[Communications] A & O team and purpose on the CCGA Website

[Julie Samuels]

I think a critical purpose for A&O is to help grow the collaboration CCGA
doesn't  really have with organizations that relate in some way to the
goals that are listed..   If we want  to know what needs to be done..and
how... to accomplish these goals then we need to reach out to organizations
and people who work in nature, in organizing, and more. There was an
organization in the beginning of all of this called  "GreenNet"  whose
members included the people in what I attached below this.  This was an
event that we held annually and invited gardeners to attend.   And I will
leave this here  for now:
Julie

–       *GREEN AND GROWING FAIR 2007 -*

*Notes of First Planning Meeting  - November 14, 2006*



 *Planning Committee members:*

Aaron Durnbaugh       DOE/GreenCorps
adurnbaugh at cityofchicago.org

Meredith Sessions       WRD Environmental
msessions at wrdenvironmental.com
722-773-9870

Kirsten Akre               Kilbourn Park GreenHouse
kakre at sbcglobal.net

Robin Cline                GPCA
rcline at garfieldpark.org

Melanie Harding         GPCA
mharding at garfieldpark.org

Katherine Schultz       GPCA
kschultz at garfieldpark.org

Sandra Wilcoxin         GPCA
swilcoxon at garfieldpark.org

Harmony Picciuca          GPCA
hpicciuca at garfieldpark.org

                                    773/638-1766 ext 24

Jaime Zaplatosch        Openlands
jzaplatosch at openlands.org
            312/863-6270

Julie Samuels              Openlands
jsamuels at openlands.org
            312/863-6256

Nancy Kreith              U of I Extension
<kreith at uiuc.edu> nkreith at gmail.com.
                                    773/233-0476

Velma Johnson           No. Lawndale Grng.Com.
veljohn at sbcglobal.net

Renee Chester             Friends of the Parks
chesterr at fotp.org

Margaret Cielak          NeighborSpace
mcielak at neighbor-space.org

Lynne Haynor             Chicago Botanic Garden
lhaynor at chicagobotanic.org

Eliza Fournier             CBG –( on maternity leave)
efournier at chicagobotanic.org

Rory Klick
roryklick at yahoo.com

Marti Bjornson
m-bjornson at northwestern.edu

Iya Adesanya-Kerr     Garfield Market Place Mngr.
iadesanya-kerr at garfieldpark.org,
                                              773/638-1766 x 28

Jane Schenck              Chicago Park District
jane.schenck at chicagoparkdistrict.com
              312/742-5016

Young Mi Kaneshiro  Chicago park District

            youngmi.kaneshiro at chicagoparkdistrict.com


Sandra Wilcoxon        GPCA
swilcoxon at garfieldpark.org

                                    773-638-1766 x27

Jim DeHorn                TreeKeepers -Openlands – 312/863-6259
(no email)


(GPCA was "Garfield Park Conservatory Alliance")

On Fri, Oct 15, 2021 at 1:21 PM M Toy <mtoy.usa at gmail.com> wrote:

