The Center for Community and Economic Development (CCED) hosted a “World of Work Day” for the Conway Area Youth Leadership Institute (CAYLI) on November 6, 2019. This is one of seven monthly sessions that the 21 CAYLI students attend to be exposed to different aspects of Faulkner County to be more aware of and involved in their community.

The Conway Area Youth Leadership Institute is a program operated by the Division of Outreach and Community Engagement at the University of Central Arkansas. The program is comprised of junior and senior high school students from across Faulkner County with the goals of developing leadership potential, broadening community awareness, encouraging community participation, and providing mentoring and career exploration in the students’ areas of vocational interest. The students take part in a summer retreat, attend seven monthly sessions, conduct a community service project, and will graduate in April of 2020.

This session covered the “World of Work” and the day started with the CCED Project Coordinator Moriah Bruner as she shared best practices for young professionals for applying to jobs, interviewing, utilizing career resources, and networking. Corey Parks, Director of Economic Development at the Conway Area Chamber of Commerce, followed with a presentation about the past, present, and future of economic development in Conway. The students then traveled to the UCA Makerspace to explore and experience the tools and technologies they have to offer with Master Maker Jason Huselton. At the Makerspace, the students were able to learn about the laser engraving machine, use 3D modeling software for 3D printing, and were able to create and take home a personalized laser engraved key chain. The day was then capped off with an economic development simulation, called Newtownia Go, led by CCED Director Shelby Fiegel that simulates the difficulties of community and economic development when multiple parties have competing interests in what is best for the fictional town. 

The CAYLI Program has been operating for 24 years and has graduated over 500 students from Faulkner County. You can learn more about the Conway Area Youth Leadership Institute here.

Entry written by MBA student William D. Gloster, graduate assistant for the Center for Community & Economic Development in the Division of Outreach & Community Engagement at University of Central Arkansas.

The Arkansas Community Development Society (ACDS) is a nonprofit organization facilitating discussion, research, and improvement for community welfare in the state. ACDS hosted its annual conference and general membership meeting at UCA’s Brewer-Hegeman Conference Center on October 17^th, 2019. Participants had the opportunity to vote on amendments, network with one another, and share best practices for long-term sustainability within communities.

Dennis Fraise and Jason Hutcheson started the day with “Develop This!” Community and economic developers tend to rely on statistics to make informed decisions, yet data can be difficult to interpret and relay to other people. The Iowa economic developers proposed that by reaching audiences’ emotions through story-telling, developers can efficiently translate complex data and ideas into memorable lessons.

Natalie Ghidotti (Ghidotti Communications) led the second session entitled “Community Image Tune-Up.” She discussed the importance of communication in today’s economy. In a quick-twitch world with evolving technology, it is important for communities and organizations to differentiate themselves from competitors. Otherwise, they might become lost in the crowd. A highly effective method of differentiation involves the use of influencers for social media and marketing. Influencers have a specific following or audience that can help bring substantial awareness and funding to virtually any cause.

During lunch, ACDS highlighted several award-winners for their accomplishments in the field. Baxter County Forward, Explore Success, Growing Corning Together, and Searcy Small Business Revolution all received an Innovative Community Development Program/Project Award. The Community Development Achievement Award went to Ed Levy (Cromwell Architects Engineers), and the Friend of ACDS Award went to UCA Outreach and Community Engagement. Lastly, Monieca West (Arkansas Division of Higher Education) received the ACDS Distinguished Service Award.

Following the awards ceremony, futurist Chet W. Sisk presented seven opportunities that communities must plan for in the next three to five years. Sisk led conversation centered heavily around effects of the climate crisis; increased risk of living in coastal regions will likely cause inland migration to rural areas in the near future. Other topics of discussion included creative communities, community tech liaisons, elder councils, feminine principle leadership, and reestablishing values through promoted-mindfulness practices.

A panel discussion rounded out the day. Jon Chadwell, Tamika Edwards, and Roby Brock debated some of today’s most controversial community development topics: the cannabis industry, the 2020 census, and the political shift in Arkansas.

