Can it be??!!
Unbelievably, yes, Networks is now 25 years old!
While it’s certainly time to celebrate, it is also important to remember all those who have traveled with us, helped us, challenged us, cheered us on, & joined with us over these amazing 25 years. You helped us realize our vision & assisted us to become more of who we are today.
Together we have
- fought injustices & discrimination
- encouraged others to find & raise their voices
- re-imagined schools, workplaces, communities, & lives
- assisted groups to coalescence around important issues
- found solutions (or at least some parts of solutions) to change the world to embrace ALL people.
We are still going strong & look to the next 25+ years of hard but exhilarating work.
But first, we will be taking time each month this year to look back, honor, & celebrate.
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This month we offer…
Networks’ Community and Organizational Development Services: What It’s All About
“Ours is a blend of business savvy and giving back to the world.”
This tagline has been part of our Community and Organizational Development service description for many years, but what does it really mean?
Since Networks’ beginnings way back in 1992, we quickly learned the importance of not only applying best practices within our organization, but also passing them along to others. And more than 25 years later, as we continue to evolve and learn more about this ourselves, we share these often-tough lessons with others. In a sense, herein lies the core of our work.
In the earlier years, this work took the form of things like: Assistance with systems planning, our popular (and often required) Trainers’ Training Series on various topics, and such hallmark courses as The Basics of Supervision and The Communication Mentors’ Course. And as our audiences have challenged us in many ways to offer more, we have tried our best to rise to the occasion. For some, this has meant offering a customized curriculum on-site. For others, it was exploring remote offerings like our current “Think-In” format, which are regularly-scheduled conference calls on various topics. And at times, offering our expertise with those involved in forming their non-profit, or providing “incubator” services to new start-ups.
Not only have the style of some of our events changed, but also the topical areas as well, in order to directly reflect the changing times. All of this, while staying true to our organizational mission. Within our Community and Organizational Development service area, we assist groups of varying sizes – from a small team or a board, to a large group, or a whole system. We do not set limits on our potential to impact our important work.
As the cliché goes, “be the pebble in the pond that creates the ripple for change.” And while Networks’ is small in number, our ripple effect has brought about meaningful change and growth amongst hundreds, if not thousands over our organization’s history. Perhaps that pebble is an innovative training series. Or a retreat. Or a workshop on a needed topic. Or even assistance with a long-term strategic plan or initiative.
And as we continue to grow, we look forward to offering more innovation, more creativity, and most importantly, relevant learning opportunities.
