We collaborate with the local community of Daveyton and work with families and individuals facing the complex challenges associated with poverty in order to make a long-term difference in their lives. We work with a number of families throughout the greater Daveyton area, listening to local stories, learning from local perspectives, and making a significant impact through a variety of community initiatives. Inadequate housing, insufficient service provision, limited access to quality health care, high unemployment rates, and barriers to education and skills development are all common challenges in this community we work with.

Service Impact

Community education, by expanding the traditional role of the school and creating a mutually interdependent relationship between home, school, and community, provides a structured, effective way to respond to the challenge of improving public education. This education consists of three basic components: lifelong learning opportunities, community involvement in schools, and resource efficiency. It is based on a set of broad principles:

• Lifelong learning is essential. Education is a lifelong process, and everyone in the community is responsible for educating all members of the community. Residents of all ages should have access to formal and informal learning opportunities in a variety of community settings.
• Self-determination. Residents of the community have a right and a responsibility to participate in assessing community needs and identifying community resources that can be used to meet those needs.
• Self-help. People are best served by leaders who recognize and develop their ability to help themselves. People gain independence when they accept responsibility for their own well-being.
• Leadership development. It is critical for community improvement efforts to train local leaders in problem solving, decision-making, and group-process skills.
• Inclusiveness. Community programs, activities, and services should include as diverse a cross-section of community residents as possible, without regard to age, income, gender, race, ethnicity, religion, or other factors.

Education is a lifelong process, and everyone in the community is responsible for educating all members of the community. Residents of all ages should have access to formal and informal learning opportunities in a variety of community settings.