[Durham INC] [durhambikeandped] Fwd: [ABCDdurham] Mayor Bell Invites Feedback on IBM Report for Engaging Durham's Youth

Fri Jun 8 11:07:18 EDT 2012

Marc & Melissa,

I appreciate your points and I agree with you.

However, the challenge that the IBM grant identifies and attempts to
address is one step removed from the programming you're talking about, and
I think it's worth a closer read and your support.  The framework for
delivering services to disconnected youth in Durham is itself disconnected:
while we're lucky that so many folks and organizations in Durham are
working with disconnected  youth, these folks' and organizations' insight
into how each individual student is or can be helped by others is limited
at best, and downright difficult or impossible in most cases.

So - the need for a centralized framework in which all of our *great* providers
can collaborate would be a HUGE step forward for Durham.  Seems to me that
IBM is just the type of company to help us envision, organize and build
that organization and the supporting technology infrastructure.  I'm very
thankful that they're supporting Durham's youth in this manner, and look
forward to working on a solution that will better connect both our youth
and the organizations that support them.

Just my $.02 -  Happy Friday!

Clay Harris

COO, WorkSmart <http://www.worksmart.com>
Board Chair, Achievement Academy of Durham <http://www.achievedurham.org>
Beginner Gardener <http://www.durhamgrows.com>

On Fri, Jun 8, 2012 at 8:25 AM, Melissa Rooney <mmr121570 at yahoo.com> wrote:

