Join the Deepening Community Campaign
A Conversation to Shape Our Future
I AM PRETTY SURE that as a reader of this book, you would have no issue with the statement “Whatever the problem, community is the answer.” For those of us who are intentional about community, it is hard to imagine how there might ever be another solution besides involving those we care about to share our concerns and needs and to work together to make things right.
Let’s Talk
I believe that people want to talk about the future of community in their lives and the growing need for community in these chaotic times. An increasing number of people want to be able to rely on their neighbors and families and feel the assurance that when times are tough, they can reach out to others.
I do believe that this need for a good heart-to-heart between us is about more than just fear. There is an awareness rising within humanity: a growing belief that relationships trump things and that if we are going to build a better world, getting connected, enjoying one another, and working together to build our future is the solution. Yes, a growing belief that community is the answer.
Deepening Community
To facilitate these conversations, the Tamarack Institute (www.tamarackcommunity.org) has launched a campaign to help people to talk and, in turn, learn together about the possibilities of community. The campaign is called Deepening Community, and it is based on explorations of community in his book of the same name.
In order to create spaces for and inspire conversation, Tamarack is launching the following initiatives:
ONE THOUSAND CONVERSATIONS
We want to inspire one thousand conversations about community by 2015 and have these recorded at www.deepeningcommunity.org. We plan to group themes that arise from these conversations and produce learning guides and policy statements to strengthen community and investments in community. Ultimately, we want to explore the statement “Whatever the problem, community is the answer.” To support this campaign, please host a conversation and then join the learning community at www.deepeningcommunity.org to post what you learned together.
DEEPENINGCOMMUNITY.ORG
This website is a learning community where you can share your stories and engage with other community seekers. On this site, you can build your profile, blog, engage in groups, and attend online events and small-group conversations. You will find an amazing library of resources and papers to fuel your curiosity and build your knowledge about community. Once you join this learning community, you will receive a free e-magazine, which connects members on a monthly basis. This learning community is open to anyone and is led by a group of ten thought leaders and a community animator.
BOOK CLUBS AND MORE
We have produced many free materials in connection with publication of Deepening Community, including a Learning Guide that can be downloaded at www.deepeningcommunity.org and used by people to become inspired and learn together about community and how to deepen the experience of community. At this site, you will find the following:
• A book club guide
• A special offer for groups of twenty or more learning together
• The story behind the book, sharing my writing journey and a deep revelation I received at GilChrist
• The survey results of more than five hundred people who helped shape this book
• Stories from other community seekers
• Exercises to support your exploration
• A guide to host your own community conversations
• And more
NEIGHBORS
There is growing interest in neighbors. Communities all around the world are hosting neighbor days, encouraging people to get out and meet one another. We want to help fuel this movement, so we have started to sponsor approaches that deepen community in our own neighborhood. As all this work is unfolding, we are starting a larger conversation to discuss how policy can be written and adopted at a city level to support neighborhood solutions to local issues and the kinds of programs that neighborhoods might use to deepen community.
Please join us at www.deepeningcommunity.org.