Tag: Stories from the Field: A RARE AmeriCorps Perspective

Finding Your Voice Through Service

Posted on by vbinnin2

By Sarah Birkle, Community Development Assistant, City of Cornelius

It began with the first meeting I was running. The Downtown Advisory Group in Cornelius consists of local business and organization leaders who have lived and worked in the city for years. As part of my service year, I am helping to find new strategies in order to help reorganize the group.

Organizing and planning the meetings was no problem. I created agendas, nameplates and documents to share and discuss. Feeling prepared, and satisfied with my organization prior to the meeting, I thought I would have no problems speaking in front of the group. However, as soon as I looked into the faces theses established business leaders who sat down one by one around the table; I lost all stream of consciousness. I was talking, but receiving blank stares; I was handing out papers, but couldn’t find the words to explain them.

In stand-up comedy terms – I bombed.

Half way through the meeting, my supervisor asked me a question to help steer the discussion into a better direction with the group. This direction helped immensely and I was thankful for the push. For the final 30 minutes, the group now somewhat re-energized, pushed through the awkwardness from before. The meeting ended with smiles and hand-shakes- but I couldn’t get rid of the feeling that I had made a complete fool of myself. After the meeting, my supervisor, spoke with me – he was not angry with me, but rather gave a motivational push.

He said, “Everyone here wants to support you- these people want to see you succeed- there is no need to feel intimidated.”

Two informational boards, one in English and one in Spanish, promoting an event called "Pop-Up Plaza"
Sarah Birkle is coordinating a ‘Pop- Up Plaza’ in the town center for local businesses to show case their products and inclusion into the city. Pop-Up Plaza is coming this summer and will feature food carts, seating for the public, weekend events and temporary art installations.

When he said this to me, I took a step back and was humbled. I realized that I had put so much pressure on myself- spent so much time overthinking, that I had lost my own personality in the process. He was right. Cornelius wants me to succeed- they see the potential for their community to grow and connect; and I am able to help provide support for their vision to come to life. Community Development, at its heart is about cultivating, sharing and hearing the stories of people from all sections of the city. These stories shape how a city can flourish and this process demonstrates how those ideas are important in shaping a city’s identity. Working in this field has allowed me to rediscover how important it is to voice your opinions because you never know how positive an influence this can be- opinions create change for the better.

Five months ago, I was struggling with many areas of my life both personally and with my job search. After graduating from university 4 years ago- I found myself lost and unsure that the field I studied was the right path. This paired with lost confidence in my abilities and quite honestly myself; I had become intimidated by authority, scared to speak my opinions and afraid to ask for help. However, after the push from that awkward first meeting, I am discovering tools to overcome the feeling of intimidation by others, to ask questions and not be afraid to ask for help.

I am finding my voice again.  I may not continue working in the amazing world of community development after my year of service- but what RARE has given – what this position in Cornelius has provided- is the push to go after the career I want- the journey is just beginning- and I am looking forward to giving direction of where I want to go.

Photo of the author, wearing a comfy green sweater, glasses, and a kind smile in front of a red flowering currantAbout the author, Sarah Birkle: Sarah grew up in Saint Helens, Oregon and studied International and Intercultural Affairs at Portland State University. She has experience working in tourism, restaurants, teaching and coordinating programs. After seeing her hometown begin to revitalize, Sarah was inspired to be a part of positive change for rural communities and is excited about the growth which Cornelius has seen and will continue to develop. She hopes to learn more about the community, the residents and the great possibilities for the city in the next year. You can find her at your nearest coffee shop.

