What’s Next–Answer Week 5
Horizons activities are moving right along in our community. In the next two months several visible events are planned and there are behind the scenes activities going on as well. Tomorrow night we will continue the three-part entrepreneurial training in Plummer, which has 8 attendees from the UpRiver area. These workshops relate directly to poverty reduction in that they provide door-opening mentoring, training, networking, and assistance in starting a new business. Any new businesses begun from the knowledge gained here will improve the economy by increasing the business base in our area as well as potentially providing additional employment to others who live here. This training also has the potential of the ripple-effect as the knowledge of resources and networking is shared with others who were not at the workshops.
Added to the above is an upcoming e-commerce training that will offer area residents an additional method of doing business. Both of these opportunities also increase leadership skills.
The Community Pride group is mobilizing the community for a clean-up day on the 26th of April.
The non-profit committee is finishing up the work necessary to gain recognition of our 501(c)3 status in order to keep the momentum going for gaining funding through grants to apply to ongoing activities in all three areas.
The cell tower project is also in the works. Verizon has the information needed for the application to improve communication in the area. This project has the potential to increase business in our communities because, not only will phone service be improved, but Internet access may also improve. E-commerce would then stand a much greater chance of success here (again directly affecting the poverty issue.)
Another project that is in the works is the Community Center project. The Building Committee has had several meetings, the last was with planners who came out to discuss the use of a survey to be sent to every citizen in the vicinity to determine interests and concerns regarding creating a community center. The idea is to mobilize the community by increasing awareness of what is being done and what those who are involved in the Horizons project perceive as urgent needs to improve the existence of those who live here.
The Entrepreneurial Committee plans to meet again in May.
At that meeting we will discuss what needs to be addressed next. The blogging class will have been accomplished, the training classes at Plummer will be completed, and the Business Person’s Breakfast will have met three times. We hope to have a better feel for how we can serve the business community of UpRiver to increase its visibility and viability. We have created some discussion questions to consider then. This meeting will address all of the areas of concern also: Poverty Reduction, Leadership Development and Community Mobilization.