Daily Archives: June 13, 2021

With the grave worry of many Christians about living in a culture that seems to be antagonistic to Christianity itself, we ought to consider the radical alternative of intentional communities.

In these days of the rise of the nones, said to be the fastest growing religious body in the country, and with the grave worry of many Christians about living in a culture that seems to be antagonistic to Christianity itself, a new book allows us to consider the existence of and tradition behind the radical alternative of Christian intentional communities.

Charles E. Moore, current pastor of the Bruderhof community, one of the modern intentional communities, has produced a book, Called to Community: The Life Jesus Wants for His People (2016), which is an anthology of writings about intentional communities by authors who are experienced practitioners. The book is designed as a manual for and self-examination by and for community members. And each of the fifty-two chapters, one per week, has a question for group discussion.

Nevertheless, since the editornotes in the introduction that the book is also addressed to Christians thinking about communal living, those of us who would simply like to know more about the experience of community/communal living are included in its audience as well.

In the modern world, American theologian and ethicist Stanley Hauerwas says in the foreword, we share no common story and no corresponding judgments about what is true, good, and beautiful, and we have confused freedom with the isolation of the self. And as editor Moore says, we live in a post-familial, disconnected culture where self is king, relationships are thin, and individuals fend for themselves. Also cited in the book is the mysterious visitor in Dostoyevskys Brothers Karamazov (1880) predicting the modern world as self-realization arriving at complete solitude.

What is an intentional community? Although the book contains numerous references to reaching out to the poor and marginalized, to social justice and to social action, to socialism, and even has two entries on Christian communism, it is not fundamentally based on a social or political agenda nor inspired by the communes and counter-culturalism of the group living or hippie communes of the 1960s (for those of us who remember that decade). Following Jesus Christ is the inspiration.

The fundamental scriptural reference is to the two passages in Acts (2:42-47, 4:32-37) where it is stated that the first Christian communities held everything in common, and not one of them said that anything he possessed was his own. The new Christians sold their property and placed the proceeds at the feet of the apostles who distributed the property to each as had any need. They had what Charles Moore callsa material life of unity and sharing.

The core view here is that we are bodily creatures. We are not angels. Thus, the bodily and material aspects of our daily lives should be more closely integrated with what is in our hearts and minds. Christoph Blumhardt, a German nineteenth-century pastor, is quoted as denigrating the idea of mere spiritual communities, which, he maintained, do not last. There must be community in the flesh, and only such a bodily community will result in a spiritual community. Community is an embodiment, several chapter authors maintain, and that is the founding principle of intentional communities. Or, as Dietrich Bonhoeffer is quoted, it was the Word made flesh which had called them and created their bodily fellowship with Jesus Christ. Wherever we are, whatever we do, everything happens, in the body, in the church, in Christ. An intentional community, as distinguished from a church or parish community, means living together.

Editor Charles E. Moore has assembled twenty-one different passages from the Epistles in which he quotes the Epistles authors as repeatedly maintaining that people in community live for one another. As in Romans, 12:25, that there may be no disunion in the body, but that the members may have care for one another. And he points out that almost all of the epistles are written to churches, not to individuals. Another author points out the several references in Acts to houses, such as Acts 21:8, the house of the evangelist Philip. Another argues that the new thing that happened on Pentecost is the new community.

So, what is the requisite state of mind for forming communities? Communion is not mere collaboration, it is not visionary dreaming or romantic visions and fantasies. Three of the included authors specifically regard community as a divine call.

Bonhoeffer called it a gift of God which we cannot claim. Eberhard Arnold, founder of the Bruderhof community, emphatically held that Christian communities cannot be based on human relationships and goodwill; it must be a calling by God to live in love and unity. Bonhoeffer, again, from his book Life Together: True Christian brotherhood is different from some wishful idea of religious fellowship and from the natural idea of the devout heart for community. Several of the authors directly or indirectly point out that community can be a place of pain; the price of community is a turning away from self-centeredness.

A most informative chapter traces the history of Christian communities from the time of St. Anthony of the desert to St. Benedict and his Rule, still probably the foundational document on the idea of Christian community. In the modern world, there are community movements like Taize and LArche, both founded in France, and the Bruderhof community in Germany. And current leaders of such communities are featured.

