CENTER FOR COMMUNITY BUILDING AND CIVIC ENGAGEMENT

(CCBCE)

COMMUNITY OUTREACH PARTNERSHIP CENTER (COPC) .

1. PROJECT: Fostering Civic Engagement

Dr. Marti Bombyk                           Dr.Joseph Ohren

Dr. Marti Bombyk (Social Work) worked with neighborhood groups to strengthen and increase the number of organizations in the community and the effectiveness of participation within them. Dr. Joseph Ohren (Political Science/ICARD) worked with the City of Ypsilanti to help it develop strategic planning objectives.Dr. Bombyk works with community leaders to establish advisory relationships with the City of Ypsilanti for implementing the strategic plan developed by the community.

 

2. PROJECT: The WebPolis

Dr. Norman Tyler                             Dr.Yichun Xie

Dr. Norman Tyler, Director of EMU’s Urban and Regional Planning Program and Dr. Yichun Xie, Director of EMU’s Center for Environmental Technology and Applications were co-directors of the Web Polis initiative. The Web Polis is an electronic City Hall where citizens can access information and forms needed in typical visits to City Hall for various functions. The Web Polis provides an interactive website run on a central server by EMU. Users find it very easy to ask questions and get information. The EMU staff update and maintain the project during the period of the grant and data for it is provided by the city government and groups and organizations in diverse communities of Ypsilanti. Items include neighborhood news, a community calendar of meetings of groups and non-profits, and open planning pages for major projects, e.g. Water St. Project, festival planning.

 

ACTIVITY DOMAIN: Education and Youth Leadership Development

1. Intergenerational Project

Dr.Elvia Krajewski Jaime                 Dr.Amy Prevo-Johnson

Dr. Elvia Krajewski-Jaime from the Social Work Department, and Ms.Amy Prevo-Johnson were Co-Directors of this Project. In this project, youth in Ypsilanti were supported and cultivated to provide positive opportunities for interaction and communication between younger and older residents. Partners from Churches, Ypsilanti and Willow Run Middle and High schools, EMU Social Work Field Office, EMU Volunteers Incorporated Services into Our Neighborhoods (VISION), and America Reads Program participate with teams of EMU students working with young people and elders recruited from the community. Activities included structured workshops, leadership trainings, field trips, and enrichment classes of an educational, artistic, social, and recreational nature. Please click Reports for more detailed information.

2.Digital Inclusion: E-Linking Youth, Their Families and Their Communities

Dr.Robert Perry

Dr. Robert Perry, Director of the African American Studies Program at Eastern Michigan University, was Director of this project. Together with the Ypsilanti Public Schools this project offers opportunities for students to become computer literate This project also was devoted to training parents and students in the uses of computers for every day purposes.

ACTIVITY DOMAIN: Economic Development and Employment

5. Youth Entrepreneurship Day Camp

Dr.Elvia Krajewski Jaime               Dr.Amy Prevo-Johnson

Dr. Elvia Krajewski-Jamie from the Social Work Department, and Ms.Amy Prevo-Johnson are Co-Directors of this Project.Adolescent youth are recruited from Ypsilanti high schools and community groups to participate in a youth summer day camp program on campus. They are introduced to principles and practices of entrepreneurship. Business owners from Ypsilanti are among the presenters in the day camp sessions.

6. Management Training for Small Retailers

Dr. Tammy McCullough

A series of seminars and individual consulting on retailing skills were provided by Dr.Tammy McCullough Director of this project.Content of this seminar is based on an in depth study of managerial skills sought by small retailers in the community.

7. Workforce Development

Dr. Charles Monsma

Information was collected to develop and implement a local model to meet the workforce needs of at-risk populations by helping them overcome child care, housing and transportation obstacles. Community based organizations, service and educational providers, and Workforce Development service organizations were convened in a summit to create and support a career development model. The Project Director was Charles Monsma from the Institute for Community and Regional Development ( ICARD).

 

Go to Center for Community Building and Civic Engagement (CCBCE).

 

 

Community Leadership Fellows Program - Department of Justice Elvia R. Krajewski - Jaime, Ph.D., Director