Everyday Democracy in Denver

Community volunteer Sharon Chesterman attended Everyday Democracy’s National Conference last June. “Making Every Voice Count” brought national and community leaders together to address problems and find solutions.

Everyday Democracy has provided advice and training to more than 500 communities across the country since 1989. Using what works, they create innovative tools and processes to benefit communities. Their learning never stops. Their goal is to help people work together for creative community change and that communities can work better for everyone. Their real-life stories of what is working give hope and inspiration to everyone.

Everyday Democracy, formerly Study Circles Resource Center, created “Thriving Communities,” the guide that community members used for Royal Roundtables at the beginning of the Horizons program.

Advanced Leadership Training:

How can we keep people involved? How can we recruit new people? How can we begin new community projects? These and other questions were discussed at a Northwest Area Foundation-WSU-Extension-sponsored program in advanced leadership training in December.

The program was designed for new Horizon communities and Horizon alumni communities. Brett Schrom, Osiel Cruz, Senia Farias and Sharon Chesterman represented Royal City.

“There was so much information provided in the three-day program; our heads were swimming,” Sharon noted. “Extension staff and others encouraged us not to give up. Every community has multiple needs. By connecting people and resources, we can bring change to our communities. It takes time, and it is work! We must find a way to get middle and high school students and young adults involved.”

“A Royal Hello,” Beautification/Landscaping, Communications, Community Clean-up, Community Garden, Farmers Market/Business, Fundraising, Grant Writing, and Leadership are projects that have been started by volunteers in our area. With assistance from the Noxious Weed Control Board of Grant County, Strengthening the Heart of Our Community sponsored a weed education program to third graders last spring. Plans are being formulated for a Neighborhood Watch program.

“Our hope is to plan a meeting in January or February and bring together all those who participated in Royal Roundtables, LeadershipPlenty©, Community Action and Visioning, revisit the list of possible projects, and get started with new energy for 2009,” Sharon added.

From the list of action items and identifying new projects there are lots of opportunities for community members to be involved. Please call Danna Underwood at 346-2592 or Sharon at 346-9482 or email her at chesterman@centurytel.net.

Financing Your Education

Tony Garcia, Community Coach for WSU’s Horizons Program presented a workshop titled “Alternative Financing for Your Education” at the DSHS/Worksourse Annual Columbia Basin Job Fair, information on Displaced Worker funds, Tuition Assistance for Working Parents,
Scholarship opportunities, student employment, Workforce Training Program, Job Corps, Veteran’s assistance, and all the other possibilities. Other partners that served as a panel included:

• WIA funding (Skillsource)
• Opportunity Grant sources (Worksource Center, BBCC),
• Work-based Learning Tuition Assistance Program & Financial Aid (Big Bend Community College)

Grants Library

The Horizons program has purchased and supplied the community with a small grants library to assist community members in furthering their needs to seek funding in order to advance our efforts towards poverty reduction. The small library has been purchased from the Foundation Center and consist of the following books:

• Foundation Directory, 2008
• Foundation Directory, Part 2
• Foundation Directory, Supplement
• National Directory of Corporate Giving, 13th edition
• Foundation Today Series
• Foundation Centers Guide to Winning Proposals
• Grantseeking on the Web
• Foundation Fundamentals
• Foundation Center’s Guide to Proposal Writing
• Guia Para Escribir Propuesta

The grants library will be housed at the Port Authority for easy use by community members.

Grant Writing Workshop

The Horizons Program is sponsoring a Grant Writing Workshop for community members and community agency partners on April 4 & 5. The program was honored to have renowned grants trainer Susan Howlett. During the two-day training the following topics were covered:

• Where does money come from (types of sources and where to find them)
• How do you decide what’s a good match for you and your project.
• How do you prepare your organization to be grant-ready.
• Writing a compelling letter of inquiry
• What do grantmakers look for in a proposal.
• What are the standard questions and what are strong answers for each.
• Budgets and other support documents and the stories they tell.
• Cultivation, recognition and stewardship of grantors.
• How to corroborate need.
• How to articulate outcomes or measurable objectives.
• How to develop an evaluation plan.
• An exercise in reviewing real letter of inquiry.

Royal City HS Biotech Award Winning Team

Royal High School represented Eastern Washington at the 2008 Student Biotech Expo in Bellevue last Tuesday, May 28. The five students worked for six months preparing their presentations: Ryan Lefler, a sophomore, designed a molecular model to explain the combustion of biofuels compared to "regular" fuels; Aaron Cedillo wrote a journalism paper about the process of biopulping compared to regular pulping (paper making process); Roberto Cruz wrote a lesson plan to teach an audience about the CCR5 receptor; Victor Godoy-Cortes and Cesar Nunez researched the structure of tetrahydrogestrinone (THG) to design its molecular model using RP-RasMol, a computer visualization program. They all had very professional posters and were very well evaluated by the judges. During the award ceremony, the team was honored with the highest prize of the event: the Award for Excellence in Biotechnology, something like being the State Champions in Biotech. Quite an accomplishment for a rural school!!! – Mario Godoy

Imagine You at WSU

Washington State Universtiy brought in students and professors to teach, present and work with Royal City High School Students to promote higher education as a possible avenue to poverty reduction.

Former Royal City Students now attending WSU presenting in front of current Royal City Students.

WSU Staff discussing higher education with Royal City High School Student

WSU faculty teach Mariachi History in Front of Royal City Class.

National Youth Service Day

Murals in the park painted on National Youth Service Day, April 25, 2008. The leaves on the completed tree are hand prints by kindergarten children at Red Rock Elementary School.
The project, initiated by Intermountain AmeriCorps participants, was a collaboration between The City of Royal City, Strengthening the Heart of Our Community (SHOC), and HORIZONS.

Community Visioning

Today the community came together to express community visions, obstacles to those visions, possible solutions and finally action to those visions by assigning individual people who attended to look the solutions and report back at a later date which is to be decided later, probably after the holidays. The solutions we are working on are the following:

Media: Encompasses all ways in which the word is spread the current horizons program and all community involved programs. The task is being undertaken by Brett, and others.

Cheat Sheets: Sheets that will give key phrases for people who have language difficulty to use during an emergency.

SSL classes:
More ESL classes,
-possible night daycare:
Building a Community Center:
Directory of services for people who are in need
Bringing in motivational speakers to talk to community
-speech to K-6 kids about talking to their parents about coming:
Grant writing training:
Investigate bilingual classes:
“Just say hi”:
Bringing in Americorps to Royal City:
Youth Group:
Community Picnic
-Feature local bands:
Community Gardening:
Future workshops: Understanding labor laws, etc:

Questions about any of the community solutions please email royalcity_wa@yahoo.com with particular project in the email subject or if it’s a general question just put general. Explanations and who’s involved with projects to be updated by mid December when more information will be available.

Summer Fest

Strengthening the Heart of Our Community (SHOC) is poised make a difference in the greater Royal Slope area. Everyone is encouraged to get involved.