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Building Bridges |
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About Us |
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Phil DeVol, co-author of Bridges out of Poverty for Professionals and Communities, author of Getting Ahead In a Just-Gettin’-By World: Building Your Resources, and Consultant for Aha! Process, Inc., presented in 2007 to over 150 professionals and parents throughout the community on the hidden rules of economic classes. DeVol challenged the community to get involved in making a difference by addressing poverty. Bartlesville formed a Poverty Alleviation Coalition, under the Washington County Wellness Initiative, to start identifying gaps and barriers surrounding people in poverty. Since DeVol’s presentation, Bartlesville has gone on to become a “Bridges Community” with over 400 individuals receiving Bridges Out of Poverty training. Phil DeVol offered many suggestions on how to move forward… one being Move The Mountain. |
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Scott Miller, co-founder, CEO of Move the Mountain and author of Until It’s Gone, presented an inspiring 2 day program sponsored by the Poverty Alleviation Coalition in October 2009. During his prior visit, Miller delivered a powerful message to more than 200 of Bartlesville’s community leaders and influential residents. “Our mission is to end poverty, not to just reduce it,” Miller explained, “that means having a plan that surrounds those families in need with people who can bring their personal and professional experience to the table for everyone’s benefit.” The model program discussed by Miller focuses attention directly on the social relationships between those in poverty and those with personal and professional experiences to help them. |
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Since October 2009, the Poverty Alleviation Coalition took the message to heart and began a new era for Bartlesville with the successful implementation of Building Bridges, a grassroots initiative which moves people out of poverty to self-sufficiency. |
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Building Bridges offers comprehensive high impact strategies for addressing poverty by combining tw0 designs from Aha! Process, Inc. and Move The Mountain together into three tracks for community involvement in Bartlesville: |