For more information about the Arkansas Community Development Society, visit http://www.arcds.org/.

Thrivers & Strugglers: A Growing Economic Divide was held on Thursday, March 28 in the Brewer-Hegeman Conference Center at the University of Central Arkansas. The event was held in partnership with UCA’s Center for Community and Economic Development, Division of Outreach and Community Engagement, Service-Learning, College of Liberal Arts, College of Education (PhD Leadership Studies program), City of Hope Outreach, and the Center for Household Financial Stability at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. Thrivers & Strugglers was an outgrowth of work being done by the UCA Poverty Studies Steering Committee, whose vision is “to engage and equip UCA students, faculty, staff and community partners in research and experiential learning that target poverty, with an emphasis on Arkansas.”

The event drew in nearly 100 community leaders from across the state of Arkansas to explore the demographics of wealth based on research conducted by the Center for Household Financial Stability, help participants understand poverty in Arkansas, and share promising practices that address poverty at the local level. The event’s goal was to bring together the UCA community, community leaders from across the state, non-profit leaders, and citizens who want to be a part of solving economic inequality. You can view the agenda here.

The day started with the Center for Household Financial Stability at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis and their presentation “The Demographics of Wealth: How Education, Race and Birth Year Shape Financial Outcomes.” Sarah Kinser with the Arkansas Community Foundation and Rich Huddleston with Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families followed the Federal Reserve Bank to discuss poverty in Arkansas. Kinser shared information about their new online tool Aspire Arkansas and Huddleston gave an update on their work at AACF and specific issues they’re currently advocating for in the legislature. The final speakers of the day included Ray Boshara with the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, Maret Cahill-Wicks of the United Way of Central Arkansas, Dr. Phillip Fletcher with City of Hope Outreach, and Spring Hunter with the Conway Ministry Center. Each of these speakers shared specific programs and initiatives their organization provides to directly combat poverty at the local level. Boshara share research concerning Emergency/Rainy Day Savings, Cahill talked about ways that United Way is creating financial empowerment through many of their programs, Dr. Fletcher gave an inspiring presentation about his work with Hope Village, and Hunter talked about the Ministry Center’s every day work and shared a unique perspective on people living even further below the poverty line.

The day ended with a optional session where participants could learn more about UCA Poverty Studies and share information about their own work with poverty.

You can learn more about the Demographics of Wealth here and more about the UCA Poverty Studies at www.uca.edu/povertystudies.

The Center for Community and Economic Development (CCED) at the University of Central Arkansas has selected undergraduate students Javier Hernandez of Rogers, Katie Weaver of Wynne, Marco Ramirez of Bentonville and Ra’Shan Stubbs of Nassau, Bahamas for the spring Community and Economic Development (CED) Fellowship.

The mission of the CED fellowship is to expose students to a variety of community or economic development careers and provide networking, coaching and mentoring to enhance student career preparedness.

During the program, fellows attend site visits that showcase community and economic development activities at the local and state levels of government and in the nonprofit sector. The fellows participate in activities such as job shadowing, organization tours, mock interviews and mentorship from CCED staff. Fellows also have the opportunity to join the Arkansas Community Development Society and attend the 2019 Community Development Institute. Fellowship activities are customized to fit students’ interests and needs.

“I applied to be a CED fellow because I love my community and want to better serve it. The fellowship is the perfect way to integrate my love of serving with my future career goals,” said Weaver, a sophomore psychology and criminology major.

Stubbs, a senior management information systems major, said she applied for the fellowship because she wants to gain experience in the field of community and economic development. She is also looking forward to mentorship opportunities from the CCED staff.

The spring 2019 fellowship will run February through April, with a site visit to a community and economic development organization occurring each month. The fellows will visit the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism, Arkansas Economic Development Commission, Arkansas Public Policy Panel and Haven House.

“I want exposure and experience in different careers in public policy,” shared Hernandez, a sophomore environmental science and political science major. “I hope to take away valuable skills and knowledge that will help me in my future career.”

