Introduction

There were two Iowa initiatives funded in 1996 through CYFAR to demonstrate the power of collaborations that include all citizens.

One such initiative was entitled Strengthening Families:  The Connecting Link. This initiative served a targeted low-resource area of downtown Dubuque, Iowa and was funded from October 1, 1996 through September 30, 1999.     

During the project period

The following outlines the partnerships, activities and outcomes linked to The Connecting Link throughout the period of funding.

• Overview - view a brief explanation of the project purpose and philosophy
• Timeline - take a chronological view of the project
• Partnerships - meet our many partners and visit their activities
• Activities - visit project funded activities
• Outcomes - visit other activities and programs with ties to the project
• Learning - engage in a critical discussion of what we learned through our experiences  

Beyond the project period

As a testament to the power of collaborations that are truly inclusive of all community members (including those representing at-risk populations), partnerships, activities and outcomes have continued after the end of the funding period. These are also highlighted.

• Timeline - after the end of initial project funding
• Partnerships - connections to the partnerships that continued even after funding ended
• Outcomes - visit programs begun after project funding with ties to the original project
• Learning - engage with us in a critical discussion of what we learned through our experiences

Contacts You are welcome to contact any of our partners and staff listed throughout these pages.
Dubuque staff: Beverly Berna, Families Field Specialist Project Director Dubuque County Extension Office 14742 Highway 20 W # 2 Dubuque, IA 52003-9222 phone: 563-583-6496  fax: 563-583-4844 E-mail:  bberna@iastate.edu

Overview

The Connecting Link became a vehicle for family, school, and community collaboration in the Northeast Iowa city of Dubuque (population 56,000). 

Priorities of the project were to build a collaboration of the city government, public and private schools, Iowa State University Dubuque County Extension, citizens and neighborhood groups and to establish   neighborhood family activity center(s). 

To meet these priorities, initial activities focused on developing avenues to:

create safe and secure environments for children and youth, strengthen parental involvement, and develop leadership among citizens.

Return

Key to the successes resulting from the work of The Connecting Link are the philosophical underpinnings:

    Our learning regarding implementing CYFAR philosophy 

	focus on strengths,
Recognize the strengths and gifts each member brings to the table.

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	build upon assets, The Asset-Based Community Development Institute (ABCD), established in 1995 by the Community Development Program at Northwestern University's Institute for Policy Research, is built upon three decades of community development research by John Kretzmann and John L. McKnight.
Make use of those strengths in building new competencies and challenging members to stretch themselves to new levels.

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	treat each member as an equal partner, and
Share information to create a level playing field and treat everyone at the table as a professional, capable of understanding all the concepts.
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	embrace a holistic, family-centered approach.
Recognize that not only are the members of the team part of many systems (families, agencies, businesses, etc), but all members of the community are members of many systems and each change or impact effects a change or impact in a number of systems. These impacts may be experienced as negative forces to be stopped or positive forces to be embraced. For example, a parent attending a meeting means that dinner is late, which may be unacceptable or a chance for someone else to share a skill in the family. A youth bonding with a mentor may be a wonderful support and/or a reason for extreme jealousy at home.
click on the light bulb to find out what we learned

As a result of implementing this philosophy, the partnerships developed through The Connecting Link were based upon the belief that "Together we can!" which also reflects the research-based learning incorporated into the CYFAR initiative, nation-wide.

Send comments to Diana Broshar, 101 MacKay Hall, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011-1120
phone 515.294.8204  fax 515.294.1040 dmbro@iastate.edu

Last updated 02/12/02