Corner Brook -
Bruce Pearce wants to see the development of a better connected non-profit sector and hopes the Community Priorities Summit happening in Corner Brook will help make that happen.
Pearce is a community development officer with the St. John's Homelessness Committee, a collaboration of about 30 different agencies working together to eliminate homelessness in that city.
He was one of about 80 members of the province's voluntary and non-profit sector who have converged in Corner Brook to discuss issues facing the sector.
He believes the event - the first time the sector has gathered to discuss common concerns - is a turning point in the sense that a road map of its future direction is starting to take shape.
"Before, we never really knew where we were going as a sector," said Pearce. "Now, by coming together, we have a better idea of what the road ahead could look like ... Now we have to get the gas in the tank and start driving it."
The required fuel involves sustained funding from government and partner sources, but Pearce said the most important thing is for the sector's representatives to maintain the communication fostered during this summit.
"Otherwise, it can be pretty lonely being in a sector doing what is often thankless work," said Pearce. "This is about keeping those relationships going and being conscious of where we are going together."
Making those essential connections at the community level is something the Harbour Breton Community Youth Network knows well. Marie Bungay, the network's co-ordinator, made a presentation to participants about how that network harnesses local resources to bring youth and adults together to learn from each other. The Funship CafÉ is a social enterprise developed by a joint effort of the Community Youth Network, the Funship 50-Plus Seniors' Club and a local health and wellness committee.
"It's about engaging different demographics in a two-way learning process," explained Bungay.
Taking advantage of locally available resources can also stretch funding a bit further or even allow certain initiatives to be created and operated with little or no money at all, added Bungay.
She said the two-day summit in Corner Brook, which wraps up this morning, will help volunteer and non-profit organizations find better ways to do whatever it is they do.
"When you get together with people from all over province and realize you're all on the same page, for the most part, and you all have the same kinds of challenges and issues, it is easier to find solutions," Bungay said.