Ramirez, a junior communication and public relations major, said, “Through the fellowship, I want to become more connected and established with professionals throughout the central Arkansas region. I am excited about the networking opportunities.”

“This group of Community and Economic Development Fellows is our most diverse yet. We are interacting with students from an assortment of programs here on campus,” said Shelby Fiegel, managing director of the Center for Community and Economic Development. “Our team believes that the field of community and economic development is a career path students from a variety of academic programs can pursue. Our job is to introduce them to different sectors within the field of community and economic development and mentor them as they prepare to enter the workforce.”

Do you know a University of Central Arkansas student or recent graduate looking for opportunities to expand their network and explore the field of community and economic development?

Applications are now open for our summer and fall 2019 Community and Economic Development Fellowship!

Apply at www.uca.edu/cced/ced- fellowship/

Questions? Contact Shelby Fiegel at sfiegel@uca.edu or 501-450-5269.

University of Central Arkansas undergraduate student Lauren McLemore recently attended “Marketing on a Dime” presented by our very own Shelby Fiegel at UCA Downtown as part of the Nonprofit Workshop Series. Lauren is a Journalism student at UCA and wrote an article about the class. She was gracious enough to share the article with us and gave us permission to share it on our blog. You can read her article below:

Braving the cold rain, approximately 40 people filled the space at UCA Downtown from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. on Thursday, Feb. 7, to attend and engage in UCA Outreach and Community Engagement‘s (Outreach) free class “Marketing on a Dime.” It is the first event in Outreach’s Nonprofit Workshop Series.

Shelby Fiegel, Managing Director for University of Central Arkansas’ (UCA) Center for Community and Economic Development, instructed the workshop.

Fiegel explained which social media is best to use for specific types of content, what to include in posts, and how to use other types of marketing outside of media (such as stickers and sidewalk chalk.) The techniques she explained were catered to nonprofit organizations, emphasizing low cost options they can use to get their message out.

“Nonprofits have so many different things that they’re doing in the community, and their programs take up most of their time. They don’t have a lot of budget dollars to spend on advertising,” Fiegel said.

The presentation aimed to demonstrate to nonprofit organizations various ways they can create awareness of their mission, generate a volunteer network, and appeal to the donors they depend on for support. Along with nonprofit leaders, some private business owners, a representative from Central Baptist College, and others attended the class.  Kate Carnahan, project manager at local graphic design company Silverlake Design Studio was in attendance. Carnahan is also an owner of downtown Conway’s The Studio, which is a coworking space she describes as “the modern day alternative to working from coffee shops or working from your house.”

During the presentation, Carnahan sat a table with a woman who had been a client of Silverlake’s. At one point, Carnahan looked proud as the client explained to a woman at another table about a website structuring concept she had learned by working with the designers at Silverlake.

“Nonprofits make up about 50 percent of [Silverlake’s] client base,” Carnahan said. “I [came to] see the best way that we could serve our clients and see if there’s any new information out there in marketing.”

There are many different aspects to making sure a community is functioning the way it should. Without effective marketing, the vital process of communication doesn’t work as well, leaving organizations out of touch with their clients and partners.

“Once you start working with communities, you really understand how important every single person is to creating a vibrant and healthy community,” Fiegel said.

The presenters of the Nonprofit Workshop Series are passionate about sharing their expertise. Fiegel said that she enjoys giving presentations and wanted to be a part of Thursday’s class because she wants to support local nonprofits.

The Nonprofit Workshop Series, although tailored to government and nonprofit officials, is open to the public.

For more information about attending future classes, visit www.uca.edu/outreach/programs/

If you would like to have Shelby speak at your upcoming event, please contact her at sfiegel@uca.edu or 501-450-5269.

