Poultney 20/20 Community Outreach and Civic Engagement Proposal April 2016
Approximately 65 interviews between GMC students and Poultney residents were conducted to discuss community issues and their ideas for solutions.. The data has been analyzed and categorized into several topics of discussion, including: Poultney-GMC divide, river health, community connections and communication, local economy, education, health, and diversity/culture/creativity. Identified in this document are the categories that intertwine, particularly in terms of community projects that could address many issues at once. This civic proposal is a collaborative effort to improve Poultney by strengthening community ties, involvement, and empowerment.
Project Objectives and Potential Activities
Objective 1: Create awareness of existing communication outlets/venues and improve communication between Green Mountain College community members and Poultney residents to foster positive working relationships between students and community members.
- Make the Poultney 2020 plan more easily accessible in order to increase involvement and understanding of goals.
-Accessible on the GMC homepage
-Printed copy available on a table in Withey Lobby at GMC
-Establish locations in town (e.g. community centers) to display a hard copy of the plan
-Make information for community meeting times/places more accessible to GMC students to increase student attendance.
-Create/Utilize a community bulletin board on campus/in Poultney
-Create a town newsletter that is shared each month in the Poultney newspaper and in the GMC Journal
-Get more organizations in town to advertise events and opportunities through the Poultney Chamber of Commerce online calendar (http://www.poultneyvt.com/)
-Establish a well-known time/place/agenda for community conversations (Ex: Methodist Church on Wednesdays at 5pm)
-Expand upon currently existing community centers to ensure a consistent and wide variety of activities that cater to and are attractive for Poultney and GMC residents of all ages
-Establish Moses lawn at GMC as a community space for all to use
-Establish the Fox Hill lawn as a space off campus for community events (music/arts/festivals)
-An easily accessible community communication venue will also intersect with other areas of concern as identified by community members; for example: neighborhood watch groups, facilitating drug education, hosting AA meetings, and organizing town beautification.
Objective 2: Encourage student participation in the Poultney economy, and make student participation more accessible.
- Promote and participate in Small Business Saturday (a national holiday)
- A street sale where businesses set up outdoors
- Implement a similar mantra as the national holiday, perhaps on a monthly basis, to entice consumers to regularly buy from small businesses
- Promote spending at local restaurants/the co-op in Poultney
- Involve Residence Life, the Financial department and the Dining Hall at GMC to establish a system where portions of munch money and/or meal swipe card credit goes toward off campus small business venues within the greater Poultney area.
- Increase connections between artists and musicians in the area
- Performances by musicians, art exhibitions and and more local art displayed at restaurants, cafes, and community centers/gathering spaces in town.
- Increase the number of art exhibits/attendance in town and on the GMC campus
-Connect GMC students with Poultney community members through an Integration Exhibit
Integration Exhibit Project: Students and residents interview one another to create and expand connections; from there, each person writes a piece about the other and pictures are taken to put a face to each story. Individual pieces can then be brought together in an art show/exhibit to showcase photos and stories in an effort to better know one another and see the community as a whole. Post-exhibit, these can be put in a directory accessible in Fox Hill. (Idea originally brought up a few years ago by Burnham Holmes, resident of Poultney).
Objective 3: Develop community events and programs that address long term community concerns and strengthen community across all demographics.
-Strengthen connections between seniors, GMC students, high school and elementary students as a way to boost the education system and develop relationships with people of diverse ages
- Make college classes more accessible for Poultney High School students
- Field day event on GMC campus with Poultney High School and Elementary School students
- Establish a mentor program that connects GMC and PHS students
- Strengthen connections with the Young at Heart Senior Center through a volunteer program--college and PHS students, potentially in tandem with the mentor program
- Establish a time weekly/monthly for students to spend time with members of the Young at Heart Senior Center
- Town drug awareness and education event
- Host an annual event on drug education that is interactive and involves GMC students, Poultney residents, and PHS students
- Establish available resources for the whole community to utilize (regarding safe sex, safe drug use, and help lines)
- Establish coalition/group that takes on specific and consistent roles to maintain a healthy river system on the GMC campus and all around Poultney
- Educate the community as a whole on the health of the Poultney river, the history and timeline of degradation
- Increase number of weekly and annual community events
-The Farmer’s Market in combination with Chili Fest is a great example (very successful)
-Promote local spending and interaction between GMC students and the local economy
Before May 2016, GMC students are continuing discussions with Poultney groups through a series of presentations, reaching out to: the Poultney Earth Fair, the Rotary Club, the Poultney Area Chamber of Commerce, the Poultney Select Board, the Village Trustees, the Poultney Downtown Revitalization Project, and the GMC community. The purpose of these meetings will be to propose small ways to contribute to solutions to identified issues in the Poultney community, and to further conversations on these topics. Students at GMC are aiming to facilitate several of these initiatives, and would like to partner with the Town of Poultney and active organizations and individuals.
Conclusion:
These suggestions were developed by both Poultney residents and GMC students to begin fresh conversations about Poultney activities and facilitate community building. Through this proposal, we hope to build upon the existing network of connections within Poultney to expand and strengthen the web of people involved in its flourishing. By increasing venues and opportunities for communication and connection, for sharing of talent, knowledge, and passions amongst all Poultney residents, opportunities for action on important issues will find a wider audience and a stronger support system.
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