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Don Ernst My hopes for the Promise Neighborhood hopefully
is that it energizes a lot of different folks in these particular neighborhoods to both
get active and care about the conditions and circumstances of their children and other
children. That it really mobilizes a new way of thinking around what some people describe
in fancy words but important words, the whole child so that we are able to bring a lot of
different kinds of resources to surround children who need it the most.
So it's all that language that we call social, emotional, physical, intellectual, cultural,
in a sort of healthy collaborative both conversation and a set of actions and institutional responses
to children who need it most. And you know it really is about poor children and give
them access to enrichment.
The Central Arkansas Library System and the Children's Library initiative is wonderfully
complimentary to our work and our vision, which is really trying to build and create,
in this area south of I-630, between 12th Street and Jonesboro the new Children's library.
We also use different language, it's not just a library in our minds even though that is
what it certainly will be and what it is. So what we want to do is create a collaborative
set of partnerships around enriching the lives of as many children as possible, particularly
those children for whose such opportunities are limited. This includes a really broad
and enriching kind of curriculum that includes certainly basic literacy, and intellectual
activity, but also arts, and helping kids find their own passions. Because we are going
to be on a five acre site, the idea is to certainly use this to engage kids environmentally
and ecologically and to see the connection between knowing ecologically and knowing writ
large with literature and literacy and also to give kids the opportunity to have a lot
of fun. We hope to have a teaching greenhouse, maybe even a teaching tool shed and a variety
of programmatic responses that really is about enriching the lives of children.
We can't do that alone. We know that this is really built on partnerships which is the
other wonderful thing about Promise Neighborhood, which really is again, built on the notion
that we can collectively do a better job than we can by ourselves. So, Children's Hospital,
New Futures for Youth, University of Arkansas at Little Rock, UALR, Little Rock School District,
First Tee, Audubon Society, the state, the city, we want to be a switching station for
these resources being channeled into the needs of the children who need it most. And a really
architecturally unique place. We also want to think about recreating the eco regions
of Arkansas on this site. And the idea really is to make this a place based, localized effort
to meet the needs of children and really twenty first century ways. Connecting local to global.
And again that takes us full circle to how I think it connects to the hope and promise
of the Promise Neighborhood, which is that this work that we are already doing it's very
consistent with the dreams that I think Geoffrey Canada and others have across this country
about Promise Neighborhoods. This sort of emulating and at least seeking ideas from
the Harlem Children's Zone, looking holistically, recognizing that children need more than just
tutorials but also support and love and care. And so we are going to try create a place
that does that and connect with our friends in the Promise Neighborhood in a way that
hopefully will make a difference in a lot of children's lives. And we will do that again
through the arts, and having fun and technology and growing things and understanding the future
and energy issues that the building will teach. So its just a great partnership between CALS
and Promise Neighborhood and the quest for partnering around the needs of our children.
Well the long term hope certainly imagine and create images of some hope and possibility
that it really is about renewing neighborhoods and families. And that renewing may be physical,
architectural. Physical with sidewalks and curbs and gutters and restored wonderful houses
and architecture. In fact in our work we're going to do that, we hope, with a few houses
and add curbs, gutters, lighting. So we think there is a real relationship between the sort
of physical, if you will, neighborhood and community architecture as well as a programmatic
response around the needs of children and families. But those things work together and
so I think then that it really is cementing some new kinds of partnerships that really
hope to both physically and in terms of beauty and opportunity for families, children, and
youth in that part of the community. So it's about physically trying to renew the place,
i think its about renew it educationally and socially, politically, culturally, civically
by again creating this holistic response to children and families. So you know you'd like
to think that you could drive down 12th street and see bicycle paths, and walking and new
kinds of businesses. One of our dreams and hopes is that we help children understand
the significance and importance of health at large around nutrition and eating wisely
and giving kids the idea that there is more than fast food and we will do that by partnering
with a number of community gardens and creating again this hub of gardening. So imagine neighborhoods
with gardens instead of liquor stores or whatever that may be unbecoming to healthy family life.
We think that, at least my image would be renewed physically, spiritually, educationally,
culturally, intellectually, and you've got new kinds of store fronts, you've got kids
that are deeply and actively engaged in restoring their own community, building their own community,
building their own future and I think that pretty probably means we need to be listening
to them a little more. We don't do that very well and again this is an opportunity to do
some of that as well. So imagine man a community that is renewed physically, spiritually, intellectually,
educationally, and culturally and we are going to take just a little corner of that and create
a place that hopefully will help spread a kind of beauty and joy and learning and renewal.