Questions for the challenge... a day late (sorry)

Good morning everyone: I apologize for not posting my questions as promised yesterday. My trip to Washington, DC took more out of me than I thought. I'll explain why I'm here later on. As promised, here are the questions. These are based off of a posting that I made to the site on Friday:

• Did you actually go and pick up and pieces of trash?
• If so, where did you go? If not, why not?
• Did you find that there was no trash when you went to pick some up?
• Were you able to stop at just 8 pieces?
• How did you feel after you finished?
• Do you think that people should do this everyday or is it too much of a hassle?

Just wondering about the answers. One of the issues that I've noticed is that we spend a lot of time trying to create clean and safe environments for individuals to live and to do business. I've been wondering how we motivate people to do their fair share to keep the problems from expanding or continuing. I'm in DC for the week attending National Trust Main Street Training. It is the first step to becoming a certified Main Street professional. One of the benefits of attending the training is expanding the network of individuals that can help you solve problems. One other question I'll pose to them as well as to you is "Can a group ever be motivated or must it start from within?" "What will it take to get people motivated on an issue?" Let me know what you think. Enjoy the day...

A challenge for the weekend...

Happy Friday!

I wanted to challenge anyone reading the blog today that is not in Birmingham or unable to attend the clean up day effort in Ensley on November 5 (see yesterday’s entry for more information) to do something for me. I would like to challenge you to pick up eight (8) pieces of trash wherever you see it during your journey tomorrow. Then I’d like you to check back here tomorrow and answer a few questions for me.Though I doubt I may get a great deal of responses, I’m interested in seeing what happens for those that do take part in this experiment. I don’t claim to have invented this, but I am going to change the parameters a little on the answers. For those that are in town, I hope to see you tomorrow. If you can’t come out and help, have fun with whatever you’re doing. I’ll post the questions by tomorrow evening.

Let's get out there and do something... but what?

I figure since I posted a piece on civic engagement, I need to start using this blog as a way to let people know about opportunities to show how much they care about their issues. Of course, it also means that it’s going to slant more towards thing that are meaningful to me. Here’s what got me going on this tangent:

I attended a post election party on Tuesday after the runoff elections were over. Speakers focused on the need to become an active part of the political process and vote. They said that you can speak with your vote and that it is an important tool. I agree with that to a point. I think that while you may agree with one person’s views more than another, whoever is elected must still serve the people. The people in turn must also serve themselves, using their own hands and voices to make sure that everyone’s needs are heard and that their elected officials are aware that it is of great concern. I believe that this provides an even stronger tool for change and hope in any organization. We elect our officials to lead yet we should not always expect them to take the first step. Sometimes, we need to lead ourselves.

I have been working to organize a clean up day in a section of Birmingham, AL named Ensley as an activity associated with my job. Click here to view the information on the organizational website:

The focus of the effort is to prepare the area for the holidays by getting our hands dirty and beginning to show how we can change the perceptions and views of this region block by block. We’ll be starting at 8:30 a.m. and going until 11:30 a.m. There will be bags and gloves provided, however we’re encouraging people to bring their own equipment, including rakes, shovels and if you got one and are daring, even a trimmer or two.

For those interested in taking part, we’re meeting in the parking lot located at the intersection of 20^th Street Ensley and Avenue D. If you’re coming in on Interstate 20/59, take the 20^th Street Ensley exit and veer to the right. The parking lot will be on your right hand side just before you reach the overpass. If you want to let me know that you’re going to be there, send me an e-mail at anatta@mainstreetbham.org or post a comment; otherwise, I look forward to seeing some of you there on Saturday morning.

Have fun and stay tuned…