Woodbine, IA

Woodbine has opened up its application time for its annual Paint-a-thon that will happen in August.  New this year was a grant application written and received for $1400 from the Network Neighborhood Grants Program administered by the local Human Service Decat Board. Woodbine High School student council will be reviewing the applications and picking several houses to paint. Eligible entries include those who are in financial need and are not as able to afford paint/supplies to paint their houses, and eligible applicants include those who are physically unable to paint their own houses. Paint-a-thon addresses financial and emotional poverty, but it also incorporates a huge social element within it which helps eliminate the social poverty we face in our towns. This event is totally student driven. The leadership skill set and leadership opportunities for our high school youth are incredible. Students also solicit the help of the community and rely on a huge volunteer base to complete their painting tasks on the actual painting date.

Over the past year, community members in Woodbine have taken it upon themselves to clean up several property sites that were in need of great repair or that needed buildings taken off of them. Most of the lots had an uninhabitable house taken completely off of the lot and are now grassy lots ready for someone to build their home there. This benefits the community in many ways. First of all, the community looks better and it places pride in our community to make Woodbine an attractive place to live, secondly this provides a place for a family to create a place to live.  That family/household could possibly add students to the schools or add to the economy of our town in the form of tax revenue and in terms of their purchasing items within Woodbine.

Team Mates of Woodbine, a mentoring program for our youth, was initiated as a result of the Horizons Program. The goal set back in January 2007 was to have six mentors matched to six mentees with one week visits during the school day. At the end of the 2007-2008 school year Woodbine Team Mates can boast having reached a goal of 18 mentors matched to 18 mentees. Already the Team Mates volunteers have their goal set for 2008-2009 school year with 28 mentors and 28 mentees.  A partnership with the Woodbine Schools as well as generous support from the Optimist Club, Kiawanis, Methodist men’s group, the Christian Church and private donors have helped make this a very successful program.  These local contributions will continue to be an important resource for the program since an Iowa Department of Public Health grant application applied for was not received.  Sarah Cox, a teacher at Woodbine, volunteers as one of the mentors. “It’s been very rewarding to watch the communications skills and confidence grow throughout the year,” Cox said. “All the students in TeamMates take great pride in it. They seem more comfortable talking with adults in the building, and it gives them another source of help with either studies or social issues. They just seem happier to be in school,” she concluded.

As the Horizons process in its formal capacity has wound down here in Woodbine we continue to see programs that were initiated continuing to thrive. Our mentoring program through TeamMates was a HUGE success this year. We aimed for 6 mentor/mentee pairings, and I believe we had somewhere around 18 pairings. The list for next year is even bigger. That is so exciting to see. New residents continue to receive baskets that include a very comprehensive listing of the goods and services available within our small community. Groups still are assembling in the name of community betterment and are more focused than ever on their topics. What once may have been a collective of caring citizens thinking something should be done about something is now a collective of caring citizens who have identified an issue and who are finding the resources, strategies, and support to initiate attempts at addressing those issues in organized ways. The key to that change is the feeling of empowerment that our “traditional citizens” now feel. New ideas are still popping up and with the relationships formed during our Horizon’s process here, people are more readily making a call or two to someone they met in the process that they found to have a passion related to that new idea. Our Mainstreet Program is pushing forward and we may soon be a “green community” through that initiative. I will assume we will learn more about that designation and what it all entails and then blog about that soon here. I just wanted to share about the way we have been able to continue programs that were started. The good things that are happening are very much worth the incredible time and energy the community put into this. I believe that it was that incredible energy and the ability of our community to trust the program that has led to these positive and sustaining changes.

