Emma Darcy’s Post

DAY 65 OF #100DAYSOFAI Today, our focus is on enhancing the community experience for the residents of Greenwood. Our goal is to develop a central hub where Greenwood residents can easily learn about and participate in upcoming events and activities. To achieve this, we plan to create a website where users can share their content and connect with others. While platforms like Nextdoor already exist, our aim is to tailor this initiative specifically to the unique needs and interests of Greenwood. Here’s what we envision for our community-centric website: Features for Individual Users: Personal Profiles: Share updates about community happenings. Event Creation: Organize local events or volunteer activities. Group Formation: Establish groups for book clubs, tennis clubs, and more. Features for Organizations: Activity Posts: Promote local activities. Event Announcements: Share details about upcoming events. Features for Businesses: Ad Creation: Advertise products and services. Promotion Posts: Highlight special offers and promotions. Additional Ideas to Enhance the Platform: Local Fundraising Options: Incorporate a GoFundMe feature for community projects. Regulatory Updates: Provide information on local laws and regulations. School Integration: Connect with local schools for event and activity updates. By building this platform, we aim to foster a collaborative, fun, and engaging community for all Greenwood residents. Your feedback and suggestions are welcome as we embark on this exciting journey!

I have to thank Leicester City in the Community (LCITC) and especially Rukhsana Hussain for showing me around Leicester over the last two days to learn from the Active Women program. So much to learn from the last couple days, but I'd like to share the point about one of the projects first actions. The theme is: You have to give before you can recieve. Context: often sport development programs have a receiving mindset "we need participants numbers to justify our existence". They are thinking in a recieving mindset. During the Covid-19 lockdowns, LCITC was given £££ to do 'community engagement' consultation which was supposed to inform a project bid. What did they do with it? Gave it directly to food banks in their project areas for them to replenish their stocks! Later the food banks returned the favour tenfold by helping with research, opening community spaces, and giving a direct line to women who eventually became part of the Active Women project. The Active Women project, once launched, started immediately from a position of higher trust than they would have otherwise. This level of trust also may have helped them to recruit one of their most important assets, Rukhsana, whose knowledge of the community and specifically Muslim women (and their lived realities, challenges, etc.) has been essential to the programs functioning. All decisions made within and by the program become instantly more "locally intelligent" because of the highly situated knowledge brought to the program in this way. The resulting impact the program has had on program participants has been profound and is ongoing. I will not share stories here directly, but there absolutely are stories of transformational change which were quite warming to hear. I just hope now that my work manages to reflect the spirit of this program, as best can be done by a white, male researcher over just a couple of workshops and visits. It's one tall order!

I'm a community builder! I founded my first community in November 2016 (on my 17th birthday). It was local community for teens and young adults in my vicinity back in Aba. I planned, organized and hosted talk shows once every month for 2 years. (The talk shows happened physically on my mum's school premises, and we always had special guests) Between November 2016 to November 2019, I hosted 3 big events: 1) November 2017 - My 18th birthday/1st anniversary of the group/My Book Launch 2) November 2018 - Mutation '18: Making I CAN a strand of our DNA 3) November 2019 - Mutation '19: Becoming Young Millionaires Founding my teens community (TITFOR) and spearheading the affairs for 3 years in a row opened up A LOT of opportunities for me. I'm not exaggerating if I said I was a "mini celebrity", and I had access to the crème de la crème of people that mattered in Aba. I couldn't continue with the monthly talk shows or keep building the community after I started schooling in University of Port Harcourt in 2019. (Pharmacy School na your mate 😂) Being a community builder gave me many friends, made me seen and heard. No, I didn't stop at building communities after TITFOR, I've gone on to build many more: 📍I founded Figure-8 Connect in October 2020 It was an online community for young women aged 18 to 35, where we own our stories be they good, bad or ugly. 📍I founded School of Digipreneurs in May 2022 It's an online community for young africans aged 16 to 30, where we learn about digital skills and entrepreneurship in the digital age. 📍I founded The LinkedIn Club in October 2023 It's an online community for corporate workers or personal brands who want to leverage LinkedIn to expand their careers. Being a 4-times Founder and Community Builder has taught me so much about life, leadership, relating with people and organising events (both physically and virtually). 2016 till date is almost a decade of experience as a community lead. I don't know how far I would have come if I never took that bold step of hosting a teens talkshow instead of a birthday party on November 25th, 2016. Why I am sharing this? I know there's an idea that has been floating in your head for couple of months or years now. Do it! Do it scared! Do it shaking! Just do it! The world is made up of over 8 billion people, but there's nobody with your exact combination of skills and talents. Start that thing today! Start that blog. Start that YouTube channel. Start that newsletter. Start that podcast. Those baby steps you take today might snowball into opportunities you never ever thought were possible! I'm rooting for you 🥂🥂 P.S. This post was triggered after spending close to 6 hours yesterday meeting people during GGP community hangout! Thanks to the amazing Convener Peter Ebuka Agbo! #communities #communitybuilding #socialentrepreneur #digitalentrepreneur

