Year Five What Is A Community

Year Five

What Is A Community Read • Local event in which the whole community participates by reading the same book • Small discussion groups are then formed to stimulate dialogue and the exchange of ideas • Purpose of a CR is to generate awareness while creating a space for discussion • Benefits include enhancing community involvement, fostering the exchange of ideas, and instilling a sense of appreciation for both the entertaining and educational aspects of reading

• Tied into a theme, instead of a book • Three months (Fall) series of programs (film, art, music, food, physical activity, education) • Building community alliance, collaboration, and partnership • Multi-year collaboration between libraries & coalitions of Dexter, Grass Lake, Stockbridge, Manchester and Chelsea to advance the four Wellness Foundation Aims, with focus on different aim each year • Community-driven

Goals • Create a culture of wellness in all five healthy towns • Engage people emotionally and intellectually to improve the quality of life in the community • Promote awareness of Wellness Foundation, Community Coalitions, plus health and wellness issues • Start a conversation about what a well community looks like • Enhance community involvement to create a more healthy Chelsea • Increase number of residents who participate in physical activities, who report eating healthier diet, take advantage of opportunities that already exist in our communities to connect, and choose a healthier, drug and alcohol-free lifestyle

2011 • Blue Zones by Dan Buettner Copies of books made available throughout the community at local cafes, doctor’s offices, downtown shops, community gathering places, and the Chelsea District Library Share the book with your family, friends and book club! Read it and pass it on. Over 500 copies distributed locally Programs included, a Skype appearance by Dan Buettner (nearly 200 residents participated), Passport to Wellness Challenge, “Biggest Loser” contestant appearance, wellness coaching, guiding good choices for young people (SRSLY), book discussion groups, etc. Resource listing and supplemental reading and research • http: //5 hcommunityread. wordpress. com/2011 -community-read/ • •

2012 • In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan • 500 copies of “In Defense of Food” by Michael Pollan were distributed in Chelsea, and another 1000 copies in the communities of Grass Lake, Stockbridge, Manchester, and Dexter. Over 600 people attended the programs in Chelsea, while over 1600 attended the 70+ programs that were facilitated by all five healthy communities Key programs included: Cooking & healthy eating demos with community partners (CCK, local chefs, schools, hospital); film series, farm tours, book discussions, healthy restaurant week, author Robin Mather (Feast Nearby) • •

2013 • A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson • Over 500 copies of “A Walk in the Woods” by Bill Bryson were distributed in Chelsea. 2000 copies t/o all five towns About 750 people attended the programs that were developed and facilitated for Chelsea residents. Key programs include: Picture book walk, Everybody Move More, Lockout at Eddy Discovery Center, Big 400 Display in library lobby In addition, the library distributed several hundred trail maps and brochures to promote the recreational opportunities that exist in Chelsea. • •

2014 • The Fault in Our Stars by John Green • Needed a book to connect with young people, but could appeal to all age demographics, tie • • generations together Wanted a novel with a strong story to draw people in. Able to capitalize on momentum of film (released summer 2014) Naturally fit with launch of new cancer center Over 550 copies were distributed in Chelsea. 2000+ copies t/o all five towns We estimated that each book was read by or passed on to at least three people, and project about 1500 read the book in our community 1474 people attended the ten programs that were developed and facilitated for Chelsea residents, nearly double the amount over last year! We received nearly 1000 “unique” hits on our Community Read website, during the three months of the program. Don’t have data from other communities tabulated yet

Process & Planning • Outreach – Library directors meet to evaluate previous year, look for improvements – Raise awareness within Coalitions about our plans, which is to focus on the four aims – Timeline: January – March • Form Committees – Oversight/Steering Committee (January) – Subcommittees • Coalition level – Composed of coalition members, community stakeholders » Schools, Senior Center, S. Maples, Chelsea Farmers Market – Library liaison(s) – Goal: Develop programs, events and work collaboratively – Timeline: Beginning of March

Process & Planning • Choose an Aim – Avoid Unhealthy Substances – Timeline: Beginning of March • Choose Book – Timeline: End of April – We give each subcommittee a starter lists of recommendations to deliberate over – Rank top choices in order from one thru three and assign point values in order to reach decision about choosing a book – Book distribution: end of summer (late August) • Placement of books in key gathering locations in community. Over 50 locations!