References are made to the American experiences of the Pilgrims, and the Hutterites and Mennonites of this country and Canada. The book is ecumenical, based on no specific church or denomination. Bonhoeffer and the founders and leaders of the Bruderhof community predominate. Although no leaders of exclusively Catholic communities are included, there are chapters excerpting the writings of St. Benedict, Mother Teresa, Thomas Merton, and Dorothy Day. No mainline Protestant pastors or ministers are included.

Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity, begins Psalm 133. This review has concentrated on the basics and has omitted numerous issues and questions raised in the book with regard to, for example, hospitality, social action, the inevitable personal conflicts, and the psychology and emotions evoked by communal living, as well as the different kinds of participation in intentional communities by married couples, single persons, and children.

Republished with gracious permission ofAleteia (March 2017).

The Imaginative Conservative applies the principle of appreciation to the discussion of culture and politicswe approach dialogue with magnanimity rather than with mere civility. Will you help us remain a refreshing oasis in the increasingly contentious arena of modern discourse? Please considerdonating now.

The featured image is Laborare est Orare, by John Rogers Herbert and is in the public domain, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

See the rest here:

Intentional Communities: Living a Radical Christian Life ...

The economic crisis triggered by COVID-19 pummeled small businesses across the nation, especially those without safety nets and access to credit. To alleviate those struggles, Congress established the Paycheck Protection Program, designed to provide forgivable loans to needy businesses at no interest.

The federal government intended the program, which started in March 2020 and sunset last month, to prioritize businesses in underserved markets, including socially and economically disadvantaged areas.

But the initial rollout neglected the neediest of small businesses, especially those in underserved communities, with many lenders hurrying first to aid their wealthier customer base. The U.S. Small Business Administration introduced reform measures in response, which led to more businesses in lower-income and diverse neighborhoods getting loans in subsequent rounds of funding.

The damage, though, had already been done, said Paulina Gonzalez-Brito, executive director of the California Reinvestment Coalition, a nonprofit group advocating for banking equality and accountability. Many minority-owned businesses had shuttered, unable to weather the storm without help.

That first phase was critical, and unfortunately, the government and banks did what they have been doing for a long time, which is redlining, she said, referring to the historical and systematic denial of services, including banking and housing, to certain communities through discriminatory tactics.

The same disparities were apparent in the Bay Area, according to a Chronicle analysis of more than 100,000 PPP loans. It showed some lenders processing a much larger share of PPP loans to businesses in higher-income neighborhoods or predominantly white Census tracts, when compared to areas that are lower-income or had a higher percentage of Black and Hispanic residents.

The review was based on the records of 66 lenders who administered 100 or more Bay Area loans and granted at least one loan to a business in each of the Bay Areas nine counties. These top lenders accounted for more than 90% of all loans in the Bay Area. Census tracts are small geographical areas that generally have a population between 1,200 and 8,000 people. The Chronicle designated higher-income tracts as areas with a household income of $150,000 or higher, and lower-income tracts as those with an income of $75,000 or lower.

The data offer a glimpse into which businesses these banks typically serve, as firms with existing banking relationships tended to be prioritized by banks for PPP loans, according to analysts and economists across the country. This was especially true in the early stages of the program, before many of the reform measures were instituted.

Experts say the data reflects generational failures of certain banks and their regulators to tighten the ever-widening gaps in lending and credit inequality, which the pandemic only served to exacerbate. Solutions to the disproportionate ways in which businesses were helped and not helped through PPP lie far beyond understanding this one program, but navigating the complexities of the root causes, they say.

I dont think any of us who have studied this issue for a long time were surprised (at) what happened with the banks, Gonzalez-Brito said. The banking industry has historically discriminated against people of color, she said, and the pandemic exacerbated these inequities.

The lenders who administered the greatest share of loans to higher-income Census tracts were Silicon Valley Bank at 37% and First Republic Bank at 34%, compared with 22% for all banks.

Silicon Valley Bank is a specialty bank that works with innovation economy entrepreneurs, investors and the premium wine industry, said spokesperson Eileen Nolan. We are not a retail bank and we work almost exclusively with companies in the tech and life sciences industries.

When PPP first became available, the bank surveyed its clients to determine need and eligibility, and extended loans based on that analysis, she said. It also invited non-clients to become clients and apply for a PPP loan. However, We recommended companies work with their existing banks for speed.

