EMPOWERMENT RESOURCES

Handout from 10-4-08 Dialog

(Kirkwood refers to the entire Kirkwood community).

(Prepared by Linda H. Collins, Tresa McCallie and Nancy Price for CFUH use)

Create and/or join at least one Kirkwood neighborhood association. Have a joint meeting or event with another neighborhood association.

Use your neighborhood association to encourage improved relations with local police.

Write to your local, county, and state governmental representatives about concerns or complaints. Know their names and addresses. Visit the County Board of Elections website www.stlouisco.com/elections

Build voter registration in your community; you can register to vote at the Kirkwood Library 821-5770. VOTE! (And take a friend.)

Attend City Council Meetings, Committee Meetings, School Board Meetings and other school functions. Visit the City of Kirkwood website www.ci.kirkwood.mo.us

Join a union at work.

Attend posted self-help workshops and seminars at the Kirkwood or St. Louis County Libraries, Turner School, neighborhood homes, churches, temples and other places of worship, or schools. All Kirkwood residents, including those living in the Meacham Park neighborhood can get a regular library card for the Kirkwood Library (FREE).

Call the Kirkwood Library at 821- 5770 for info on verifying your Kirkwood residency.

Read the free neighborhood newspapers and call if you do not have access to these papers. Contribute an article to these papers. Circulation Depts.: Kirkwood-Webster Journal, delivered on Wed. 664-2626 OR Webster-Kirkwood Times delivered on Fridays 968-2699 M-F 8a-5:30pm.

Utilize the public recreational facilities throughout Kirkwood. For information on the PARC program (Participating At Reduced Cost) for those 17 and under, call Jason Valero with the Kirkwood Parks Dept at 822-5855.

Attend college prep programs and job and career training programs in Kirkwood, ex., at the high school.

Listen to local radio stations that do public service announcements about activities in Kirkwood.

Enroll in tutorial programs offered by Hope Unlimited and the Beck Foundation and some of the Kirkwood schools; enroll in GED programs; take a class at Meramec or another local college.

Exchange church pulpits and/or choirs periodically, or have joint programs.

Take college tours with church, community and school organizations.

Invite an individual or family from a different racial/ethnic group to your home or to a social event.

Be a mentor. Become a Big Brother or Big Sister.

Have dinner table conversations with your family, and guests, about becoming "prejudice-free", respectful of others and open-minded about diversity.

Practice being polite and respectful to everyone, and SMILE.

Practice "Random Acts of Kindness" and "Pay It Forward".

Support KirkCare, which provides food, school supplies, help with utilities and other social "safety net" services to anyone in the Kirkwood R-7 School District. When your grocery store has "Buy One Get One" offers on food pantry items, donate the free one (or both). Visit their website at www.KirkCare.org

Be courteous to pedestrians, especially those in crosswalks, when you drive or cycle.

Be aware and live purposefully. Be part of the community you wish to live in.

Step outside your comfort zone. Trust a bit more than you are comfortable doing.

Check the CFUH website at cfuh.org for activities and events.

"Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing themselves." Leo Tolstoy