Book Distribution Points Aberdeen Bike Arctic Coliseum Banks Chelsea State Bank - Downtown Chelsea State Bank - Main Branch Flagstar Bank Key Bank TCF Bank Car Dealerships/Garages Chelsea Chevrolet Buick Palmer Auto Service Side Street Village Motor Sales Chelsea Community Hospital Chelsea Famer Supply Chelsea Hometowm Pharmacy Chelsea House Victorian Inn Chelsea Market Chelsea Print and Graphics Chelsea Senior Center Chelsea Teddy Bear Factory Chelsea Village Flowers Churches St. Barnabus St. Mary's St. Paul Church of Christ United Methodist City of Chelsea Office Dayspring Gifts Doctors/Dentist offices – ( 2 per office) Chelsea Eyeglasses Chelsea Pediatrics Chelsea Vision Care Cherry Optometry Dr Pandya Dr. Ernst Dr. Patrias Dr. Wolf/Resnick Employee Lunchrooms Chrysler Chelsea Milling Company - Jiffy Mix Garden Mill Gigi's Flowers Chelsea Bakery Global Marketplace Gyms Anytime Fitness Wellness Center Westside Gym Hair Salons/Barbers Chelsea Hair Styling Gary’s Barbershop Gemini In Chelsea Jack & Son Nogginz Hair Shop Trois Just Imagine Bookstore Lane Animal Hospital Mc. Calla’s Feed Middle Bead Potting Shed Purple Rose Theatre Restaraunts/Dining/Coffee Bearclaw Biggby Chelsea Ale. House Gourmet Chocolate Mike's Deli Zou-Zou’s Retirement Communties Chelsea Retirement Center Silver Maples The Pines Treehouse Vogel's and Fosters

Process & Planning • Plan Programs & Events – Shared program(s) between all 5 healthy towns • Kick Off Event (Heritage Days) – In Grass Lake » Work with Grass Lake Chamber who is organizes the event – Like a fair, with booth » Giveaways – Each coalition to set up shop – Foundation can use as opportunity to raise awareness – Hand out books, brochures – Coalition level programming • All other programming done at coalition level – Target between 4 and 8 programs per community (between 20 to 40 in total) • Evaluations/Stats/Surveys – Use a common evaluation (Google docs) – Timeline: End of July for programming • Verify & coordinate newsletter deadline dates w/libraries

Process & Planning • Marketing – CDL team creates brochure, plus all marketing & PR Materials • Website – http: //5 hcommunityread. wordpress. com/ – Timeline: End of August for marketing materials • Program Rollout – Kick off first Saturday in September (Heritage Days) – Four to Eight programs and events between September and early November

Key Programs • • • Kick-off event, • Grass Lake Harvest Days • Coalition Members, participating libraries, Wellness Foundation attended Healing Harvest (w/Chelsea Market) • With Chelsea Farmers Market & CCK • Food demos (healthy comfort foods) • Live music • Book giveaways On Purpose • Dr. Victor Stretcher, author • Life lessons on how to live healthier, more meaningful life First Loves • Oral history project • School children interviewed residents at S. Maples about their first loves. Tie w/theme of book Teen Book Festival • Book discussion (works of J. Green) • Partnership with MSU extension (REAL Colors – personality tests) Scrabble Game

Impact of Book • Concerns that the book was “too heavy” did not play out • Appealed to all ages, esp. seniors My daughter’s friends got together to watch “The Fault in Our Stars” after passing the book on to each other. Please note the Fun Dip and tissues with their snacks. ”

Progress • We’re reaching people • • Kick off Event last year reached over 500 people Forming new partnerships, every year, not just with libraries Increase Community Awareness of opportunities to connect with others Promote literacy and love of reading • First initiative to connect all five communities and advance the aims of the Foundation with our strategic approach • Best “brander” for Wellness Foundation and local coalitions • Spreading their brand thru book distribution, websites, brochures, programming • Library newsletter (reaches every mailing address in 48118 area code) • Brochure • Replicated in all five communities

Progress • Community-driven (reading materials, programs, projects) • Broad network of community leaders to help with buy-in, planning, and community outreach • Targeted goal for increasing participation in community events – Book circulation was incredibly strong – Program attendance doubled • Target people who indicated poor mental health prevented them from participation – Feedback on surveys point to some progress here, especially from parents of teens who connected strongly with book – Common themes from evaluations Sense of community from participating in our program Family connectedness Others felt that the programs brightened their lives during busy or difficult times Parents and grandparents indicated that the book helped them connect with their children and grandchildren • Participants were amazed at the number of program offerings not just at the library but in the community • •

Room for Improvement • Yet to determine a scientifically sound way to measure who is reading the Community Read Book • Determine meaningful and effective way to facilitate more expansive discussion of book – Key for 2015 Avoid Unhealthy Substances aim • Time • • Working with a committee of volunteers, even a small committee of interested people, is time consuming, from program idea generation, planning, task identification, volunteer solicitation, checklist creation, progress reporting, re-assignment & re-definition of tasks, etc. But worth it! • More programs for children

Data/Feedback • Ongoing confusion about role/scope/direction of Wellness Foundation and role of community coalition • Lack of healthy food choices in local grocers and restaurants • Healthy cooking • Surveys indicate that people believe they lack time and resources, despite desire to make improvements • Despite abundance of local resources, there is still a tremendous lack of awareness about opportunities • Waterloo recreation area especially so • Greater need for collaboration and resource sharing • Spirit of collaboration is strong, but much redundancy • Measuring behavior change • How are we going to know if we are making a difference?

2015 • Avoid Unhealthy Substances aim • Expect SRSLY to play substantial role • Timeline: • • January (Oversight Committee) February (Local committees form & meet) March (Select book) April/May/June (program planning) July (Marketing) September (launch) Fall 2015 • Last year of our five-year plan

Questions