Nolan said the banks own analysis of PPP data from 2020 showed that 64.5% of loans in the Bay Area were made to businesses in predominantly minority Census tracts. Similar trends can be observed in The Chronicles analysis, which shows the bank was one of the top lenders to businesses in predominantly Asian tracts.

Because our technology and life science clients in the Bay Area tend to be based in higher-income Census tracts, we are actively working to expand our support to more diverse audiences and geographies within and beyond the sectors we serve, Nolan said.

Major national banks, including Bank of America, Wells Fargo and JPMorgan Chase, also awarded loans at disparate rates. Bank of America was responsible for the most loans in the Bay Area, processing more than 20,000 for $1.8 billion. The bank, the data show, delivered a higher-than-average percentage of loans to businesses in higher-income Census tracts, but a lower-than-average share of loans to predominantly white tracts.

In their efforts to reach underserved communities, though, these and other major banks lent their borrowing power to Community Development Financial Institutions, or CDFIs, which are smaller financial institutions dedicated to helping disadvantaged communities but dont have the same capacity. These efforts dont show up in their PPP data.

The way that the (PPP) program was structured, you could almost predict that ... those outcomes would have happened, at least initially, said Jeff Bellisario, executive director of the Bay Area Council Economic Institute. With banks put in charge of quickly disbursing an enormous amount of federal dollars, he said, People didnt know how to access them or they just didnt have the connections to really make the process easy.

A Bank of America spokesman, Bill Halldin, said the company provided more than $800 million in lending power to CDFIs. He noted that the bank was the first major one in the country to accept PPP applications and received 100,000 online on the first day.

Christina Della Buono, a Chase spokesperson, said that more than 32% of the banks PPP loans nationwide in 2020 went to small businesses in communities of color. The bank did Spanish-language marketing to boost applications, including in the San Francisco-based El Reportero.

David Kennedy, a Wells Fargo spokesperson, said that in addition to the banks PPP participation, it engaged in philanthropic efforts in the Bay Area to support underserved small businesses, including by contributing to Mayor London Breeds Give2SF Fund in March 2020.

What weve learned from the pandemic is how important it is for the entire financial system to work together to reach those in need the larger banks, the nonprofit lenders, and nonprofits that serve small businesses all have a role to play in helping owners stay open and we can scale up to meet the need if we collaborate, he said.

Existing banking relationships, which low-income and minority business owners are far less likely to have, played a key role in which communities were served by certain banks and which werent, economists and analysts said.

You almost needed to have an existing banking relationship in order to really have good access to the initial tranche of available loans, Bellisario of the Bay Area Council Economic Institute said. It was incumbent on the banks to get the dollars out. So many of those initial dollars went into entities that had initial existing banking relationships.

Meanwhile, the federal agencies charged with overseeing the process the Small Business Administration and the Department of the Treasury failed to issue meaningful guidance to lenders on prioritizing underserved markets until the first round of the program was almost over, the congressional subcommittee investigation found.

Without that guidance, many lenders served bigger loans to wealthy customers first, in some cases at more than twice the speed of smaller loans for the neediest of businesses, according to the investigation. As a result, small businesses that were truly in need of financial support during the economic crisis often faced longer waits and more obstacles to receiving PPP funding than larger, wealthier companies.

At San Francisco-based First Republic Bank, managing relationships with customers has been a crucial and celebrated part of its success. The private bank and wealth management company caters to a high net-worth clientele, providing concierge-style services.

In 2020, First Republic Bank sent about $913 million in PPP loans to more than 4,500 Bay Area businesses, 34% of which went to Census tracts with a median household income of $150,000 or more second-highest of the 66 banks The Chronicle analyzed.

First Republic was also among the lenders to have sent the largest percentage of loans to predominantly white areas and the smallest share to areas where more Black, Hispanic and low-income residents live. Data show the businesses that received the most loans through First Republic Bank were lawyers offices, software publishers, real estate agents and brokers, and consultants.

Through a spokesperson, the bank declined to comment.

Some other lenders stood out in the data for having sent a significantly larger-than-average share of their PPP loans to the least diverse Census tracts. These include San Rafael-based Westamerica Bank and Redwood Credit Union of Santa Rosa.

