BUILDING COMMUNITY

BBK believes that parents and the community are the keys to BBK’s success in improving the lives of children and ensuring self sufficiency of families in the Iron Triangle. Therefore, BBK is committed to community engagement as a major component of all BBK programs. With this involvement, BBK taps into the strengths and hopes of the community and gains essential community support.

To BBK, the “community” is the people living in the neighborhoods and going to the schools that are the “place-based” focus of BBK services. Because BBK believes that community members are the primary force in creating community change, BBK is identifying, training, and supporting “natural” leaders from these neighborhoods.

Resident and parent engagement is a basic approach underpinning program strategies. As a BBK strategy, respected community members who are active in their children’s school are hired by BBK to serve as outreach workers to further develop community leaders and leadership skills. Organizationally, BBK community members are being incorporated as voting members of the collaborative.

The primary venue for community input is the “Dinner Dialogues.”

Through Dinner Dialogues, parents, community, and BBK Collaborative members gather at least once each month to “break bread”, discuss community issues relevant to BBK’s mission, and plan public events. As a result of these “dialogues,” the community, in partnership with BBK, has planned and put on several community events (e.g., July Fitness March and Picnic, August Family Day at the Park, the annual December Holiday Party and Toy Giveaway, and recently a Town Hall meeting).

At the Town Hall meeting, community members identified issues affecting the neighborhood (i.e., safety, activities for children, community cleanliness) and presented pro-active proposals about these issues to local, state and federal government officials including Congressman George Miller, State Assemblymember Nancy Skinner, County Supervisor John Gioia, and Richmond Mayor Gayle McLaughlin.

Dinner Dialogues provide:

• An ongoing link between community members and BBK
  
  
• A fertile venue where community solutions, community creativity, and community leadership can flourish.