The “Marketing Woodbine” committee formed from the Horizons discussion submitted a grant proposal to Iowa Living Roadways Community Visioning and was selected for the program.  We are now starting an eight month process with a Trees Forever facilitator. The facilitator will guide us (the steering committee) and the community at large as the project collects informational data concerning improving the appearance/architectural landscape/transportation routes of our town. The first meeting was well attended and there was much discussion and brainstorming about the above. At the end of the session, the group voted on their top three ideas to concentrate on…this method worked well in helping the steering committee to distill all the input and come to a consensus upon which ideas, in general, to concentrate. Due to the notice of our meeting in the local paper inviting any interested community member, there were several people in attendance new to the process with some different ideas and input . That was an extra positive…hopefully, these different people will spread the word concerning the intent of the Visioning project so the Woodbine community members will actively participate in contributing their ideas and reflections.

I write today to tell you quickly of the work we are doing on the Action committee for Recreation in Woodbine. We worked very hard on our first project the past few months. This project is a community supported fitness center that would be open 24 hours a day and would be accessible by an electronic key. Our hope is/was to find a site on the school campus to have this facility so that the school and community could share resources and so that the youth would be able to take advantage of this facility in a large way during their sports training times. We see this center as a win win for the school and the community at large. As of this posting, we are still working through the process of deciding where this facility would be best located and we are also addressing the appropriate boards to have them help us to better meet the needs of the steakholders (city and school). So far we have had a very successful go at this venture, but some space issues are now holding us up a bit. I believe that this project WILL go through but it may be on a longer time line than we initially hoped.

The recreation committee is also working on an outdoor walking path idea as well as a program called the 5th Quarter. This program is an OUTSTANDING way to involve the youth of the community in positive activity after sporting events. Ideally this program would be held within the school buildings and would be a FREE program offering food, sports, game rooms (electronic and board games), movies and of course positive adult chaperones. We feel that this program addresses poverty of many sorts. Social poverty of the student body is a big concern. Some students have nowhere to go on weekend nights and would greatly enjoy the social interactions they’d have with people they would have NEVER been able to spend time with on a Saturday night before. Just imagine their suprise when two VERY different types of students realize that they are BOTH very passionate and good at the same video game or at dodgeball etc. That could spark into a new level of respect or friendship for them??? Also, with this designed to be a free or very very low cost function, it would allow our youth (who have limited job options here in Woodbine) to be able to go somewhere safe and to enjoy a night out at NO or VERY LOW cost. There is much to be worked out with this project. I have a HUGE materials list for an “ideal” program, but the committee has not met much on the program yet and we have yet to involve anyone outside of the committee in this project….so it’s in it’s beginning stages. I think that the school will find it to be a great concept for keeping kids away from drugs and alcohol as well as a great way to tie into the mentor / mentee program they have established through TeamMates.

Through the recreation committee work, we’ve visited Dunlap’s shared school / community facilities. We see great potential here in Woodbine to be able to take the good things they have done and to duplicate many of them here. Sharing ideas with our neighbors can really catalyze the processes of getting things accomplished. It keeps that energy we have going right now in Woodbine growing and producing good things. Many of which you can read about in these blogs and some of which we have yet to have time to write about.

All of the things I’ve written are very much just thoughts in terms of where things are right now and will certainly evolve as we gain inputs from the school board, superintendant, faculty, city council, and community at large. Our projects are certainly not our own and all that we do is intended to be something that we ALL can appreciate and benefit from. So if you happen to be reading and think that you would like to be involved in the work or have an idea on how to improve or how to get a project going please call anyone you know who works with these programs. We’d love to hear from you! Thanks for reading and for all you do to help Woodbine become a more thriving community!

One of the more concrete steps being taken by Woodbine community members to reduce poverty is looking for ways to attract businesses to Woodbine to provide quality jobs. A town with an attractive appearance as well as having capabilities to draw in new businesses such as up to date technology, utilities, transportation, and communications is vital for a growing community. The committee working on Quality Jobs for Woodbine decided it might be beneficial if an outside source could give the community an assessment of their strengths and weaknesses. Three interested citizens attended an Iowa Main Street session in Greenfield, Iowa, in December to obtain more information. Following this meeting the newly elected Chamber coordinator, City Administrator and long time community leader spent several mornings working on an Iowa Main Street application. It was submitted by January 4, 2008. The mission of the Iowa Main Street is to improve the social and economic well being of Iowa’s communities by assisting selected communities to capitalize on the unique identity, assets and character of their downtown area. With our fingers crossed,we are waiting to hear if we will be nominated as a participant in Iowa Main Street.