> Looks great!
>
> Thanks.
> May
>
> On Fri, Oct 15, 2021, 1:09 PM Lorraine Kells <lxkells at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> Slight change but the right one. Ler's hear from everyone on this thread
>> and zI will send to A&O team.
>>
>> Lorraine
>>
>> On Fri, Oct 15, 2021, 1:05 PM Amy Olson <akeo at me.com> wrote:
>>
>>> We’re close! The first sentence doesn’t make sense with ’The mission”
>>> crossed out.
>>>
>>> How about this:
>>>
>>> The Advocacy and Outreach team’s work is centered around the belief that
>>> community gardens are important vehicles in creating resilient and vibrant
>>> neighborhoods. While Chicago's community gardens are our immediate focus,
>>> we have the potential to engage with other areas through advocacy because
>>> many issues affect our larger shared environment
>>>
>>> The following are some of our current areas of focus. We invite and
>>> encourage everyone to participate! With your help, we can:
>>> ·  provide a platform to share and address issues that arise in
>>> community gardens
>>> ·  increase equitable access to safe water, healthy soil, and compost
>>> for gardeners
>>> ·  build awareness about and address city-wide policy issues that affect
>>> community gardens
>>> ·  work to increase equity and lessen division in community gardening
>>> ·  establish beneficial connections between people and/or organizations
>>> ·  support the important role of community gardens in creating
>>> healthier, greener communities and in the fight against climate change
>>>
>>>
>>> On Oct 15, 2021, at 12:58 PM, Lorraine Kells <lxkells at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>
>>> This is great, thank you Amy, you got my point! If everyone else is good
>>> with this,PLEASE REPLY. it will go to the entire A & O team for final
>>> approval. Perhaps we can have it on the website by the time of our meeting
>>> Tuesday, or finish further editing/comment/approval by that time.
>>>
>>> The only change I would still make is as follows to keep it in parallel
>>> with other teams paragraphs.:
>>>
>>> The mission of The Advocacy and Outreach team is centered around the
>>> belief that community gardens are important vehicles in creating resilient
>>> and vibrant neighborhoods. While Chicago's community gardens are our
>>> immediate focus, we have the potential to engage with other areas through
>>> advocacy because many issues affect our larger shared environment
>>>
>>> This goes without saying that all of the other text is not lost, but
>>> gets put into "Who We Are"
>>>
>>> Lorraine
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> On Fri, Oct 15, 2021 at 12:44 PM Amy Olson <akeo at me.com> wrote:
>>>
>>>> Hi,
>>>>
>>>> I agree that the bigger picture messages as you’ve outlined below can
>>>> be a part of the CCGA “Who We Are”. That’s next on the list to tackle :)
>>>>
>>>> Here’s an updated A&O overview - removed the inclusivity info since
>>>> it’s going in Who We Are. Also kept the mention of fighting climate change
>>>> because it makes sense here too:
>>>>
>>>> The mission of the Advocacy and Outreach team is centered around the belief
>>>> that community gardens are important vehicles in creating resilient and
>>>> vibrant neighborhoods. While Chicago's community gardens are our
>>>> immediate focus, we have the potential to engage with other areas through
>>>> advocacy because many issues affect our larger shared environment.
>>>>
>>>> The following are some of our current areas of focus. We invite and
>>>> encourage everyone to participate! With your help, we can:
>>>> ·  provide a platform to share and address issues that arise in
>>>> community gardens
>>>> ·  increase equitable access to safe water, healthy soil, and compost
>>>> for gardeners
>>>> ·  build awareness about and address city-wide policy issues that
>>>> affect community gardens
>>>> ·  work to increase equity and lessen division in community gardening
>>>> ·  establish beneficial connections between people and/or organizations
>>>> ·  support the important role of community gardens in creating
>>>> healthier, greener communities and in the fight against climate
>>>> change
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> On Oct 15, 2021, at 11:46 AM, Lorraine Kells via Communications <
>>>> communications at chicagocommunitygardens.org> wrote:
>>>>
>>>> Hello all,
>>>>
>>>> Please allow me to put a big pause on this. I think we've hit a seminal
>>>> moment of change.   We have likely made this A & O team greater than CCGA
>>>> itself, and making CCGA better is good. The paragraph to introduce A & O
>>>> reads better than The CCGA Organization "Who We Are" which is supposed to
>>>> say what CCGA is all about on our website. In looking at the website (which
>>>> needs serious work to bring CCGA into the 21st century), I think we have
>>>> hit upon how we want to revise our "Who We Are" which currently doesn't say
>>>> what we should be saying and DOING in CCGA.  With incorporation of much of
>>>> the first paragraph from May & Amy's paragraphs to our website's
>>>> explanation of who we are, we will have all of CCGA teams and potentially
>>>> subscribers working together without making the A & O more ambitious than
>>>> all of CCGA. Then the A & O team will be more in parallel with our other
>>>> teams
>>>>
>>>> My take away if you'll allow me for a moment, is that May's paragraph
>>>> is best suited to a committee.  I personally don't have a problem with
>>>> repeating community. Some things bear repeating and the flow isn't bad.
>>>> You may still come up with another term. -- maybe just say our gardens
>>>>
>>>> Advocacy and Outreach is centered on community with the focus and
>>>> belief that community gardens are important community building vehicles.  What
>>>> we see is often shaped by perspective and narrowed by custom and
>>>> convention.  Advocacy and Outreach is committed to the vision that
>>>> everyone has a role to play and can contribute to the community as a whole,
>>>> and we support and encourage the participation of every individual.  When a
>>>> problem or issue is identified, outreach is the natural next step;  through
