CRDC Unveils New Community Video Project

By Janet Frederick

KCEDF

January 30, 2004

In an important new partnership, the Colorado Rural Development Council has teamed up with the Orton Family Foundation to work with six Colorado communities engaging citizens in creating a Community Documentary and Vision. The program includes a $9,000 grant from the Orton Family Foundation and $5,000 in dedicated funds from USDA-Rural Development to assist the communities in this project.

CRDC has identified six initial communities that we believe are a good fit for the Community Video Program. CRDC initially identified these communities as potential Partner Communities which could benefit from the resources and partnerships of the Colorado Rural Development Council. CRDC staff with board members, USDA Rural Development and Colorado Department of Local Affairs Field Representatives visited 7 communities and identified the following six from a series of objective and subjective criteria in a competitive process: Eads in Southeast Colorado; Silver Plume and Dinosaur in Northwest Colorado; Cedaredge and Dolores in Southwest Colorado; Wray in Northeast Colorado.

The CRDC staff and partners are excited to work with The Orton Family Foundation and Paul Sachs, Community Video Program Manager from Steamboat Springs, CO to complete as many of these videos as possible. As stated in material produced and provided by the Orton Family Foundation, they note;

"Citizens in towns across America have long struggled to find ways to discover and articulate a common vision for their community. It’s no longer uncommon to find that residents of suburban and even rural neighborhoods across the county no longer know their next-door neighbors. At the same time, the "sense of place" that has long been the hallmark of rural and small-town America is increasingly diminished.

How can a town or neighborhood begin to foster a stronger sense of community identity among its citizens? A Community Video Project is a very effective way to stimulate community dialogue and inspire citizen participation in community issues. Most importantly, they are drawn to become involved in a way they never have been before."

The Community Video Project was founded on three basic premises: 1. The involvement and energy of all citizens is invaluable. 2. Video is an effective tool to capture and synthesize this energy. 3. Positive social change comes about when citizens are recognized and honored for their effort and involvement.

The Community Video Project represents a tremendous tool that will assist CRDC and each community to develop important direction that will improve their overall quality of life and create a model for future CRDC Partner Communities. We look forward to this exciting partnership for Rural Colorado.

For more information, go to their web site at: www.orton.org

On behalf of the CRDC Board of Directors and Advisory Board, Joe Kiely, Chair announces that CRDC has selected Eads, Silver Plume, Cedaredge and Wray as Partner Communities. Preliminary meetings have already taken place and efforts have begun with each of these exciting communities.

The partner community initiative is an important part of CRDC’s comprehensive work plan which states "CRDC will develop and begin implementation of a multi-year process of Demonstration Communities (partner communities) where federal and state partners can focus on collaborative and comprehensive efforts involving community leadership, planning and implementing community improvements."

This process was designed to identify a minimum of six (6) communities, which would benefit from assistance of focused resources. CRDC and its partners will work with four communities to establish community priorities. Each community will be guided through a process to assess local assets and gaps, network with internal and external partners to determine plans for meeting locally identified needs, mobilize resources to support community needs, and advocate policy and procedural changes to improve service delivery and other local outcomes.