Community Alianza Brings Neighborhoods Together

I'm very excited to report that a group of forward thinking individuals have come together with a vision and a plan for connecting the people who live, work and play along and around Central Avenue.

When they first starting brainstorming a few months back, these folks saw a need to bring the community together in a meaningful way and to engage both the residents and business owners in taking a more active role in making the area around Central Avenue stronger and more vibrant. They proposed a "community alliance" and Community Alianza was born.

The Community Alianza area stretches from the State Line on the east to 28th Street on the west and from Armstrong Avenue on the north to I-70 on the south. This includes a great deal of my Unified Government district (District 2).

As I have shared in previous blog posts, District 2 has undergone a dramatic transformation in the last 20 years. The current census profile of the district is different in many ways from the profile of years ago. A couple of posts ago I shared that I believe we have a large number of new residents in our area. One of the many goals of Community Alianza is connecting the people who have been in the area for a long time with the people who started calling this area home much more recently.

Community Alianza is affiliated with Public Square Communities, Inc. (http://www.publicsquarecommunities.com). The mission of Public Square Communities, Inc. is to "identify, connect and develop community leaders who transform towns, cities, counties and regions into thriving communities which nourish youth, engage citizens and foster partnerships."

Public Square Communities works with local partners in communities large and small to engage the four "sectors" (groups) that make up any community: Business, Education, Government and Human Services (residents).

If you live, work or play in the Community Alianza area, then you have the chance to be part of something very powerful and very special. You can help shape a vibrant future for our area!  Here's what you can do to get involved...

1. Complete an Online Survey

The first thing that you can do is complete a short online survey to share your perspectives on the strengths and weaknesses of our community. Here are the links to both the English and Spanish versions of the survey.

Survey in English:
http://www.publicsquarecommunities.com/survey_alianza_eng.htm

Survey is Spanish:
http://www.publicsquarecommunities.com/survey_alianza_esp.htm

Survey input is due by October 6, 2012.

2. Attend a Community Conversation

After the surveys have been collected and analyzed, Community Alianza is hosting a "community conversation" on Saturday, October 13. At this meeting, you can enjoy lunch, then join with your neighbors, friends and colleagues to discuss the survey results and brainstorm solutions and action plans for making our area the best it can be.

Here are the details of the Community Conversation.

Saturday, October 13
12:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Bethany Community Center
1120 Central Avenue
Kansas City, Kansas 66102

Remember...lunch will be served. :-)

Once the Community Conversation is completed, the Community Alianza steering committee will sort through all of the feedback to identify themes and set priorities. Then, they will reach out to residents of the area to help form action teams that will take the bull by the horns and really make positive things happen in our area!

I look forward to seeing all of you at the community conversation on October 13.

~ Brian

bmckiernan@wycokck.org
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