>>>> advocacy, we have the potential to engage in other areas as well
>>>>
>>>> The bullet points are same as edited by Amy
>>>> ·          develop and secure resources to create healthier, greener
>>>> communities
>>>> ·          increase access to safe water, healthy soil, and compost
>>>> for gardeners
>>>> ·          provide a platform to share and address issues that arise
>>>> in community gardens
>>>> ·          build awareness about and address city-wide policy issues
>>>> that affect community gardens
>>>>
>>>> ·          work to increase equity and lessen division in community
>>>> gardening
>>>>
>>>> Here is what "Who We Are" can look like
>>>>
>>>> Our city is home to hundreds of community gardens, and the Chicago
>>>> Community Gardeners Association has created a network of those gardeners
>>>> that is truly gardener-designed and gardener-led, to ensure the
>>>> sustainability and vibrancy of Chicago gardens for years to come. CCGA is
>>>> composed of volunteer working groups that meet regularly *to support
>>>> community gardens as a vehicle for building sustainable communities and
>>>> enriching the natural ecosystem in Chicago and beyond. We are committed to
>>>> creating a space where each voice and perspective is appreciated and heard.
>>>> We support and encourage the participation of every individual.* *While
>>>> Chicago's neighborhood gardens are our immediate focus, we have the
>>>> potential to engage with other areas through our teams of Communication,
>>>> Education, Resources and Distribution, and Advocacy and Outreach because
>>>> many issues affect our larger shared environment. *CCGA helps to find
>>>> solutions to common challenges such as leadership transitions, access to
>>>> safe water and land, and community organizing.
>>>>
>>>> I still think we need a Development Committee
>>>>
>>>> Lorraine
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> On Fri, Oct 15, 2021 at 10:48 AM Julie Samuels <jsamuels1966 at gmail.com>
>>>> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> Yes, the next step is to list everything that can be done or provided
>>>>> to accomplish the "actions".  This is what we should list and then
>>>>> provide to our "leaders" to see if they agree and/or will want to add the
>>>>> items they think should be there. For example if we agree that we want and
>>>>> need to *collaborate *- how will we do that & why,  to who or what
>>>>> and when
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> On Thu, Oct 14, 2021 at 6:41 PM Julie Samuels <jsamuels1966 at gmail.com>
>>>>> wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>> Thank you Mamie, I agree with your suggestions...because the "ing"
>>>>>> implies "action" and that's what we want all of us and everyone else to
>>>>>> take on.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Julie
>>>>>>
>>>>>> On Thu, Oct 14, 2021 at 3:14 PM Mamie Gray via Communications <
>>>>>> communications at chicagocommunitygardens.org> wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Hello all, Four suggestions for *consideration*: 1) each bullet
>>>>>>> point verb ending consistently in “ing;” 2) instead of getting resources,
>>>>>>> sharing resources; 3) providing the platform to providing platforms; and 4)
>>>>>>> being a cohesive voice. Mamie
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> On Thu, Oct 14, 2021 at 12:23 PM Lorraine Kells via Communications <
>>>>>>> communications at chicagocommunitygardens.org> wrote:
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Hello,
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Amy & I met with Julie to draft a new paragraph to put up on the
>>>>>>>> website.  I took notes and here is a rough draft of what we came up with.
>>>>>>>> Please look at the website "Current Projects" section to make this
>>>>>>>> paragraph and the  draft work together as well as what we have in the
>>>>>>>> Newsletter.  Let's give this a once over and then send it to the entire
>>>>>>>> committee for review or send yo all now?
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Advocacy and Outreach is centered on community with a focus on
>>>>>>>> community gardens.  What we see is often shaped by perspective, custom and
>>>>>>>> convention.  Advocacy and Outreach is committed to a way of seeing that
>>>>>>>> every individual has a part to play. When a problem or issue is identified,
>>>>>>>> outreach is the next step. Our Chicago neighborhoods are our immediate
>>>>>>>> focus, but we have the possibility of reaching out to all growing spaces
>>>>>>>> through advocacy.
>>>>>>>> The things we are talking about are:
>>>>>>>> ·         getting resources to create healthier, greener
>>>>>>>> communities
>>>>>>>> ·         increase access to water, healthy soil, and compost for
>>>>>>>> gardeners
>>>>>>>> ·         providing the platform for issues that arise in
>>>>>>>> community gardening
>>>>>>>> ·         increase awareness and address city wide policy issues
>>>>>>>> that affect community gardens
>>>>>>>> ·         bringing a cohesive voice to lessen division and widen
>>>>>>>> inequity in community gardening
>>>>>>>> ·         establish beneficial connections between people and/or
>>>>>>>> organizations
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Thanks
>>>>>>>> Lorraine
>>>>>>>> --
>>>>>>>> Communications mailing list
>>>>>>>> Communications at chicagocommunitygardens.org
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> http://chicagocommunitygardens.org/mailman/listinfo/communications_chicagocommunitygardens.org
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> --
>>>>>>> Communications mailing list
>>>>>>> Communications at chicagocommunitygardens.org
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> http://chicagocommunitygardens.org/mailman/listinfo/communications_chicagocommunitygardens.org
>>>>>>>
>>>>>> --
>>>> Communications mailing list
>>>> Communications at chicagocommunitygardens.org
>>>>
>>>> http://chicagocommunitygardens.org/mailman/listinfo/communications_chicagocommunitygardens.org
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>
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