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Greetings! |
A Call from a Friend - Data and Determination
I received a call today from a man who has become my friend. We met several years ago through the Grassroots Leadership Initiative - GLI. This 10-minute conversation generated two messages that I want to share.
First - he called about something called "Life Is Good." This is an invitation to tell a story about an experience - a memory - of a time here in Sarasota County when, as you look back on it now, you think "ahhh, yes, life is good here." This is a chance to reflect on the positive. It's also more than that. As the volume of stories grows, themes begin to emerge that indicate what people care about, what is valued. This is the foundation for understanding what we, as a community need to be paying attention to, what we need to measure to know if progress is happening.
You can see below that Community Data 2.0 Venice will be gathering on May 18. These life-is-good stories, the session in Venice and past and future gatherings in North Port and Sarasota are a part of the community effort to bring data to life as a real resource for residents as they make decisions about their neighborhoods. Take a look at the SCOPE Blog to learn a little more about the Community Data Collaborative.
I mentioned that this call from a friend stimulated two thoughts. The other is a reminder of the power of persistence and boundary crossing. This friend demonstrated both in a tireless effort to transform a neighborhood eyesore into a neighborhood asset. What is now Lime Lake Park, was once a dangerous nuisance. Years later and through understanding that some changes need many sectors and multiple scales to become reality, it is a beautiful park. Lime Lake happened because the neighborhood wanted it to. Sure, the neighborhood could not do it all but the neighborhood was the catalyst and the constant energy that brought the institutional juice to bear.
I hope this friend calls me more often.
Tim Dutton
Executive Director |
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1226 N Tamiami Trail Sarasota, FL 34236 tel. 941-365-8751 fax 941-365-8592 |
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Let's IGNITE!
Community of Practice Session for Resident Community Changemakers |
Friday, April 27
9:00 - 10:30 a.m.
Community Room of SCOPE Building
1226 N Tamiami Trail
Come hear residents of Sarasota County IGNITE about efforts in their home neighborhoods. Have you heard about the IGNITE method yet? Each presenter will speak for 5 minutes, using 20 slides that will advance every 15 seconds, whether they're ready or not! Click here to access a set of questions that can be used to structure these neighborhood-specific IGNITE presentations, and contact Dr. Allison Pinto at 941.365.8751 or apinto@scopexcel.org if you are interested in being one of the presenters. Peer reflective consultation will follow the presentations.
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| Save the Date - Comunity Data 2.0: Venice May 18, 2012 | |
SAVE THE DATE Community Data 2.0: Venice Friday, May 18 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Venice City Hall 410 West Venice Avenue
You are invited to join people who live and work in the Venice community who will be gathering to celebrate examples of citizen-led community action in Venice, and to think together about ways that community data can best promote future citizen-led efforts and the ongoing well-being of this great community.
Participants will catch a glimpse of their home community through the presentation of various constellations of data. Participants will also contribute perspectives on the qualities of life that matter most to people in Venice. This will inform the selection of county-wide indicators of community well-being.
The session will be co-hosted by the City of Venice, Venice Main Street, the Venice Area Chamber of Commerce and SCOPE. Contact SCOPE to register at 941.365.8751 or mhadden@scopexcel.org. Space is limited, so register soon!
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Aging with Dignity & Independence - read the latest Blog posts
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SCOPE has spent the past few months sharing the results from this research with just about anybody willing to listen and think about this.
What did we hear in the community discussions? Read more...
When we make our community better through preserving the dignity and independence of older adults, we really improve quality of life for all ages. SCOPE has created a blog space to share your actions and experiences. Read more..
This initiative is a partnership with The Patterson Foundation, USF Sarasota-Manatee and SCOPE. |
| Research Interns Wanted |
SCOPE is looking for a few good interns to help with research in the next few months. There are two categories of work - one is internet research related to new grants and projects. The second requires internet, phone and email time. Contact Suzanne Gregory for more details.