REQUIRED: Community Leaders Over the last 12 months I’ve been chatting to founders of communities (namely in the running space), and bringing them together to learn from one another in a community setting (ie.whatsapp). BUT I am very pleased to announce that this “Run Leader” community is now going to benefit from being a part of the wider Heylo Community Leader group which I’m now formally facilitating alongside Eric Winters. This basically means that Founders of ANY community eg: - book clubs - chess clubs - walking groups - women’s networks … are welcome to join this Heylo community (for free of course) to learn from other Founders who are in a similar position. We ask each other questions on topics like - how to increase retention - ticketing for big community events - should I monetise the group - balancing a community alongside a day job (🫠) I’m putting this out there because it’s just too good to miss if you’re also someone who owns or who has started a community. Finding people who truly get the energy and time demands (alongside all the wholesome benefits) is kinda tricky. These people just KNOW. Do pop me a message or comment if you’d like to know a bit more. I’ll happily introduce you to the gang.

I applied for a 10K grant on 12/5/2023 and this was one of the questions it asked me. I thought it only supportive if I let my LinkedIn family know this since we as LinkedIn connections this is not something you would know unless I shared it with you. In case others may need support or need to partner with my company. As the founder of Boss Mobility Life Coach Services, connecting with the local community is a cornerstone of my business. I engage with the community through various initiatives that reflect my commitment to empowerment and personal growth, particularly within the Black & and Latino communities. The reason is that it is my immediate and personal family Demographic and who I am close to. Here are some ways I've connected with my local community: 1. **Workshops and Seminars**: I host workshops and seminars on fatherhood and entrepreneurship. These events like (Fathers WithSoul ) provide a platform for learning, sharing experiences, and networking, which strengthens community ties. 2. **Community Service**: I participate in community service activities that align with my values, such as mentoring programs for young entrepreneurs and support groups for fathers, fostering solidarity and mutual support. One Degree, Realized Potential, Inc 3. **Collaborations**: I collaborate with local businesses and organizations to create opportunities for mutual growth and offer my clients more comprehensive services. Alameda Co, Father Corps, Village Connect, 4. **Social Media Engagement**: Through my online marketing solutions, I maintain an active social media presence that highlights community events, celebrates local achievements, and encourages community involvement. My Solveres Nation, Nowsite Marketing, ACEs Matters, 5. **Faith-Based Initiatives**: Given my spiritual calling, I involve myself in church-related activities that aim to support and uplift the community, aligning with my mission to integrate biblical truths into everyday life. Bay Area Christian Church BACC Alameda South Sector, San Leandro Mature House Church HTTP://bossmobility.net By implementing these strategies, I aim to grow my business and contribute positively to the community I am a part of.

