engaged residents have built a shared vision for change in the community and are now actively working on initiatives to build a more inclusive community. They have formed a Health and Safety committee to focus on giving international workers the training and support to stay safe in the community, launched “HUBConnect,” an app to help international workers learn about the community and get access to healthcare, transportation, and other resources, and are working on initiatives ranging from volunteer translator support to hosting community dinners. This work has shown what is possible when committed, engaged residents come together to share their diverse gifts and work with each other for a better future.