The action plan for the Caring, Sharing and Learning Center is slow evolving. The committee working on this action plan has a goal that includes a building center as well as a paid staff member. Some of the members want action now, especially one the early Horizon action group members. She is a dedicated leader! That is good! There are things that can be done while the main goal is being worked on. If it comes to no building and/or no one staff person, maybe that will be good too. Time will tell. In the meantime several people from the various churches in Woodbine have come together to form a group who will visit the shut-ins, the sick, the residents of home-care and nursing homes, etc. A list of community members who may benefit from visitors has been compiled and shared with the members of the churches. Anyone from any church can choose a name from the list regardless of his/her faith affiliation. There are no restrictions for who, when or where visitations will take place. Two volunteers within the community offered to crochet dish cloths that will be used as a small gift to give to those visited. Means are being taken to observe for any member of the community who has no church affiliation who may want to be visited. The committee members will monitor the list to be sure everyone is visited. Our numbers are small but sending people off two by two to visit our neighbors who are ill,alone and in need will catch on , and the number of our poor will be less.

Who would have thought that we would find poverty in our small town of Woodbine, population 1500 plus. Back in the beginning days of the Horizon Program (almost a year now) people began sharing with each other the broader meaning of poverty for many who live in our town. Every community exist with people from a variety of economic means. However, after a few meetings with the participants of the action groups it was brought to my attention that poverty wasn’t just a lack of economic means. The meaning of poverty went much deeper into the hearts and minds of people. I heard participants share stories of people they knew who experienced loneliness, low self esteem, lack of relationships and hopelessness.

Following these sharing activities, the action groups realized that these were areas each of us could begin doing something about. The leaders of the Horizon Program Committees met with Kiwanis, Golden Age Center, Woodbine School Board and Staff, and other organizations to explain the purpose of the Horizon program. One of the Horizons Action Teams sent out a survey to every resident in the Woodbine School and what they would like to see done through the Horizon Program. I felt at that time there was a surge of excitement and energy in my community which wasn’t there before. People began to dream and talk about what Woodbine could become if we all worked together.

A Welcoming Committee has been formed as a result of the Horizon program. These people have put together a book describing Woodbine and the resources available, Churches, businesses, activities, etc., to be handed out to all newcomers. Newcomers are met by two or three members of the Welcoming Committee who share with them a basket of donated products from businesses in town and a basket of fruit or a plate of homemade cookies.

The youth are important to our community. A great mentoring program was initiated as a result of Horizons and was well underway before the last big meeting of Horizons. It is up and running in partnership with the Woodbine School. The goal was to have 6 mentors with 6 students this first year. It already has 11 mentors and students meeting weekly during school hours, with 5 more mentors ready to begin. Both the adults and children are excited.

Partnerships have formed without even working at it. The City of Woodbine, the Woodbine School District, the churches, businesses on main street, local organizations are all being involved in someway or other in working on the 5 action areas agreed upon at the last Horizon gathering. Many community members are partnering with each other. Talents and gifts are plentiful!

In closing I would like to share with you the 5 action areas the new leaders in Woodbine are working toward. More will be forth coming as each progresses toward its goal.
1. Caring, Sharing Learning Center–matching individual and family needs with local resources and assets. Things are happening without a building/coordinator.
2. Recreational activities for all ages-year round walking, bike trail, fitness center and 5th quarter!
3. Marketing Woodbine–advertising what Woodbine offers using an old grain elevator.
4. Landing quality jobs in Woodbine–working with Main Street Iowa (good things are happening!!)
5. Youth mentoring Program–well underway and working

Through the Horizon’s Visioning Process the Woodbine community is addressing 5 major issues/topics.  They include: A Caring, Sharing, Learning Center; Recreation Activities for All; Marketing Woodbine; Quality Jobs; and Youth Mentoring Program.