Building Bridges

Building Bridges Connection Role

As a connector, Building Bridges serves behind the scenes most of the time. For the following example, it is appropriate to publish the details of Building Bridge's role in the set up of Violence Prevention Month in Central Contra Costa County in 1996.

Violence Prevention Month

Public Awareness Months are a way to focus public attention on a specific area. Governments issue proclamations and resolutions and give them to the non-profit agencies that will do the work in the community of building public awareness on the theme of choice. On an as needed basis, Building Bridges will serve a connection role, bringing together potential partners, sponsors and participants for an event, project or program.

Contra Costa County Violence Prevention Month used Building Bridges in the connection role. This was a one-time activity, event, program and was passed on to other non-profits to continue after Building Bridges stepped out of this role. In this case, the activity was to create the connections for the Central Contra Costa County activities and partnerships for Violence Prevention Month. Karen E. Lile was the person who completed this project for Contra Costa Violence Prevention Month. She acted in the following roles for this event:

  • Planner: Worked with the Contra Costa Juvenile Justice/Delinquency Prevention Commission and the Contra Costa County Prevention Program to understand better what the needs of this public awareness month was and what combination of people and organizations it would need to accomplish its purpose.
  • Promoter: Represented the interests of all the partnerships participating to the media and got media coverage on the events.
  • Broker: Identified 50 potential partners from the people Karen Lile knew and had worked with in the community. She planned an event in Park Place in Walnut Creek were they met each other and the beginning of the Central Contra Costa Coalition was begun from the relationships established there.
  • Liaison Contacted Mayors and city councils and asked them for proclamations on Violence Prevention Month
  • Speaker Spoke before the city councils upon the acceptance of Violence Prevention Month Proclamations.
  • Representative Met with major corporation leaders in the area to represent the interests of Violence Prevention Month.

Once the people had agreed to participate, Center for Human Development handled the facilitation of meetings and the planning sessions. They became the coordinator for Central Contra Costa County and Building Bridges Connecion Role was completed.



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