The information gathered in the events will become a key part of the organization’s re-direction and strategic plan for the foreseeable future.
Called “Aspiration Events,” the sessions give various parts of the community – government, schools, agencies, service organizations and businesses – an opportunity to work together toward outcomes that are important to the community.
“More than 100 people participated in our first session and we are working diligently to involve more people,” said Walter Collins, president and CEO of United Way of the Wine Country. “An ongoing, broader community engagement is critical to the success of communities achieving their goals. We need the community’s voice as we strive to address serious issues in our community. We need people to share their opinions on complex community problems, give input on their aspirations and share how they believe community solutions can be developed. This has to happen through shared ownership, focused actions and accountability for outcomes,” Collins added.
The meetings will be interactive and the public will be asked to provide feedback and input. Information from the community aspiration sessions will be collected and combined with key needs assessment and other key reports that have been recently released by other community organizations.
A steering committee of up to 12 community participants will work to synthesize the information to create a comprehensive community aspiration that will be widely distributed this fall.
United Way’s aspiration sessions are open to the public.
Lake County's session will be held from 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Thursday, July 23, at the Big Valley Grange Hall in Finley.
Sessions also will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. in Mendocino County on Thursday, July 23, and from 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Friday, July 24, in Sonoma County.
For specific location information and to RSVP for the events and, participants are asked to contact Jenny Chamberlain at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or by calling 707-528-4485, Extension 136.
