Provided by the United Way of Bucks County:
United Way of Bucks County has hosted half a dozen Community Conversations in Bucks County this year to learn about people’s aspirations for their communities and the challenges they see in achieving these goals. The 5th and 6th conversations were held last week, on May 20th at Ann’s Choice in Warminster and May 21st at Country Commons in Bensalem.
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“These conversations are about listening to the knowledge that people have about their communities, instead of solely relying on official statistics to inform our actions,” offers Danielle Bush, Director of Community and Volunteer Engagement at UW Bucks. She adds, “Listening to others in this way has been quite humbling.” Participants included residents from several towns and townships including Warminster, Southampton, Bensalem, Bristol, Washington Crossing as well as residents from Ann’s Choice and Country Commons.
UW Bucks has conducted these conversations throughout the county in order to get a better understanding of community needs through the eyes of the general public. The small-group, informal settings allow participants to explore specific issues in a comfortable environment. Topics are chosen by the participants and have ranged from community connectedness to strengthening families to the importance of re-establishing and reinforcing values.
Bob Davis, Outreach Coordinator of Valley Youth House in Warminster and member of the Board of Directors of Bucks for Kids, said of the Warminster conversation, “Being part of the conversation was a wonderful and very positive experience. Having these kinds of conversations is an important part of the equation in making the community better. I feel like we were planting a seed for a tree that could grow strong branches.”
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Ann’s Choice provided space for the Warminster Conversation where several of their residents were eager to join in on the discussion. “Ann’s Choice is always proud to partner with the United Way of Bucks County and we were delighted to host the Community Conversation,” said Ann’s Choice Executive Director Chris Donati. “Together, our community and the United Way have accomplished a great deal, including working in tandem on a project where our residents hand wrote more than 5,000 greeting cards to veterans and active service men and women in the Armed Forces. And, last summer’s Bucks Knocks Out Hunger, held on our campus, helped create 100,000 meals in five hours which helped feed the county’s needy. Our entire community receives fulfillment in knowing that these partnerships with the United Way are helping so many and we look forward to our next project.”
As UW Bucks begins to review the information gathered from these conversations, they are also looking at options for future conversations. Anyone interested in participating in this process should contact Matt Uhler at mattu@uwbucks.org
