Community leaders try to connect the dots

More than 40 community leaders brainstormed ideas Tuesday to improve the quality of life in Shawano County.

“Connecting the Dots: A Commitment to Community” brought together key people to discuss ways to better utilize community resources to decrease poverty, improve community health and foster workforce development.

The workshop, held at The Main Event in Cecil, was sponsored by Shawano County University of Wisconsin-Extension, Thrivent Financial and ThedaCare.

The participants represented area school districts, nonprofit agencies, health care facilities, churches and government.

“When we work on the effort together, it makes the problem a lot easier to tackle,” said Nancy Schultz, UW-Extension family living educator for Shawano County. “And more importantly, we can each give something to the solution.”

In a presentation to the group, Amy Korth, a nutrition education specialist for the UW-Extension in Madison, emphasized that relationships are key to creating lasting change, noting that it takes time to “connect the dots” between various groups’ efforts.

She said the approach is based on the “Collective Impact Framework,” a guide to bringing together diverse groups to focus on a common goal to create social change.

“It basically means that you work with a network of people, and try to come together, and establish a common agenda,” Korth said. “That is creating a line of activities, evaluations, so that we can all move forward together.”

After Korth’s presentation, the participants were split into groups of six or seven, to facilitate open discussion. Each group was given 20 minutes to exchange ideas on four questions presented during the discussion:

• What are the most serious problems impacting poverty, health and community development?

• Are there activities in the community that can help address the concerns?

• Are there ways to enhance already existing resources?

• Are there ways to improve collaboration among agencies?

Lynn Hrabik, evaluation manager for the Wisconsin Clearinghouse for Prevention Resources, facilitated the conversation as the groups reunited and presented highlights of their discussions.

Although the city of Shawano’s poverty rate — 13.1 percent, according to the U.S. Census — is higher than the county’s (11.5 percent), Rhonda Strebel, executive director of the Rural Health Initiative, urged the leaders to not focus solely on the county’s largest city.

“I would encourage us to think about what is going on beyond Shawano, like what’s happening in Gresham, Tigerton, Bonduel,” she said. “We can’t forget the people in these areas. Don’t forget, we are a county.”

Schultz and Jay Moynihan, UW-Extension community resource development coordinator for Shawano County, plan to gather the data from the workshop and then schedule the group’s next session.

Patrick Rau, Bonduel School District superintendent, considered the meeting a “great first step of connecting everybody in the community that is striving to help Shawano County.”

He said he learned about additional resources available to district families, and he let others know how the district can help, as well.

He noted, for example, the district’s fitness center “that is free and underutilized” can help the community battle obesity.

“One of the things we need to do is work together, so that we know what each other is doing,” Rau said. “If I can’t help a family, I know who to connect them with and who can provide that wraparound care.”

Korth also was optimistic following the session.

“It was really nice to have that variety of people at the tables and give their voice, and that was essential in the process,” Korth said. “I am really interested in seeing what transpires a year from now.”