Both banks regional banks with locations in less diverse counties sent 65% of their Bay Area loans to Census tracts where 60% or more residents are white, compared to an average of 30% among all PPP lenders serving the region.

A Westamerica Bank spokesperson, Rob Thorson, told The Chronicle that the Federal Reserve has found the banks lending practices in general to be satisfactory. He said that through internal compliance reviews, Weve concluded that our PPP lending improved the level of our community development loans.

Redwood Credit Union approved nearly all of the eligible PPP applications it received, Tracy Condron, a spokeswoman, said in a statement. Our loan approval process was the same for all applicants and all communities, she said, And the vast majority of applicants did not state their ethnic background.

From the beginning, the complexity of applying for PPP loans was not matched by the outreach necessary to make the process accessible and understandable for underserved businesses, said Jacob Denney, economic justice policy director for SPUR, a nonprofit policy research organization based in San Francisco.

Every time we go through these economic shocks, whether its the pandemic or the Great Recession, whats exposed over and over again is the fact that the whole country takes a step back, and in communities of color that are exposed to the greatest economic harm, they take 10 steps back, he said.

Losses were felt across the board during the early stages of COVID-19, but Black businesses were hit the hardest, according to research by UC Santa Cruz economist Robert Fairlie. The number of Black-owned businesses dropped by 41% nationwide, while Latinx-owned businesses fell by 32%, compared with a 17% drop in white-owned businesses.

These findings of early-stage losses to small businesses have important policy implications and may portend longer-term ramifications for job losses and economic inequality, the report said.

The Small Business Administration said it has taken many measures to increase disadvantaged communities access to the Paycheck Protection Program, some of which have resulted in improvements.

One of the biggest ways in which the Small Business Administration and lenders sought to lessen disparities was by empowering and giving lending capacity to Community Development Financial Institutions. An example from the Bay Area is Opportunity Fund Community Development, which distributed 32% of its loans to areas with a higher concentration of Black residents tracts where 7% or more of the residents are Black and 36% to Hispanic 30% or more of the residents are Hispanic areas, compared with averages of 19% and 20%, respectively.

Supporting CDFIs helped, but they are but a small part of the ecosystem, experts said. Short-term lump sum investments into those institutions do not help address structural inequalities in the banking system. Whats needed are meaningful long-term investments in programs to help reverse generations-long trends, explained Denney of SPUR.

There isnt a silver bullet to this, because what were talking about is generations of exclusion and harm of really intentional economic harm that has deprived communities of color from accessing resources and achieving economic stability, he said. And you cant fix that with one program.

Methodology: The Chronicle analyzed data from Geocodio, a geocoding service, that geocoded business addresses from the PPP loan data provided by the Small Business Administration, as of Dec. 1, 2020.

We filtered this dataset to businesses located in the nine Bay Area counties, and further filtered to analyze lenders that distributed 100 or more loans to Bay Area businesses and to businesses in each of the nine counties. This resulted in 66 lenders.

Yoohyun Jung and Nami Sumida are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. Email: yoohyun.jung@sfchronicle.com, nami.sumida@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @yoohyun_jung, @namisumida

See original here:

These big banks were the least likely to serve Bay Area communities of color with PPP loans - San Francisco Chronicle

WACO, TX Children are our future and their well-being is vital to their roles in the community. United Way Waco-McLennan County conducted a Child Well-Being report to support the improvement of life for children and families in the area.

The year-long study found that a third of children live in poverty, looking between the ages of 0-5.

"Were at 29% of children under the age of 5 who are living in poverty," said Tiffani Johnson, Senior Director of Impact and Engagement.

Looking at those at a young age, Johnson says it's important to enhance their quality of life at an early age and you have to help the entire community to help them.

"We know that we ensure that resources are getting to communities that really could use them and that we are providing greater resources to those areas we will see greater outcomes," Johnson said.

There are many organizations working to fight for our children, one of them being Caritas, a non-profit food pantry that gives pounds of food to families daily.

"One in four kids have the potential of going to bed hungry tonight," said Alicia Jallah, Co-Executive Director.

20% of their clientele are children, with the pandemic, it's made finding food for families even harder. Their numbers have gone down since the height of the pandemic but there are still many in need.

"All of the food is going out to meet that need who are having a hard time right now with our families," Jallah said.

Texas is near the bottom of the list, at number 43 when it comes to overall child well-being. The state's even worse in regards to family and community well-being ranked 47th.