> Thanks so much for that, Marc! I couldn't agree more, of course.
> I have been working all year on a vegetable garden, herb garden, and other
> landscaping projects at Creekside Elementary. The kids help me once/week
> during their recess time.
>
> I can't get over how much these kids LOVE it. Too bad I can't get any
> other adults to help me or we'd do it more often.
>
> Yesterday, we were thinning out thyme, mint and oregano, and I offered to
> put the pieces with roots into pots for the kids to take home and plant.
>
> They were ecstatic. I was like the pied piper as the kids followed me in a
> long line to get their pots, fill them with soil and place their little
> plant within.
>
> When I told them they could eat the leaves of the plants, they got even
> more excited.
>
> They promised to put the plants in the ground within a week, and I trust
> that most of them will.
>
> People ask me why I don't hold a garden workday on the weekend or
> something so I can get more adults to help. The answer is that most of the
> kids I want/need to reach can't make it to after school or weekend
> activities. I mean, it seemed that some of these kids had never even held a
> handful of dirt before.
>
> I hope that Durham can support more gardening programs for our youth --
> get the kids outside, encourage them to get their hands dirty and show them
> the plants that we grow for our pleasure and survival. Or have them
> participate in water wildlife and water-testing programs like those put on
> by the Haw, Neuse and Cape Fear River Assemblies -- would make them more
> aware of our effect on our natural resources and give them experience in
> biology and chemistry.
>
> Once I leave Creekside, I fear that my gardens will turn to weeds and
> future students won't get the experience that the current ones so enjoy.
>
> We need OUTDOOR programs for our kids, not more programs that involve them
> sitting around staring at lighted screens.
>
> Sincerely,
> Melissa (Rooney)
>
>
>
>
>   ------------------------------
> *From:* Marc Dreyfors <marc at greenwayrides.com>
> *To:* durhambikeandped at yahoogroups.com; Frank White <frank at ewhitecap.com>
> *Cc:* Bill Bell <billbell at udicdc.org>; Beverly.Thompson at DurhamNC.gov;
> inc-list at rtpnet.org; ABCDdurham at yahoogroups.com; marc at greenwayrides.com
> *Sent:* Friday, 8 June 2012 12:23 AM
> *Subject:* Re: [Durham INC] [durhambikeandped] Fwd: [ABCDdurham] Mayor
> Bell Invites Feedback on IBM Report for Engaging Durham's Youth
>
>  Hi Frank,
>
> I started reading the report and was immediately overwhelmed by the
> "technology as the solution" to inner city problems.  The Report read like
> a set up/commercial for IBM's corporate view of the world/approach.
>
> "At the heart of this Governance Model is the Youth
> Opportunity Corps (YOC), supported by the Executive
> Council and the Youth Council. It consists of two units:
> one full-time Operations Unit consisting of five roles,
> and a part-time Enabling Infrastructure Task Force that
> will bring the existing IT and information management
> resources together to create the enabling IT infrastructure."
>
> Aack! Focus is on "executive leaders" and healthcare and biotech??!!  Are
> these guys really who we want engaging our youth, who have achieved
> excellence in a broken system that is both undermining our Democracy and
> destroying our health and planet simultaneously.
>
> I have a half a dozen kids and under-employed coming by my office daily,
> and more if I didn't put a nix on it because we don't have the man-power or
> resources to engage them.  These kids are way over-loaded with technology,
> You-tubing gangster rape, texting, smart-phones, listening to brutal
> lyrics, Face-booking, They are headed for chemical dependency and ADD/ADHD
> candidates and certainly "nature deficit disordered."
>
> Personally, taking these kids out into nature would be the best thing for
> them, getting them exercise, teaching them to fish, garden, make things
> with their hands and feeding them some healthy food reagularly. IBM's
> Report is heavy on the psychological leadership pedagogy.  Mentoring is
> important, but this stuff seems way over the top complicated.  What are
> these guys selling?! There are snibits of good data and approach in this
> Report, but the thing should trashed.
>
> Talk with Asheville Go! about engaging at risk youth, its about listening.
> hearing and being real.  We just spent a couple days looking into their
> model with NCCDI  Offering a hope of a job in a healthy, sustainable and
> conscientious community is the best way to engage this problem. I just wish
> we had a green economy that was robust enough to provide more entry level
> jobs (idiot leadership?).
>
> Best thing Durham has going for it is the growing local foods movement,
> but I see no mention of greening or sustainability in the whole damn
> report!  Outrageous.  Green space reduces crime, greenways allow the
> community to exercise and get out of cars, planting trees affects a range
> of benefits, etc.  Talk about disconnect, wait until the real crap hits the
> fan: famine, drought, flood, fire, spiking energy prices and economic
> collapse.  Think we have a problem now?!  We need to give these kids a
> heads up and a leg up on the shit storm we have created.   I guess the IT
> community will have an ap. for that.
>
> Lord help us,
>
> Marc
>
> On 6/5/2012 10:53 PM, Frank White wrote:
>
>
>  Normally, I'd consider this FYI outside the scope of this listserv so
> bear with me as I attempt to bridge a connection to the following release
> and the pedestrian/cycling community.
>
> A few days ago, ATT trial users were attacked by teens, we believe to be
> "at-risk" youth, while using the ATT. Marc, mentioned that something should
> be done to reach those youths. Since this initiative is aimed at "at-risk"
> populations that have made some uncomfortable I wanted to make sure news of
> this program is on your radar.
>
> Durham is "where great things happen" and a desired result will surely be
> something great.
>
> Frank
>
>  ---------- Forwarded message ----------
> From: *Blalock, Amy* <Amy.Blalock at durhamnc.gov>
> Date: Tue, Jun 5, 2012 at 3:07 PM
> Subject: [ABCDdurham] Mayor Bell Invites Feedback on IBM Report for
> Engaging Durham's Youth
> To: "Blalock, Amy" <Amy.Blalock at durhamnc.gov>
>
>
>
>      [image: cid:image002.jpg at 01CBE556.A7538D50]
>  * *
> *CITY OF DURHAM*
> *Office of Public Affairs*
>  101 City Hall Plaza
> Durham, NC 27701
>
>
> *News Release***
>  * *
> *News Media Contact:*
> Beverly B. Thompson
> Director
> (919) 560-4123 x 11229
> (919) 475-2362 (cell)
> Beverly.Thompson at DurhamNC.gov
> Like: http://Facebook.com/CityofDurhamNC
> Follow: http://Twitter.com/CityofDurhamNC
>
> For Immediate Release: June 5, 2012
>
>
>  *Mayor Bell Invites Feedback on IBM Report for Engaging Durham’s Youth*
> *Full Report and Video Now Online; Feedback Encouraged on New Facebook
> Page*
>
> DURHAM, N.C. - The City of Durham is inviting public review and comment on
> a plan submitted by IBM (NYSE: IBM) to improve the education, well being,
> and job-readiness of Durham’s youth.
>
> IBM's plan details steps that the City can take in coordination with
> schools, workforce-readiness programs, and other public, private and
> nonprofit stakeholders to better coordinate and measure the success of
> their efforts.
>
> The recommendations include the creation of a Youth Opportunity Corps that
> would create a centralized mechanism for identifying youth at risk, refer
> those youth to the right resources, and ensure their long-term success.
>
> “As the first U.S. city selected by IBM for this study earlier this year,
> I am pleased to share this important report,” Mayor William V. “Bill” Bell
> said.  “It is clear that we as a community are going to have to work
> together to help our youth succeed in education, employment, and life.
> This report outlines a coordinated strategy to coalesce our public,
> private, and non-profit resources for the future of our youth in Durham,”
> he said.
>
> Bell said that at this point, public input is critical for the next steps
> to implement the plan. To encourage feedback and discussion on various
> aspects of the report, a Facebook page (
> http://www.Facebook.com/DurhamYouthSucceeding) has been established. The
> page provides links to IBM's report and to a brief video (
> http://www.YouTube.com/watch?v=3F1bG9uQAz4) that chronicles the
> challenges that local youth face.
>
> According to Bell, community leaders will meet in the coming weeks to
> assess what the next steps should be to take advantage of key
> recommendations, including how to involve various community stakeholders
> and organizations, especially youth.
>
> The recommendations emerged from a study funded by an IBM Smarter Cities
> Challenge grant, valued at $400,000, awarded to cities such as Durham that
> have demonstrated progressive thinking and a commitment to embrace change.
>
> For the study, six IBM staff members with expertise in finance,
> technology, and management, spent most of February 2012 living in Durham
> and interviewing approximately 80 residents, officials, and community
> leaders.  The team presented its initial findings in March and has
> submitted a more comprehensive report, now available on the City’s website
> at http://DurhamNC.gov/ich/cmo/Documents/ibm_scc_report.pdf.
>
> Durham was one of 33 cities named as recipients of IBM’s Smarter Cities
> challenge grants in 2012. Launched in 2011, this three-year $50 million
> program for 100 U.S. cities is IBM’s single largest philanthropic
> initiative. It funds in-person engagements staffed by teams of top IBM
> experts who study and then make detailed recommendations addressing locally
> important urban issues.
>
> "We thank the City of Durham for the hospitality shown to the IBM team
> that visited earlier this year," said Steven Pearson, a North
> Carolina-based manager for IBM's Corporate Citizenship & Corporate Affairs
> group.  "We hope that the recommendations that our team prepared will be
> useful in helping to making Durham as vibrant and successful as it can be.
> We congratulate the city's leadership for its forward thinking and
> commitment to innovation."
>
> ###
>
>
>
> --
>
> Frank White
>
> White Cap Solutions
> http://whitecapsolutions.com
>
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