Community forum to focus on solutions
United Way slates 2nd annual event
7/16/2012IF YOU GO
What: United Way of Greater Toledo's central Toledo community gathering
When: Begins 11 a.m. Saturday
Where: Scott High School, 2400 Collingwood Blvd., Toledo
Contact: RSVPs are not necessary, although people are asked to register at unitedwaytoledo.org/community.
The event is free, with a free lunch served afterward.
The United Way of Greater Toledo has scheduled a community forum Saturday, a sequel to an event about a year ago.
Last year's forum focused on Toledo's public education system, and although this year's event is to be at Scott High School, education is to be only part of the conversation.
The forum is to be about neighborhood and community solutions proposed during informal meetings the United Way held for the last year in the Scott learning community.
This year's event also will differ from the previous year's in that it will be focused on conversations held in central Toledo. Last year's -- at Leverette Elementary -- was geared more toward North Toledo.
The United Way won't be the only agency at the event. The Frederick Douglass Community Association, Glass City All-Stars, Toledo Public Schools, Velocity Heights, Village 50, and Vipers Elite Basketball are to join the United Way in presenting the forum.
Those organizations will, in part, talk about what they are doing in the community.
"There are so many great things already going on that residents can get involved with," Karl Parker, board chairman at the Frederick Douglass Community Association, said in a written statement about the event. "We want people to realize how important it is to step up and take responsibility for the issues. We can really make a difference and create the future we want if everyone gets involved."
Albert Earl, Jr., a founding member of the Village 50, said he plans to challenge attendees to get involved in fixing problems in the neighborhood. The Village 50 is a volunteer group of men who mentor central Toledo youths, with presences at several TPS and charter schools, including Scott High School.
Most people know what the problems in the community are, Mr. Earl said, but solutions are less rarely discussed. "We can no longer be a community that has our hands out and is not willing to do the work to change some of the problems," he said. "When you help create a problem you have to be a part of creating the solution."