Here is the first of a few concepts I would like to advance in hopes that you and yours and ours can translate them into grant proposals that win funding.

Connect Market Basket, with Internet Empowerment, with Community Building

Food and communication are basic to building neighborhoods that can promote and defend their interests.

I can easily imagine one person on each square city block who is given a hand in becoming internet and “graphic pamphlet” empowered.

This person becomes the “communication node” between the square city block and the wider world. Someone from this person’s family and friendship circle becomes the door to door and/or phone to phone support for the block’s internet “captain.”

We take a smallish city neighborhood, e.g. the area around 35th and Hampton(?), and connect with the existing “activists” of the neighborhood about connecting the market basket program of Growing Power with the Internet Empowerment program of, say, the Milwuakee Renaissance.com
Janurary 3, 2006

Face to face talk between the core organizers of the project with people in local churches, barber shops, salons, youth associations, day care centers, sports clubs, etc. for explaing the Market Basket Program, the internet empowerment program, and beginning to fill in the map with “captains” for every square city block.

Public meetings to brainstorm the ideas.

Promotions of the project to the wider world, seeking allies, partners, and support.

Vision:

• greatly increase numbers of people taking advantage of Market Basket Program

• develop block leaders internet empowered for community building as well as advancing the social enterprises, small businesses, and interests of the families of their block and neigbhborhoods.

What say?

Why not?

Clear sailing,

Godsil