The United Way is working to improve those rankings in a few different ways. That includes; engaging the community, focusing on equity and intersectionality, emphasizing a two-generation approach to support families and being more intentional about cross-sector community involvement.

Johnson says it's about listening to those in need, hearing their stories and trying to make a change.

"When we better understand what the experience is we can understand also what the community's aspiration is for change and that's where we want to go," Johnson said.

Link:

United Way conducts study to learn the well being of children in McLennan County - KXXV News Channel 25

Juneteenth is a day that commemorates the ending of slavery, more specifically the liberation of enslaved peoples in the state of Texas on June 19, 1865.

The day also will be celebrated in Utah with numerous Juneteenth celebrations, including ones in Ogden, Salt Lake City and Provo.

Tamu Smith, the Utah County Juneteenth coordinator, is looking forward to the upcoming celebration in Provo, but was quick to point to the history of Juneteenth in Utah as a whole. She credited Betty Sawyer with bringing Juneteenth to Utah, hosting a celebration in Ogden for over 20 years.

The Ogden event has since expanded, making its way into Salt Lake City and now into Utah County and Provo.

Smith said that this years event will be history-based while also spotlighting Black businesses in the community. The history aspect will revolve around Black pioneers from the state of Utah, as well as some global Black pioneers.

Some of that history includes Green Flake, an enslaved Latter-day Saint who came to Utah with Brigham Young and would prepare homes for those on their way to the Salt Lake Valley, according to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints website.

With Brigham Young ill, Flake would drive the first wagon through Emigration Canyon, and by the time Young made it to the valley, Flake had already planted crops to help feed the pioneers.

Other historical Black people from Utah will be portrayed at the event, including a historical selfie booth. Smith said it is all in an effort to establish that Black people helped settle the state of Utah.

Its important that we start to marry our history by sharing these unknown stories regarding Utahs history," said Smith. "Were creating opportunities for the community to become aware of the contributions that Blacks made here. And, considering the social turbulence that others were dealing with during that time Utah felt like a fairly safe place to raise a black family."

With this focus on Black history, Smith said it is especially for the Utah County event because the Black community is separated by location.

After raising six children in Utah County, and being a resident for 20 years, Smith said she had to be intentional about having her children involved in the Black community.

Having this opportunity to bring the community together, having opportunities for kids to be in the community with each other and see each other is important and valuable, Smith said.

For the business aspect, the event is aimed to be an amazing opportunity to highlight businesses that have been unrecognized. Smith added that people in Utah are beginning to see how important it is to maintain some of those Black-owned businesses.

While the Black community knows these businesses, according to Smith, people need to be intentional in helping those businesses stay open. This platform for the businesses will make them better competitors, evening the playing field to some extent.

I hope that people will come here and walk away wanting to learn more about communities that have been marginalized, not just the Black community but other communities, Smith said. I want them to walk away with more information, more knowledge, and also with more of an open heart and seeing who is a part of their community, not just what people look like but seeing who is actually a part of their community, what they have to offer, and how they can support.

There will be performances, speakers, an art exhibit, an African-American museum bus, and more at the event on Saturday. Smith expects it to be a fun event where people are lending their names, time and talents to help the event come together.

While there have been Juneteenth barbecues in the past, this will be the first large event to commemorate the day in Utah County. With that, Smith said that the city of Provo has been supportive of the celebrations.

It can be a daunting experience to have to do this and put this together without support but when you know that you have support from your city in doing something like this, it definitely makes walking uphill a lot easier, Smith said.

While Provo and Orem have been listed as two of the least diverse cities in the country for 2021, according to a WalletHub report, Smith said that while the cities lack diversity, they are willing to have difficult discussions. That lack of diversity has not stopped the two cities from having difficult conversations, according to Smith.

To learn more about the Utah County Juneteenth celebration, or the Salt Lake Juneteenth celebration, visit saltlakejuneteenth.org.

Here is the original post:

Provo Juneteenth event to feature Black businesses, history in Utah - Daily Herald

Chris Bournea| ThisWeek USA TODAY Network

A series of recommended updates to Bexleys city charter is headed to the November ballot after City Council voted 7-0 on June 8 to approve an ordinance which outlines updates.