Our staff at the Center for Community and Economic Development is excited to share that undergraduate students Hawa Nouhou Abarchi of Niamey, Niger, and Margaret (Greta) Hacker of Jonesboro, Arkansas, have been selected for the fall Community and Economic Development (CED) Fellowship! The fellowship seeks to expose students to a variety of community and economic development careers while enhancing career preparedness through networking, coaching and mentoring. The program allows fellows to participate in site visits to showcase community and economic development at the local and state levels of government and in the nonprofit sector.

Fellows engage in activities customized to their needs and interests such as job shadowing, organization tours and mock interviews. Fellows will have the opportunity to join the Arkansas Community Development Society and attend the 2019 Community Development Institute.

The fellowship will run through November with site visits to organizations including the Arkansas Bureau of Legislative Research, Arkansas Community Foundation, Arkansas Farm Bureau, Goodwill Industries of Arkansas, Heifer International and Winrock International. Our team looks forward to working closely with Hawa and Greta throughout the fall 2018 semester (and beyond)!

    Hawa Nouhou Abarchi                                       Greta Hacker 

Do you know a University of Central Arkansas student or recent graduate looking for opportunities to expand their network and explore the field of community and economic development?

Applications are now open for our spring 2019 Community and Economic Development Fellowship! The application deadline is November 9.

Apply at www.uca.edu/cced/ced- fellowship/

Questions? Contact Shelby Fiegel at sfiegel@uca.edu or 501-450-5269.

Our staff at the Center is extremely excited at the success of our new program the Community and Economic Development Fellowship, designed to prepare UCA graduate and undergraduate students for careers in the field of community and economic development!

The mission of the CCED Fellowship is to expose UCA students to a variety of community or economic development careers and provide networking, coaching and mentoring to enhance career preparedness.

During the program, fellows participate in three site visits that showcase community and economic development activities at the local and state levels of government and in the nonprofit sector. Activities include job shadowing, organization tours, mock interviews and mentorship from CCED staff. Fellows also have the opportunity to join the Arkansas Community Development Society and attend the 2018 Community Development Institute free of charge.

Students are selected for the program through a competitive application process. The fellowship program will be held in both the spring, summer and fall semesters.

The five students were selected for this spring’s program: Danny Baxter of Clarksville, Jacob Holland of Cabot, Jordan Johnson of Jacksonville, Brittany Lutz of Montclair, Virginia, and Ellen McKinnie of Cabot.

Alexandra Taylor of Conway was selected as the summer 2018 Fellow.

For more information on the CCED Fellowship, visit uca.edu/cced/community-and-economic-development-fellowship/ or call Shelby Fiegel at 501-450-5269.

Featured on the CCED blog is our new intern for spring 2018 Brittany Lutz, a Master of Community and Economic Development student! Brittany participated in the UCA Student Poverty Simulation our team hosted on February 1 in McCastlain Ballroom on UCA’s campus. Brittany shared her experience as follows:

On Thursday, February 1st UCA’s Center for Community and Economic Development held Living on the Edge: A Poverty Simulation open to students who wanted to engage in a first-hand experience of what it is like to have to live in the daily system of poverty. The program was set up so each student was either a member of a family or a single adult, with certain circumstances that they had to overcome. There were about 25 volunteers, and around 50 students that participated, which made for around 15 family groups. Each family was given a sheet of paper that outlined the duties and roles of each member as well as all of the situational aspects of their lives. These aspects began with any governmental assistance such as food stamps and TANF benefits, and went on to list any job positions, earnings, housing and transportation resources, and school and college. For example, some families had incarcerated members, some had disabled members, and some had unemployed heads of households.

The simulation was divided into four fifteen minute “weeks” and four five minute “weekends.” There were numerous community services available around the room including social services, a homeless shelter, a childcare service, a food bank and grocer, a pawn shop, an inter-faith service, a community action group, both a juvenile and an adult detention center, a public school and college, the rent and mortgage center, bank, utilities office, and a hospital which also acted as the general employer. The simulation began as an entire group with about fifteen minutes of training from the supervisor, Monieca West with the Arkansas Department of Higher Education, where she gave instructions and explained each document that the participants had received. The families then had about ten minutes of preparation amongst themselves, where conversations of budgets and strategies could be heard.