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Data Byte: Changes in the Latino/Hispanic Population in Sarasota County
(Part II)mber of People Who Identify As Latino/Hispanic in SaCo |  Hearing people speaking Spanish in the grocery store, or around the neighborhood, is a common occurrence for me here in Sarasota County- but not as common as in Texas, where I recently lived. So I wondered how many people in Sarasota County identify as Latino/Hispanic, and are there more (or less) Latino/Hispanic people living in Sarasota County compared to other places in the U.S.? How many more Latino/Hispanic people live in Sarasota County now than just a few years ago? This neat interactive mapping resource from the American Human Development Project makes it possible to find out. Read more on our blog. |
| A Collective Look at Data Here in Sarasota County |  This month Debra Jacobs, who works for the Patterson Foundation (a philanthropy that is located here in Sarasota County), contacted SCOPE with a question. An email had been posted on the Grantmakers for Effective Organizations list serve by Joann Ricci, the Vice President of the Greater New Orleans Foundation. She was asking for examples of "communities who have had success in looking at data collectively." Debra Jacobs suggested that SCOPE might respond to this request with a description of community data efforts here in Sarasota County. Click here to read our response to Ms. Ricci's question, which provides details about the Community Data Collaborative and corresponding online data platform that are currently being developed by neighbors and data stewards of our local community. |
| Refection for the Sake of Action and Community Change |
One of the unique features of the Resident Community Changemakers fellowship is that refle ctive consultation is the core strategy used to promote effectiveness. Not "teaching" people what they "should" know, or "training" people to "implement practices with fidelity," but instead starting with the assumption that wisdom lies within every neighbor, and every neighbor has the wisdom to be a changemaker. Fellows reflect with one another and with SCOPE staff weekly, so that their wisdom as neighbors can be accessed and harnessed, for the sake of positive change in their home neighborhoods and our broader shared community. Click here to read more about the concept of reflective consultation, and here to listen to a changemaker share her reflections during Month 2 of the fellowship |
| Googling the Perfect House |
How can community data be useful to us as citizens and as neighbors? 
Click here to read an entertaining blog post by Doug Griffin, a resident of Siesta Key and member of the SCOPE Data Team, as he describes how he and his wife recently used online GIS mapping tools to address a challenge that many of us face at some point in our lives. If you have a story of your own to share about how you have used community data as a citizen or neighbor, please send it to apinto@scopexcel.org and we can post it on the SCOPE Blog. |
"Business Women's Initiative: Reinventing Yourself After 50" | |
Shumaker Chamber University, in partnership with the Institute for the Ages, are hosting an upcoming event: "Business Women's Initiative: Reinventing Yourself After 50." Find out how three successful women recreated their professional identities after 50 and learn the attitudes and skills needed to make changes in your life. Speakers: Sarah Pappas, Executive Director of Selby Foundation, Marjorie Broughton, President of Rock Solid Construction, and Suzanne Atwell, Mayor of the City of Sarasota.
Tuesday May 15, 2012
11:30am- 1:00pm
Sarasota Yacht Club
1100 John Ringling Blvd
Sarasota, FL 34236
$30 for members, $35 for Future-members - Lunch included
RSVP requested. Those who reference the Institute for the Ages are offered the discounted member rate if they register over the telephone: (941) 556-4038.
For more information, please go to http://www.institutefortheages.org/events/. |
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Thanks to SCOPE 's Corporate Partners |
Corporate Partners Their support of SCOPE's mission reflects their belief in the power of active citizens working together to make Sarasota County an even better place to live, work and play.
Platinum - Herald-Tribune Media Group
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| Thanks to our SCOPE Supporters | |
Thank you for your recent gift to SCOPE:
Thanks to The Giving Partner Challenge, SCOPE had 61 contributors since our last e-update. Click here to view the list of contributors.
Thank you for supporting SCOPE's core mission: City of North Port, City of Sarasota, City of Venice, The Community Foundation of Sarasota County, Roskamp Foundation, Sarasota County Government, Town of Longboat Key, William G. and Marie Selby Foundation. |
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