Finding Purpose through Action: What Does it Take for Citizens to Make Change?

Have you ever volunteered to help with a community-wide clean up or signed a petition for a new park to be built in your neighborhood? Have you ever voted in an election or worked with a group tasked with reimagining  your Main Street or downtown? If so, you have played a role in making your community a better place by being active in civic discussion and citizen action.

Active citizenship means people, businesses and organizations getting involved in their local communities. Active citizenship can be as small as educating young people about democratic values, or as big as coordinating a strategic planning process for your community or region. No matter the initiative, citizen involvement is crucial for the long-term sustainability and growth of a community.

We all have the power and responsibility to co-curate our communities — to shape them into the places we are proud of both professionally and personally. We seek to capture and share ways Arkansans are actively participating in their communities, looking for new ways organizations and businesses can help make change, and acting boldly in leading efforts for citizens to pave the way.

Stories From the Ground Up: What Does Citizenship in Action Look Like?

In communities, stories of citizens in action may look like identifying and addressing issues or exploring how to engage people in community-wide efforts. In organizations, citizens in action may look like the development of new affinity groups due to societal unrest or new ways of amplifying employee voices.

Calico Rock

For example, Calico Rock is having a renaissance downtown and on Main Street. Just four years ago, Main Street was full of empty buildings with little to attract the tourists that so desperately wanted activities for the whole family. Today, Main Street is filling up with budding businesses and a variety of activities, boutiques, and entertainment for the whole family. This resurgence of downtown Calico Rock is thanks to citizens in action who saw the need for business and city leaders to do something about their town.

Many would contribute recent growth and development to the Calico Rock Museum and Visitor's Center, which is also located on Main Street. Dedicated volunteers and community leaders have been hard at work giving Main Street a facelift. Murals that once told the history of the town were beyond repair and contributing to a "run down" look for Main Street. Thanks to community efforts and funding through CREATE BRIDGES, those murals were turned into new displays to showcase the rich history of Calico Rock with new paint and metal-works signage. Calico Rocks success is one example of community development and economic development intersecting thanks to the charge of citizens taking on the task.

UADA Employees

For the UADA community, citizens in action can be observed in the great work of 4-H programs working to educate young people about the importance of civic engagement. It also looks like UADA’s internal leadership program i-lead, where employees come together every month to learn about the Division, participate in leadership development, and discuss ways to improve the Division as a whole.

We hope you share your own and take-away someone else’s story or example that touches your own experience, inspires you for action, and deepens your understanding of the work of UADA’s community, professional, and economic development.

Questions to Ponder…

1. How are your citizens taking action to improve the quality of life of your community, organization, or business?
2. How is your business or organization helping create change in your community?
3. How have priorities shifted in your community? How are people acting in new ways as a result?
4. What else do you want to share about experiences, challenges, and triumphs with citizens in action — both personally or professionally?

Finding Purpose in Return: What Does it Mean to Turn Towards Renewal?

Merriam Webster’s dictionary defines renew as “restore to freshness, vigor, or perfection” (Merriam Webster, 2022.) After two years facing the COVID-19 pandemic, communities, individuals, businesses, organizations, and UADA professionals are finding new ways to envision our purpose, restore its freshness, engage stakeholders and partners, and explore creative approaches to our work. (BOLD)

Everyone was changed by the COVID-19 pandemic in some way—professionally or personally. We seek to capture and share ways Arkansans are looking anew at their work, envisioning new ways to engage volunteers and community members, and acting boldly in ways that create lasting change.

Stories From the Ground Up: What Does Renewal Look Like?

In communities, stories of renewal may look like finding new ways to connect and celebrate each other or adapting community favorite activities to make them work in a world that has been changed by COVID-19. 

Russellville, AR 

For example, the Main Street Russellville program has taken a community favorite event, their quarterly Art Walks, and used them to inspire new events that fit into a world changed by COVID-19. These Art Walks, which by their nature are outdoor, were socially distanced events that featured local artists, food trucks, and downtown businesses in the streets of downtown Russellville. While the city was not able to host their traditional Christmas events in 2020, Main Street Russellville, The City of Russellville, and the Chamber of Commerce partnered to host The Holiday Glow Festival. The festival was a way to take holiday traditions like lighting contests, hot chocolate, and local shopping outside into a safer atmosphere. The Holiday Glow Festival has been held the last two years and has quickly become a fan favorite in its own right.

UADA County Agents 

For the UADA community, renewal is the great work of county agents like Lez Walz and Brad McGinley who are looking for new ways to engage their community in programming--reaching out in conversation with community members to understand what is important to them and how they can bring their interests, passions, and expertise to create a vibrant, vital place to live and work.

We hope you share your own and take-away someone else’s story or example that touches your own experience, inspires you for action, and deepens your understanding of the work of UADA’s community, professional, and economic development.

Questions to Ponder…

1. How is your community finding new ways to envision its purpose, restore its freshness, engage stakeholders and partners, and explore creative ways to build community?
2. How is your community celebrating the people that work and live there?
3. How have priorities shifted in your community? How have your own priorities shifted?
4. How do you see your community incorporating new ideas while honoring or maintaining traditions of the past?
5. What else do you want to share about experiences, challenges, and triumphs with renewal—both personally or professionally?