Does community development work interest you? Are you looking for a life changing experience in rural Oregon? Learn more about serving with the RARE AmeriCorps Program via our website: https://rare.uoregon.edu/application-process/member-application-process 

Marvelous, Terrible Place

Posted on by vbinnin2

By Paige Crenshaw, Resource and Collaboration Assistant, Gordon Elwood Foundation

Photo of a serene body of water during twilight. There are many large rocks in the water and a hill in the distance.It’s a swelteringly warm day in Southern Oregon, and I’m nervous. I’m about to attend a crucial meeting of community funders, high profile executive directors of nonprofits, and CEO’s of medical groups and hospitals. I’m overdressed, boiling in an itchy blazer, not understanding what the dress code of Southern Oregon is quite yet. There’s a pile of boxes clumsily stacked in the back of my car from my cross-country road trip from Northern Wisconsin. I know I have to introduce myself and tell everyone about the most recent work and future direction of the three non-profits I’m serving, which is not entirely clear to me. Oh, and it’s my third day.

Service with RARE is not for the faint of heart. On any given day, I’ve found myself attending board meetings with CEOs of hospitals, talking to a college campus on how to increase their local food purchasing, and co-hosting events with my local library on how to create diversified funding bases for non-profits. Often, I am moving between seemingly different worlds, at least to the casual observer. But the worlds aren’t so different, at least to me.

The nature of this service is constantly in flux, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. My position with the Gordon Elwood Foundation, a small private charitable foundation in Southern Oregon, has me serving two different community collaboratives, The Rogue Valley Food System Network and the Jefferson Regional Health Alliance. These groups, on the surface, might seem radically different, but as I’ve come to find out, there is so much to be gained from seeing them as partners in community building, rather than as opposing opposites.

The current that underlies all of this work is systems thinking. And I don’t mean systems thinking in some overly intellectualized, pie-in-the-sky way. I mean REAL cross-sector collaboration, where folks who otherwise might not engage, let alone consider the other, are coming together to move the needle. I’m currently undertaking a project for the Jefferson Regional Health Alliance where I will collect and enter vast amounts of data for the regions Community Health Improvement Plan, a process where local health partners are coming together to improve identified health outcomes in Southern Oregon. This data pertains to how different organizations, groups, and businesses are directly working on improving housing outcomes, behavioral health, and parenting and life skills.

People who are not inside the medical mainstream, but instead work in food systems, whether as growers, farmers, educators, and volunteers are being invited to meetings with doctors and nurses to talk about improving health outcomes. New people are coming to the table all the time. That collaboration, that need to come together despite vast ideological differences to better community, is the most rewarding part of this service.

Photo of the author outside, with coniferous trees in the background. The author has her hand on her head and looks like she is pulling the hair out of her face to smile at the camera.I’ve come to love Southern Oregon, for all of its messy collaboration and muddled dress codes. I love the Rogue River, how it runs through everything. I love its dandelion goat cheese, its unabashed love of fermentation, its roadside farm stands. I love the resiliency of people, who despite all of the boom-and-bust-economic cycles of Southern Oregon, are devoted to this place. I love my friends in the RARE Cohort, who make me belly laugh every single day.

Southern Oregon is a place marked by hardship: a stunning landscape, an astoundingly rich ecological setting, and a tragic history of poverty amidst incredible natural resources. The relationship between humans and their environment, sometimes successful, sometimes otherwise, the struggle between the tenuous grasp of civilization and this marvelous, terrible place – that is the nature of this work. I love this marvelous, terrible place, despite it all.

Photo of author wearing a black shirt and glasses, standing in front of a red flowering currantAbout the author, Paige Crenshaw: Originally hailing from Chicago, IL, Paige studied Sustainable Community Development and Sociology & Social Justice at Northland College in Ashland, WI. After working on both urban and rural farms of different scales during her undergraduate years, Paige developed her own food ethic and understanding of what the relationships between and across food, soil, regional development means for community resilience and long-term sustainability. This understanding led her to explore other facets of community work, spanning multiple sectors — public health, sustainable food systems, and cross-community collaboration. Paige is thrilled to dig into potential and existing possibilities for community development in Southern Oregon. Paige is also jazzed about swimming in natural bodies of water, tidal pools, contra dancing, and garlic.

Does community development work interest you? Are you looking for a life changing experience in rural Oregon? Learn more about serving with the RARE AmeriCorps Program via our website: https://rare.uoregon.edu/application-process/member-application-process