There were many obstacles and rules that UCA students had to endure, such as having to pay for each trip they take in transportation passes (which had to be purchased from the bank). These passes ended up leaving a heavy burden upon the wallets of some of the families. Services were closed on the weekends. Working individuals could also not be more than five real-time minutes late to work, otherwise they would not be paid. Children could also not be left at home without supervision, or else they would be put in the juvenile detention center. There was also a thief who was allowed to walk around and steal from participants. Monieca also acted as a God character, randomly handing out ‘green cards,’ which were a laminated form of stress that illustrated different scenarios that negatively affected your family’s situation, such as being robbed or arrested.

After the last week had ended, there was a debriefing where all of the participants sat in a seminar-style circle and talked about the experience and feelings about the poverty simulation. Monieca went around the circle, asking questions and facilitating the discussion. Some students came forward to speak about their family’s story and experiences. One girl played the guardian of her grandchildren because her daughter was in jail, but the problem was that she was disabled so she could not work. While she received social service benefits, it was still hard to make ends meet and keep all of the kids in school. Another girl came forward and spoke about how she had to basically drop out of college to take care of her baby as well as many other family affairs. Another girl noted how the school system was flawed, which reminded us about the declining public school system that we have in many places in this country. A lot of students brought up how many houses got evicted. There were probably only two or three left by the end of the simulation. One student spoke about how with careful planning, he was able to keep his house, but his family had to go hungry for two weeks. As a nutrition major he was well aware that there is a difference between food and nutrition, and he was not sure to what degree his family was getting the right nutrition they needed even when they did finally get food.

After we talked about our families, we then moved on to talking about our feelings and observations. There were heavy emotions in the room by this time. A lot of health, education, psychology, and communications majors spoke up and explained how they will use this experience to accommodate and communicate with people from a background of poverty in their future careers, because no one really knows what people are dealing with at home. Monieca then shared a few enlightening words with us when she said that to help those who are less fortunate than us, one does not always have to donate large sums of money and volunteer all of their time, but sometimes all it takes is a conversation and a little compassion, because relationships are a currency in society. It is easy to be an ally, and it is something that we should all realize. It is a mantra that people should always try to live their lives by.

This simulation teaches people that those in poverty are not in that position because they do not work hard enough. Nobody in their right mind would wish that kind of stress and suffering on themselves. So often we ignore the cries of help coming from those in poverty and dismiss them as lazy and/or entitled. If we actually stop to think about what it would be like to live like that day after day, feel what it feels like to not have any money, to be unsure if your family will be able to eat this week, or have a place to sleep tonight, then perhaps things would change. If people would put themselves in the shoes of someone in poverty, then maybe they would have a little more compassion for them. I challenge all of us to take part in this simulation, or better yet, live in poverty for a month, and see how you feel afterwards.

View photos of the UCA Student Poverty Simulation on our Facebook page.

On December 5th our team at CCED partnered with the Arkansas Department of Higher Education, Federal Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education program to host a community-based poverty simulation.

Over 50 community members (consisting of UCA faculty/staff, local non-profits, and elected officials) came out to participate in Living on the Edge: A Poverty Simulation held at UCA. Participants were challenged to think critically about the harsh realities of poverty and the potential solutions communities can implement to address the problem. The simulation provided a comprehensive, engaging experience that allowed participants to better understand how poverty affects our students, coworkers, and the community as a whole.

You can learn more about the simulation through these news stories:

• KATV – UCA offers different realistic view on poverty
• Arkansas Democrat Gazette – 55 people walk in poor people’s shoes

Thank you to our other partners: Faculty Senate, Staff Senate, Schedler Honors College, Housing & Residence Life, Student Government Association, Social Justice League, Center for Leadership Development, University Training, Office of Diversity, and the Arkansas Department of Higher Education.

We will also be hosting a simulation for UCA students on Thursday, February 1. More information can be found here: uca.edu/cced/ucapovsim/

Pictures from the December simulation can be found here.