The Long Game creates Sustainable Positive Change!

Change! When compassion moves us to invest in our community we have to consider the Long Game. Sustainable positive impact is vital if we’re going to make meaningful change. But the key word here is “change!” When we aim at change we HAVE to be prepared to spend years aligning partners, programs and plans in order to be prepared to deliver ongoing positive results for the foreseeable future!

Collaborations! In 2014 Lakewood Mayor Bob Murphy envisioned building a “super collaboration” between the mayor’s office and organizations. The first of these was the Lakewood Faith Coalition linking all faiths together for partnership with the city. It was chaired by Lakewood Connects ED Reg Cox.

Then the Coalition to End Hunger in Lakewood linked +50 different food service organizations. Finally, the Lakewood Service Organization Coalition linked Kiwanis, Rotary, Optimists and Elks in the city.

Serve Spot! January 2021 Reg along with the chairs of the other two coalitions formed Serve Spot Lakewood merging these Coalitions into one. Serve Spot’s first area of focus was aimed at understanding and supporting elementary schools during the pandemic.

Need! We discovered 5 schools where food, clothing and basic things like laundry detergent were needed. Families at the school couldn’t access other sources of help and the “Community Resource Center” (CRC) concept was born. A CRC is a “food choice” pantry allowing patrons to pick what resources they want including food, clothing and some support classes and programs.

Examples of a CRC:

At Westgate Elementary their CRC was set up in a detached portable classroom. Immediately families began accessing support daily.
At Foothills their CRC was originally set up in a portable classroom but has been moved into a large hall closet! The CRC is called “Foothills Foodies” and as enrollment grew space limitations have created challenges for supporting family needs there!
At Rose Stein the CRC is just the Family Engagement Liaison’s office (see pictures below)! Schools are doing the best they can!

Facing and Fixing our Challenges! As staff rotates at schools the CRC concept required constant reorientation to new faces and partners. Serve Spot would build out a portable or closet only to lose it and all the infrastructure investment. How could we build a sustainable outpost for thriving and flourishing with so many constantly changing variables? The need wasn’t diminishing, in fact, it was growing!

Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)! Summer 2022 Serve Spot began a process of securing an MOU with the school district so that long term CRC program success could be established. We are excited to announce that early 2024 we signed the MOU and we’re ready to build out the CRC model in Lakewood!

What took so long? You may have asked the same question about making some kind of positive change in your life too! Here’s what we believe; The Long Game is the only way to make sustainable positive change! 2 years of patience built a foundation for a generation of students and families in underserved communities that will last for decades! Lakewood Connects is all about the LONG GAME! We supported building city coalitions, then the building of Serve Spot and then the Community Resource Center project!

Get ready to help us! In upcoming newsletters we will update you on opportunities for helping support and lead the CRC’s in our schools in Lakewood and beyond! We expect this work to multiply to other cities in other states! Thanks for your encouragement and support!

Remember… change moves at the speed of relationship! Invest in the long game in your city today!