Community Development in Action - Meet Kristen!
CDLI is spotlighting Community Development in Action! Meet Kristen!
CDLI has partnered with the City of Calgary Community Hubs Initiative to capture Community Development in Action. We recently spoke with community members about their experiences leading community projects through neighbourhood and community grants.
Kristen is a community builder based in Marlborough. She recently held a virtual Bannock Taco Cooking Class for the community, as part of a Collective Wellness Powwow. We chatted with Kristen about the cooking class and about her community involvement in Marlborough.
What do you love about Marlborough that you want the rest of Calgary to know about?
I honestly love it. It really is a vibrant community full of lots of incredible people that are super willing and wanting to connect and learn and grow collectively. I was born and raised in Calgary and I just know that through my time in the city and living in different places, there can be a lot of preconceived notions about what Marlborough or the Greater Forest Lawn area are about and to be honest, it really is an amazing place. It really is an amazing community, especially over the last year. I’ve been able to connect with a lot of people in organizations and it’s just been such an incredible experience. I’m super grateful.
Tell us a bit about yourself, your project, and what made you apply for the Hubs Activate grant?
I’m a mom and I recently decided to go back to school for social work. I have three children, so I’m super busy and I try to stay really engaged with community events for myself as well as for them so that we’re constantly getting to interact and get to know our neighbours and know people within our community.
The project itself was an Indigenous-style taco cooking class in support of the Collective Wellness Powwow that was held back in March. Friends of mine were involved in putting together the Powwow, which was a great undertaking because all of it, including the cooking class, were online. And the Hubs grant just seemed like a really great fit. It was something that was brought to my attention through our Community Social Worker Lemlem Haile, who’s incredible, and it was just, the ability to really bring that idea to life and as well as ensure that we were able to really include a lot of people within the community, especially being online, so it was just a really great fit for the project.
How do you put your community building ideas into practice?
A lot of times for myself, it’s something that, again, I’ll engage with the Community Social Worker a lot. They’re such a great resource and such a great asset to our community. So really just kind of coming up with ideas, presenting them, and then looking at how we can do it and what steps we can take for action - talking to other community members and other people who are willing to engage and volunteer, which there's honestly no shortage of, and then just coming together to see how we can make things happen and like I said, take action on that.
What was one highlight from completing this project?
Because it was held online, and it was a live thing, which is such a unique experience, and because of Covid, it put us in a position where we had to get creative. Really seeing, though, how connected people were regardless of the circumstances was just amazing. And Covid just really stresses how imperative human connection is and how important our relationships are with each other so being able to see people really connect and enjoy and indulging in the collective part of that wellness Powwow was just amazing.
For anyone that hasn’t had an Indigenous-style taco, you’re missing out.
What relationships/connections did you make through this project, and how did those connections help the project?
A lot of connections were made with other community members and people that volunteer within the community, and with the community social worker. And then we had the opportunity to connect with a lot of other organizations that either directly contributed to the project or acted in support and provided support to their own clients, whether it be The Mustard Seed or The Alex and whatnot so it was just a great opportunity to really get to know new people and build stronger networks and, again, continually add to that foundation of community here in Marlborough.
I also think that being forced to kind of utilize online connections more has also allowed us to have a bit of a wider reach, to be able to invite people who might otherwise not be participating to come and check things out and make those connections and try new things and learn something new, which is awesome too.
How has being involved in community work through projects like yours helped develop your confidence and leadership skills?
I think just naturally, by doing a project like that, it's helped because it forces you to take those steps, it forces you to put yourself out there and start asking people for direction if you're unsure. It forces you to ask for help in terms of delegating the work and stuff like that, and looking for guidance when it comes to applying for grants or things like that. Before this project, I had no idea that that was something that was even accessible. So yeah, I think going through that process, it helps you obtain those skills and help you get a better sense, which then, I know for myself, has really fostered the desire to just keep planning and think of different things that we can be doing.
“It doesn’t matter where one feels that they are in their community, we have the ability to step up as community members to make connections, to make things happen, to get to know each other better and to really celebrate our community, instead of just kind of feeling like we’re in the swarm of other people.”
Given your experience, what is one step or action you recommend for others wanting to explore neighbourhood grant possibilities and engage in community work?
It's tough, I would just say take a step, just be willing to take that action. I know for me, I can be a bit introverted sometimes. I'm a little shy about asking for help or looking for direction but just take that action because the resources are incredible and there's always going to be people who are wanting to help. Be it by giving guidance on how to apply for grants or what grants would be applicable to projects, as well as how to do them. It might be a process that some people feel intimidated by and it's okay to ask for help. Reach out to the Community Social Workers or other volunteers that have that experience. But yeah, I think the most important stuff is just taking that action to create the follow through.
What do you imagine for the future of your community?
Things to keep the community going. Things that come to mind for me are accessibility, connectivity, longevity, vibrancy. It’s really hard for me to pick just one word because there are so many things that make the community of Marlborough what it is and each little aspect just really contributes. Just really seeing the community continue to pour the love and stuff into itself so that it continues to stay the way it is so that we don’t lose that engagement that sometimes people may feel is lacking.