Working to make poverty history

In the United States, the wealthiest country in the world, 36 million Americans live in poverty - earning less than $20,650 for a family of four in 2007. Another one in six Americans struggle to make ends meet on incomes between 100% and 200% of poverty ( $20,650 to about $40,000 for a family of four). More than 12 million American children grow up in impoverished homes. When compared with 20 other wealthy nation on measures of health, safety and relative poverty, America's children fare amongst the worst. We can do better, and we should do better.
- Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity

Three stories from a land of abundance (and need) ...

Sean Aiken is a 26-year-old Canadian college grad with a business degree, but he's not yet sure what he wants to do with the rest of his life. So rather than take just any position and hope for the best, Aiken is accepting a new job each week for 52 weeks, working his way around North America. He doesn't want to be paid; instead, he requests that his short-term employers make a donation to the Make Poverty History campaign. He's raised $14,281.60 so far.

Sixteen people are seeking the U.S. presidency in 2008. The new Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity website (a project of the Annie E. Casey Foundation and the Eos Foundation) gives them all an opportunity to say what they'd do to address poverty in America. Click here to watch their videos and read written their statements. The site also has state-by-state poverty data from the Casey Foundation's most recent Kids Count surveys, news and commentary from the presidential campaign, plus links to research and resources.

The Northwest Area Foundation is reporting strong momentum for its Horizons program to reduce poverty and boost economic development in about 160 small communities across the Upper Midwest, Great Plains, and Northwest. The Study Circles Resource Center is a partner in this effort; earlier this year, SCRC staff and associates trained facilitators to lead community conversations about poverty. Communities are now working to create new vision statements and action plans, many of which are already under way. Read stories about how communities in Idaho, Montana, and South Dakota are using Horizons to move from poverty to prosperity.

Our next DemocracySpace water cooler event will focus on community organizing to end poverty. If you are already doing work on this topic or are eager to start, please plan to join us at 1 p.m. Eastern on Thursday, December 13. In the meantime, click here to read more about other ways in which SCRC (soon to be renamed Everyday Democracy) helps communities find ways to thrive.

All of us at the Study Circles Resource Center wish all of you a Happy Thanksgiving. Enjoy the long weekend, and watch for the next post here at DemocracySpace on Monday, November 26.

Comments

[Julie Fanselow]

Click my name to play a vocabulary game aimed at ending poverty worldwide. For each word you guess correctly, the (unobtrusive) advertisers at freerice.com donate ten grains of rice via the UN.

[Nick Connell]

Excellent post, Julie. I look forward to the water cooler on the topic of poverty.

If you haven't already, I'd recommend you check out WiserEarth.com...which is a community directory and networking forum that maps and connects non-governmental organizations and individuals addressing the central issues of our day: climate change, poverty, the environment, peace, water, hunger, social justice, conservation, human rights and more. Content is created and edited by everyday people.

Another excellent resource on poverty issues is the Census Poverty page (click on my name to get to the site), where you can access definitions, detailed national and local reports/data, links to related sites, and FAQs.

Here's a project you may find of interest as well, seeing life through the eyes of the homeless, the Homeless Camera project: www.homelesscamera.com.

Happy Thanksgiving!

[Nick Connell]

For part of lunch today, I donated 1390 grains of rice through freerice.com. Fun.

[Julie Fanselow]

Thanks for those links, Nick. It dawned on me that I neglected to put a link in the post to SCRC's own poverty resources page, where you can find discussion guides and stories about communities that are rallying to address poverty in their midst. Click my name to get there!