Community building is one of the latest buzzwords in the nonprofit and government sectors. Many people say that they are engaging in community building and that their program builds community. Groups are launching new “community-building initiatives.” Community building sounds nice but, like any buzzword, what does it actually mean? How do our agencies already contribute to community building? And, why would we want to?

Community building is the idea that positive change in neighborhood, city, or region can best happen locally in a way that includes all aspects of the community and encourages involvement of all its residents. The National Community Building Network (NCBN) (www.ncbn.org) defines eight principles for community building:

• Integrate community development and human service strategies
• Forge partnerships through collaboration
• Build on community strengths
• Start from local realities
• Foster broad community participation
• Require racial equity
• Value cultural strengths
• Support families and children

Central to the idea of community building is social capital. Social capital is the relationship that allows individuals access to resources and the quality of the resources themselves. Social capital is the parishioner who attends religious services, meets a single mother who needs assistance with childcare, and then introduces that mother to a neighbor who has a safe, reasonable-priced day care. Social capital includes the people (the parishioner, the single mother, and the day care provider) and the institutions (the church). We all do this everyday through our schools, fraternal organizations, gardening clubs, or neighborhood book clubs.

As parent educators and social service providers, we know that our families do not live in isolations. Even our best attempts at educating parents and even the best parents cannot live up to their potential when faced with deteriorating neighborhoods—crime, unemployment, unsafe housing, and lack of leisure activities. We can educate parents about nutrition, but if transportation to a grocery store with fresh produce is unavailable, children will still not get fresh fruits and vegetables. We can help parents understand the importance of physical play, but if drug dealers overrun the park, children will remain indoors. Community building means bringing residents, policy-makers, social service agencies, and businesses together to improve these situations.

We are busy professionals. Where does community building fit into our schedules? Most of us are already engaging in community building without labeling it as such, but if we recognize our activities as community building and work to create new relationships, our jobs will become easier, our agencies stronger, and our clients and the families more successful. Through building partnerships we can affect more people, though building on the strengths of parents, volunteers and citizens we learn new ideas, and through advocacy work we bring improvements to the entire neighborhood.

The Meld model includes aspects of the community-building principles defined by the NCBN. The advisory council brings fresh perspectives to your work and helps problem solve. An advisory council brings in different experiences to prevent tunnel vision and missed opportunities. It also engages people who are involved in different aspects of your community that might not normally have contact with your agency. This group is an example of creating social capital, or new connections to resources.

Meld recommends using volunteer parent facilitators for several reasons. The peer-centered model allows for a unique relationship to develop between the facilitator and the group. Because it is peer-to-peer, rather than professional-to-client, this format can lead to more authentic sharing and learning on both sides. Volunteers from your community also create an investment in your program. By telling their friends and sharing their volunteer experience, volunteers create awareness and understanding of your agency throughout the community.

The Meld model also encourages partnerships with other organizations to reach more parents, find meeting space for groups, or provide in-kind donations such as food or refreshments during the meetings. We cannot do this alone, nor can most agencies afford to pay outright for these services. Building partnerships benefits our agencies for the reasons above and provides intangible benefits such as community support, awareness, and validations.

Community building is about creating reciprocity in relationships. As direct service providers we have an intimate knowledge of the challenges our clients face. We are in a natural position to provide information to policy-makers, bring insight to local neighborhood groups, and help local employers retain our clients as employees. While our primary vocation is education parents, we can also be the relationship that connects people to new resources. What do you know that may benefit other people besides the families in groups?

Finally, we can find reciprocity in our client relationships. Attending a rally, taking part in a neighborhood action group, or sitting on an advisory board can be an incredibly powerful experience for our clients. Often our clients are accustomed to having their voices ignored in community discussions. Taking part in community change is an amazing learning experience when clients learn that hundreds of people are working to address issues like homelessness, unemployment, or domestic violence—problems which they may have faced alone. Intrinsic to Meld’s peer-led models is the idea that we all have something to teach and something to learn. What do your clients bring to your agency and their communities? What can you learn from them?