The proposed changes include the appointment and removal process for city officials, the composition of city boards and commissions, and promoting diversity, equity and inclusion in city operations and the community at large.

This has been the work of a 15-member charter review commission that has suggested amendments to our council, said Monique Lampke, chair of councils strategic and judiciary committee.

In early 2021, the commission completed more than a year of work to review every section of the city charter and submitted its recommendations to council. Over the past few months, a council subcommittee that consisted of Lampke, council President Lori Ann Feibel and council member Matt Klingler evaluated each of the commissions recommendations.

At councils two previous readings of the ordinance, city officials discussed the proposed charter updates. At the third reading June 8, council discussed the wording of the first section of the ordinance, titled Recognition and Intent, which addresses the citys efforts to promote diversity, equity and inclusion.

The section begins with a sentence that says the city recognizes that institutional racism and discrimination exist and have a painful, historic legacy in our community and in this country, the effects of which continue to place the health and well-being of minority residents at risk.

Council member Richard Sharp introduced an amendment that would have changed the wording of the Recognition and Intentsection to: It is the intent of the city of Bexley to value and serve all its residents equally and as such, seeks to work with community groups, organizations and individuals to confront institutional racism and discrimination in order to promote diversity, equity, expression of thought, and inclusion.

Sharp said hes concerned that the original language could leave the city open to legal liability.

There are activist organizations around the country that like to pick communities such as Bexley to be shining stars for their agenda, Sharp said. Because the words are not defined institutional racism isnt really defined - it can be subject to whatever people feel that means to them.

Chelsea Avenue resident Bethany Hahn-Ambrosius said she served on the charter review commission but addressed council on her own behalf in reference to the Recognition and Intent section.

I promise you all of the language in section one was thoroughly researched, thoroughly debated and very intentional, Hahn-Ambrosius said. Recognition of our past horrific indiscretions, not just in Bexley but as a nation, is crucial in moving forward to a more equitable future.

Council member Jessica Saad said she appreciated Sharp encouraging council members to give serious thought to the Recognition and Intentsectionswording, butsaid conversations with community members led her to believe the original language should remain.

This work that the ... commission did to put in the Recognition and Intent,these are words that are very powerful, Saad said. Its a powerful message to the history of where weve been and where were going.

Lampke said she sat in on some of the commissions meetings and is confident that the members painstakingly chose the wording of the section.

By adopting the language as the commission wrote it, I think that we are saying in a very significant and meaningful way to our community that this council supports all residents of our community, including and especially our minority population, Lampke said.

editorial@thisweeknews.com

@ThisWeekNews

Continued here:

Bexley charter amendments headed to November ballot - ThisWeek Community News

The time has come Disney World is officially ending its face mask requirement for fully vaccinated Guests beginning on June 15.

Just last month, Disney World had recently changed their outdoor face mask policy, saying theme park Guests would not be required to wear their face masks at outdoor locations, but Disney Worlds newest mandate update allows park Guests to remove their face masks indoors as well.

Disney has been closely following the updates from the CDC Centers For Disease Control and Prevention and local health authorities, and the company made the following update on its website regarding the face mask policy at their Florida theme parks.

Within our communities, were encouraged that COVID-19 guidelines have been adjusted and eased by public health and government officials, paving the path for many businesses and industries to take positive steps forward. As we have done since reopening, weve been very intentional and gradual in our approach to our COVID-19 health and safety protocols. Based on recent trends and guidance, Walt Disney World Resort will be making more adjustments to these measures, including physical distancing and face coverings. Beginning June 15, you will start to notice the following changes:

FACE COVERINGS Face coverings will be optional for fully vaccinated Guests in most areas. Face coverings will still be required of all Guests on Disney transportation, including Disney buses, monorails and Disney Skyliner. While we will not require proof of vaccination, we expect Guests who are not fully vaccinated to continue wearing face coverings in all indoor locations, and upon entering and throughout all attractions and transportation. Guests must observe current policies on face coverings until June 15.

PHYSICAL DISTANCING We will be relaxing physical distancing guidelines for Guests. This will be visible in places like queues, shops, restaurants, attraction boarding, transportation and our theaters. Its important to remember that some experiences and entertainment may still be operating with limited capacity or may remain temporarily unavailable. Were not quite ready to bring back everything yet, but we are optimistic and look forward to the day when Disney pals and princesses are able to hug once again.

