Involvement/Service

Ideas from Community

• Create a public information source to promote service opportunities
• Hold an annual volunteer effort to help your neighbor and promote a sense of community
• Develop a citizen action committee to bring about changes
• Establish a community volunteer program
• Have mandatory community service for all
• Provide opportunities to serve people we do not usually come in contact with: elderly, poor, homeless
• Maximize volunteers
• Broaden scope of activities
• Find more creative ways to engage residents
• Refocus from being the best to helping students and community get involved and gain a sense of community
• Teach children to give of their time, not just collect food and money
• Capitalize on community assets
• Embrace citizens as resources in meeting community needs
• Increase involvement of all segments of community in all levels of city functions
• Create volunteer network
• Create Westside Cooperation Council to address regional needs
• Communicate ways to help families make a difference
• Have greater involvement by more citizens, families, people of all ages and talents
• Have more unique opportunities for involvement
• Have service projects as ways to get to know others, create unity
• Develop values around meaningful service
• Engage people in social issues and voting
• Have more faith-based community events
• Have more business involvement to help schools/community
• Empower community members to meet own needs, solve local issues

Concerns from Community

• Need more volunteerism in young adults
• Address challenges to volunteering
  • Busy lifestyles
  • Difficult to find volunteers
  • People caught up in their own lives and don’t focus on others
  • Many don’t have sense of community
  • Parents are not involved and not teaching children to be involved