CenLamar

CenLamar has changed, yet again, into a new type of website.

One year ago, when I launched CenLamar, my intention was to create an interactive conversation about the problems facing Alexandria; today, what began as a personal blog has metamorphosed into a community-wide online destination.

During the past two months, I have been thinking about what to do with this site, how to best harness the traffic that it receives, and how to keep up the conversation. And then a good friend of mine, Daniel Smith, gave me an idea. Daniel and I had been discussing social activism in Central Louisiana. There are over eighty non-profit/volunteer organizations in the Alexandria/Pineville area, and and in most cases, some of these organizations are competing for precious resources, often creating redundancies. Here was Daniel’s original argument:

It would be a difficult task to simply catalog all of the actions and target areas of each organization’s projects, and from the top force them through bureaucracy not to waste each other’s time. On the other hand, a top-down approach to handling community projects has the possibility of causing a backlash among organizations that perceive the “ownership” of their projects as being taken away from them. There are all kinds of participatory concerns about marginalizing the voices of organizations and their beneficiaries, which could reduce their incentives for serving the community in the first place. Grassroots initiatives often are more democratic, flexible, and successful.

It would be more amenable to groups to approach them with a more convincing sales pitch, one that offers them something they may have difficulty doing on their own. Other than money, many of these groups need volunteers (this is very general, and for some organizations- like the one I work for- it’s better to have long-term commitments from trained people who are getting paid than a bunch of novice volunteers). If the Alexandria nonprofit community operates by arranging regularly scheduled programs (CLICK); specific events where they need volunteers (Habitat); or a steady stream of volunteers (soup kitchens, community gardens), offering them an easy way of recruiting; advertising; and coordinating with other groups would be seen as beneficial. Scheduling conflicts could be reduced.

One proposal would be to create some kind of interactive open internet space for all community organizations. Its goals would be Youth Participation, Organizational Cooperation, Resource Efficiency, and the general Technological Advancement of Alexandria. It could have multiple tiers. Its heart would be a central calendar where groups (Habitat, the Food Bank, AMP, etc) could schedule events and advertise for volunteers from other groups (Boy Scouts, NHS, 4H, Key Clubs, Christian Athletes, Church Youth, etc). Perhaps groups could even sign up or be recorded so that other people know who might be volunteering. I know Boy Scouts are required to have a certain number of service hours for rank advancement, and when kids do their Eagle Projects they need volunteers.

The Boys & Girls Club, the YWCA, and CLICK (immunization program) could also advertise community/health information sessions and activities, and the Hope House and Food Drives could advertise for the donations of goods. There could be addresses, phone numbers, emails, and links for the groups that have websites, and information on how to donate. Also there could be advice for groups looking for donations or grants, as I’m sure there are a lot of Federal and private agencies that give out money for community development, though I don’t know of any.

Daniel’s proposed solution is, essentially, what I intend to turn CenLamar into– a hub for those eighty-plus organizations to communicate, collaborate, and discuss.

Beginning this week, CenLamar will offer full publication privileges to the executive directors of any local charity or non-profit organization in the Central Louisiana region. These privileges will allow them the ability to post testimonials about their mission– who they are, what they do, and what they need.

It will also allow the public to engage in a conversation– offering advice, recommendations, and (hopefully) solutions.

So stay tuned. There’s more to come.