CLEANING We will continue the high standards for cleanliness and sanitation weve always set for ourselves. Cleaning supplies and hand sanitizer stations will still be available.

We encourage people to get vaccinated.

While Disney World may be eliminating its face mask requirement for Guests, the theme parks are still encouraging Guests to maintain proper physical distancing and use enhanced touchless experiences, such as Mobile Ordering and Disneys new Magic Mobile.

It is important to note that Disney is allowing fully vaccinated Guests to remove their face masks in most indoor and outdoor theme park locations with mask mandates remaining in place for all Disney transportation. Face masks are expected to be worn by Guests who are not fully vaccinated, though Disney is not requiring proof of vaccination.

Are you excited to see Disney World eliminate its mask mandate for fully vaccinated Guests? Let us know in the comments!

To get started booking your Disney World vacation with our friends at Academy Travel, CLICK HERE!

Here is the original post:

Face Masks Optional at Disney World Starting NEXT WEEK! - Inside the Magic

Each year the Iowa & Minnesota Campus Compact awards are given to individuals and organizations who exemplify outstanding civic and community engagement within 27 higher education campuses. This year, Carleton students, alumni, professors, and community partners are among the recipients of these awards.

Eunice Valenzuela 21: 2021 Presidents Student Leadership Award

Carleton Center for Community and Civic Engagement (CCCE) fellow Eunice Valenzuela 21 is one of this years recipients of the Presidents Student Leadership Award for her work developing the website for Carletons Participatory and Action Research (PAR) project.

Valenzuela explained that PAR research centers around the belief that the people who have knowledge are not just academics, but also community members. As a result, community members should be involved in problem solving and research.

PAR research came to Carleton in October of 2018 when the college received a grant from the Corporation for National and Community service to implement a PAR project in collaboration with community partners in Faribault, MN. Over the past two years, the grant has funded five community research groups that have brought together college faculty and staff alongside Faribault students, parents, teachers and administrators. So far, the groups have collected information about the experiences of Somali and Latinx students and parents in Faribault and developed action plans to enact positive change in the community combating systems of inequality.

Valenzuela first got involved with PAR when she worked for CCCE in the summer of 2020 and has continued her work this year as a CCCE fellow. Her main focus has been compiling important resources about PAR onto the website and translating resources into Spanish.

Because research and academic work tends to be in English, clear sources about PAR and research and methodologies are hard to find in Spanish, said Valenzuela. A lot of PAR projects tend to involve members of minority communities, so to not have resources in their language, even though it is about something they are a part of, is strange.

Valenzuela was surprised to have received the award but is thankful for the recognition for all her hard work.

Sometimes it did not feel tangible, but actually getting a reward for it is pretty great, she said.

After graduating this June, Valenzuela hopes to become a teacher and implement PAR methodologies in her classroom. She explained that students in the classroom are much like community members in that they know what is a problem and what isnt and what went well and what didnt.

I think being a teacher and including students in conversations about how to improve their learning experience would be really cool, said Valenzuela.

Professor Kelly Connole and Professor Susannah Ottaway: 2021 Presidents Civic Engagement Leadership Awards

History professor Susannah Ottaway (left) and art and art history professor Kelly Connole are among this years recipients of the 2021 Presidents Civic Engagement Leadership awards for their roles as co-directors of Public Works: Arts & Humanities Connecting Communities.

Public Works is a four-year initiative (20172021) funded by a Mellon Foundation grant to enhance Carletons engagement in public scholarship and civic engagement. Ottaway explains that the goals of the program include providing continued support to ongoing public-facing projects and scholarship while also increasing participation and visibility.

Additionally, through the initiative, the college approved a digital arts and humanities minor. Ottaway said the minor explicitly connects all the digital humanities work that has been going on on campus into a really clear set of curricular pathways.

Some examples of the research and scholarship which have emerged from this initiative include Religions MN, co-run by religion professor Michael McNally and research associate Shana Sippy, and The Wandering House, started by cinema and media studies professor Cecilia Cornejo.

COVID-19 restrictions have impacted some of the initiatives activities and extended the grant through winter of 2022.

I feel lucky that we already had three years under our belt before the pandemic because it allowed us to build upon those relationships that had already been established, said Connole. We are an initiative that is about arts and humanities connecting communities.

