Partnerships are more essential than ever. In communities with limited infrastructure or healthcare presence, it is crucial to look beyond your traditional/familiar partners and mobilize whole communities to address gaps in care. How well does your organization connect with local communities and cultivate partnerships? Does your organization know how to seek out non-traditional assets in your communities?
Join us on November 20 at 2 p.m. ET to learn how your Lutheran Services in America peers approach community development and discover community assets to expand their impact in supporting older adults in rural communities. Hear from Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD) technical assistance partners and Lutheran Services in America Rural Aging Action Network (RAAN) member organizations, St. John’s United and Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota.
Speakers
Deb Wisniewski is a committed connector who believes that our communities need us all, that we all have gifts and talents to share. Through her consulting practice, she has worked with a wide variety of groups and organizations — from both nonprofits and businesses to governmental and tribal agencies — to explore how we can build on the skills of residents, the power of local associations and the supportive functions of local institutions.
Joe Erpenbeck is a consultant and faculty member of the Asset Based Community Development (ABCD) Institute at DePaul University. Over the last 30 years he has worked with social service agencies, neighborhood groups, faith communities, libraries, schools and civic groups in the United States and Canada, helping to build more connected neighborhoods where everyone belongs. Prior to this, Joe worked with people with disabilities in employment, community connecting and self-determination programs.
Jess Eichel is the Senior Connect Manager with St. John’s United in Billings, Montana, where she provides leadership, community engagement, and assessment and referral services for their RAAN program.
Marian Jordan is the RAAN Program Coordinator with Lutheran Social Services of Minnesota in Fargo, North Dakota. Marian leads community engagement activities and connects older adults to resources that help design the life they want to live in rural communities across Minnesota and North Dakota.