On Community The other day I was invited to bring my professional skills into a co-created facilitated experience for parents at my kiddo's school. I leaned heavily into lessons learned from being a member at Centre for Social Innovation (CSI), which focused on giving time and space to participants and less so on a packed agenda of activities. I have wondered whether community-building activities designed for spaces of intentional communities may translate well to other groups and situations that just want "to get sh*t done". At least on this score, it seems to me that CSI has produced a replicable recipe for success. Let me share. We actually started with a very brief intro activity called "TABOO", which I borrowed from Tim Hurson. I invited all the parents to find a partner they didn't know especially well and write down five things they would typically share when meeting someone for the first time. They then crumpled up that paper and tossed it away! Using the honour system, they then introduced themselves without using those five things. I knew we were on to something when the participants protested "we're not done" and "we want to keep talking" as I told them we were moving on to the next exercise. We heard folks share things like: - I don't know how to be bored; - I'm having a hard time transitioning back to a professional life; - There's always a next thing to be done; and - I can't believe I have to make a programmatic choice that impacts my child's entire academic future in the middle of SK! We didn't solve anything in those 5 minutes but it sure felt like there was a lot of shared head-nodding in the room. Our main activity was something I called "BRING/NEED" and this was a staple of biannual community summits at CSI. Each participant wrote down three things they can BRING or OFFER to fellow parents and stuck it to the front of their shirt. They then wrote down three things they NEED from fellow parents and stuck it to the back of their shirt. While they were instructed to walk around in silence and read shirts for 10 mins, invariably conversations emerged organically. We were meant to circle up at the end and share which parents we wanted to connect with, but since that happened already, we just shared what was helpful to us. The feedback was incredibly positive including: - I was so glad to see other parents asking for friends/friendships after moving here just before/during Covid; - I can offer a 150-year-old sourdough starter to the parent wanting to bake; - I'm going to connect with the other picky eater parent; - I need adult-only time and I'm happy to combine that with folks needing more nature to organize regular group hikes; and - I didn't know what I could offer at this point in my stress-filled life so just felt understood and comforted by other parents. At a time when the world feels like a heavier place, it was so heartwarming to witness folks sharing much more openly and deeply than I expected.

The Community Recognition Fund. CLOSING DATE for Expressions of Interests is 4.00pm on Tuesday 7th May 2024 The Community Recognition Fund 2024 is specifically targeted at projects that are located in towns and villages that are hosting the Beneficiaries of Temporary Protection and/or International Protection Applicants including towns identified for the rapid build homes programme. The Fund aims to support the development of facilities that will be used in the future by all members of the community. Funding is targeted at and specifically invested in those communities, villages and towns where the highest level of new arrivals are located and where there is a clear need for investment identified. Projects situated in areas that do not have high levels of new arrivals will not be deemed eligible. Projects to be funded will be: • Located in communities, villages and towns where the highest level of new arrivals are located • capital in nature; projects of scale and impact • deliver medium-long term benefits for the communities in which they are located • be capable of being delivered over the course of 2025 and 2026. • be consistent with the Local Economic & Community Plan. Minimum Grant of €50,000 with a maximum of €500,000 applying Types of Projects eligible for funding are: • development, enhancement or refurbishment of community or cultural facilities including play areas, walkways, parks, community /sensory gardens, allotments, and recreational areas • development, enhancement or refurbishment of local club and sports facilities including facilities such as community swimming pools, changing rooms, toilets, etc • enhancement to school/parish facilities which are open to use by all of the community after school hours • purchase of equipment for local clubs, festivals, community events and organisations e.g. music, arts or sports equipment • transport infrastructure such as the purchase of community vehicles, bus shelters and attendant information boards (any vehicle funded must be in good condition and not more than 5 years old) • projects that help address dereliction and/or wider local economic and community development objectives https://lnkd.in/ev9aw72v

Ending #VolunteersWeek Day One with the first of our top tips ( aka Spirit Suggests!) 💡 Use your community event as a launchpad for long-term social action and encourage ongoing volunteer opportunities. More about this in the Moment To Movement research https://lnkd.in/e-iEri3b #VolunteersWeek #CommunityImpact #LongTermChange #VolunteerOpportunities

The digital age has revolutionized the way we connect and engage with others, including in the realm of non-political and non-religious associations. With the rise of online communities, these organizations have found new and innovative ways to build and sustain connections, fostering a sense of belonging and purpose in a digital world. This article explores how non-political and non-religious associations are leveraging digital platforms to create, nurture, and expand their communities. Community Building in a Digital Age https://lnkd.in/dWHn4aan