Nevertheless, the pandemic means making new connections has been difficult. Connole explained that due to social distancing it has been a lot more difficult to create connections through casual interactions and small group conversations.

On the flip side, Ottaway explained the really substantial benefit of the pandemic is that weve had to slow down some of our programming. For example, one of the culmination events of the initiative, the exhibit Why Treaties Matter, was supposed to take place in Fall 2020 but has been moved to Fall 2021. As a result, Ottaway said they have had a year of incredible intentional programming about indigenous history and treaties rights, including zoom study groups attended by over 160 students, faculty and staff.

Instead of having that exhibit kick off some intentional conversations about land acknowledgement and history and what this palace means, now the treaties exhibit is going to come on top of all of this programming and increased interest and will be able to take it from there, said Ottaway. That is incredibly exciting. It allows us to think of this exhibit not only as a step in the right direction but truly transformational as a whole.

Both Ottaway and Connole were happy to have received the recognition for the Public Works initiative and are thankful for the support they received along the way. In particular, Public Works administrative assistant Terra Krebsbach, program associate Elizabeth Budd 19, and the staff in academic technology at the library.

Community Action Center of Northfield: 2021 Presidents Community Partner Award

Northfields Community Action Center (CAC) received the Campus Compact Presidents Community Partner Award. The partnership between Carletons Center for Community and Civic Engagement (CCCE) and the CAC has provided many opportunities for Carleton students to contribute to food justice work and housing issues in Rice County. The partnership includes work with academic civic engagement classes across many disciplines and a deep collaboration with the student-led Food Recovery Network to help combat food insecurity by recovering extra food from Bon Appetit on campus and produce from local grocery stores and farmers for distribution through the CAC. The CAC also hosts Carleton students as summer interns.

Natalie Jacobson 18: Presidents Civic Engagement Leadership Award

Carleton alumna, Natalie Jacobson 18, is one of the recipients of the Presidents Civic Engagement and Leadership Award for her work as coordinator of Augsburg Universitys Campus Kitchen program.

At Carleton, Jacobson was an environmental fellow at the CCCE and director for the Food Recovery Network her sophomore, junior, and senior years. She said working with Food Recovery is how I got excited and energized about food justice, while the CCCE taught her the importance of connecting with colleges wider neighborhoods.

After graduating from Carleton in 2018, Jacobson built off of her Carleton career by participating in the Lutheran Volunteer Corps program, which pairs individuals with organizations focused on social justice and change. For her placement, Jacobson worked at Augsburg Universitys civic engagement office the Sabo Center for Democracy and Citizenship.

When the year-long program finished, Jacobson continued working at Augsburg as the coordinator of their Campus Kitchen program. Jacobson explained that Campus Kitchen used to be a nationwide organization, with chapters on college campuses, but has since disbanded. The program continues to exist at Augsburg.

We are a program that works to make healthy food more accessible to folks that live in the Cedar Riverside neighborhood, as well as making healthy food more accessible to students on Augsburgs campus, said Jacobson.

In order to accomplish these goals, Campus Kitchen collaborates with neighborhood youth, senior citizens, and other community partners to organize healthy food distribution and programming. For Augsburg students, Campus Kitchen has grown a community garden and organized a campus food shelf.

As the Campus Kithcens coordinator, Jacobson oversees student workers and helps plan all their programming. During COVID-19, Jacobson and Campus Kitchen had to modify their work in order to comply with social distancing requirements.

Its been a really, really hard year and Ive been proud of myself and my whole team, especially the students, for cranking things up a notch during the pandemic instead of taking things back, she said. Weve been distributing a ton of food at a time when people are struggling with food insecurity more than ever.

Normally, Jacobson and her team would bring food to community centers and would talk with youth and senior citizens while they ate. With COVID-19, these programs have been substituted with food distribution and those relationships and conversations havent happened. However, Jacobson is happy that they have been able to increase the amount of food they are distributing since the pandemic started and hopes to continue building relationships again soon.

Having received the award, Jacobson says it feels good to be acknowledged and appreciated. She is thankful for her team of dedicated workers and proud of the work they have been able to accomplish in this challenging time.

Learn more about the 2021 Campus Compact award winners.

Read the original here:

Carleton students, faculty and alumni among recipients of the 2021 Campus Compact awards - Carleton College News