Gratitude has been a guiding light for me over the past 20 months. Remembering to focus on the positive rather than the negative. Here are some things for which I am grateful lately:
Last week, a true positive was that our local COVID stats are declining and we were able to host two outdoor gatherings on the campus. It feels really good to see everyone live!
And today, we reopen one of our shared conference rooms - with a few restrictions in place - but again, I am grateful to be moving towards a full reopening plan, hopefully in 2022.
I have tremendous gratitude for the 67 community partners who responded to our SRQ Clinic to Community study, supported by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation! The results showed over 1,500 relationships between the organizations, high community trust scores, and significant collaboration. Those of us in this network already knew of this interconnectedness, but seeing it visually (scroll down for more information) is truly gratifying!
And our newest "tenant", a campus rooster, affectionately named Rocky, seems grateful to have five acres here on which to roam!
How do you practice gratitude? Reach out and let me know.
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Dr. Kameron P. Hodgens
Executive Director & CEO
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Mission: To CONNECT, SUPPORT, and SUSTAIN a network of human service nonprofits for a stronger community. |
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Agency Spotlight: The Literacy Council Cookbook! |
Campus tenant partner Literacy Council of Sarasota has something tasty in the works. As part of their Health Literacy Program, they are producing a brand-new cookbook! "We're grateful to our adult learners, tutors, and instructors who provided their flavors of literacy for our first-ever cookbook," says Executive Director, Tom Melville. "It's full of great recipes and seasoned with idioms from other cultures!"
To reserve your copy, contact Sandra Beltran, Program Assistant: info@sarasotaliteracy.org. This cookbook is a savory way to support adult literacy in our region, and they make a great gift at $10 each! |
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International Coffee Day was last week, and we celebrated with a coffee and continental breakfast spread for our 17 neighbors on the Campus of Caring.
We love making moments when we can interact with our partners, tightening the connections that keep us all working together for our community.
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Community Alliance Breakfast of Champions 2021 |
The purpose of the Legislative Breakfast is to bring together a broad range of community members to discuss and establish our community's legislative priorities for the 2022 Florida Legislative Session.
The event will take place outdoors, and includes breakfast. Tickets are $20 and open to the public. If you'd like to attend, please register here. |
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The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation funded this research as part of their Systems for Action program. One of our research goals was to understand how our well-established network reacted to the crisis among increased health and human service needs, and what lessons can be learned and applied during future crises.
Findings revealed a network of highly trusted partners who indicated high levels of collaboration and relationships. Room for community improvement include the referral process and client follow-up.
Year two of this funding will commence soon and we are excited to drill down deeper into the data set to explore how subsectors of our nonprofit community are working together and where additional improvements can be made.
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View from the Front Desk: Going Outside |
The "views" have been quite colorful this month: we had some great food, we acquired an new power washer, and we had a visit from a rooster!
Miss Susie's Newtown Kitchen, a project lead by Tableseide Cares, pays homage to the Newtown icon, whose restaurant served as a community gathering place for decades. The food truck made a stop at the Campus of Caring, serving delicious soul food!
In their work to keep our campus beautiful, our maintenance team now has a new power washer, which they'll use to keep our sidewalks gum- and dirt-free....wait, is that a rooster??
Yes friends, this month we also had a visit from this guy. Rocky the Rooster was scuttling around the campus, but he didn't stay long. Too much paparazzi. :)
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The Greater Sarasota Chamber of Commerce's Adult Leadership Class visited the Campus of Caring for their Health and Human Services Day on October 1st. They learned about the human services network on the Campus of Caring, and in the community beyond.
"Going through the leadership program was so valuable for me," says Charlene Altenhain, Glasser/Schoenbaum COO, a 2018 graduate of the program. She is also co-chair of the Adult Leadership program this year. "I'm proud to know this class of 2022 will gain some understanding of the very robust network of health and human services in our area from their visit to our campus."
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