Community Organization Reflective Paper

Every little change counts, and this is what I have learned after watching this video. A few people that are committed are better than having thousands of people that do not care about anything. This is like having few people that are willing to accept change than people who embraces the old system for fear of losing what they already have. The capitalists out there though don’t seem to mind groups made of small numbers of people because of their number as they fight for social change in their area.

Social change when defined is a change that is happening in the environment, in our society, in the way we deal with other people, changes in the society or within the community. There are certainly good and bad sides of social change, including having social movements and social community organization that tries to work with it. One example of social change and the movement that is associated with it is the equal right movement for blacks in the United States.

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There was also the movement that was established for the right of women to vote or the suffrage right for women. It only means that social change can happen globally or within the locality and it can be caused by certain aspects like religion or economic or social forces that we encounter from time to time. We also have what we call progressive organizing which is about defending the weak and providing for the needy in an attempt to have a balance world (Rubin & Rubin 2008, p.

4). With progressive organizing, everyone is equal hence there is no racial discrimination and they have everyone and accepts everyone regardless of their culture and gender preference or skin color. These people are bonded with one goal and they have one belief in attaining their goal. With progressive organizing, the inequality among people and progression is being eliminated hence allowing for a more balance society both financially and economically. But there are things that even this type of movement needs in order to succeed like infrastructure, financial assistance or fund, good leaders, trusted members and supporters that are willing to help at all costs, one vision and goal and shared value (Hardisty & Perea, 2005).

Just like progressive organizing, we also have community organizing where in members of the community forms a group together to protect themselves and their love ones from possible social issues within the community. Community organizations are established with the goals that everyone is aware of like policies and rules within the community. The role of community organization is to involve everyone in the community and make them create actions for their own good. Most of the community organizations that we have are established by non-profit organizations to make people in the area work together. The key for a community organization to work is to make sure everyone is involved, empowered and aware of the importance of their presence. Here are the ten concepts that we need to have when organizing a community group:

-the power to make something happen

-the capability to make everyone work for the group and not for themselves alone hence makes them participate

-having leadership trainings to develop members that shows potential leadership capability -to make them aware of the current political condition hence political education should be provided -give strategies on how to achieve goals

-to make people do something, mobilization or making thing happen

-to make them do the action, let the members participate and do their job themselves -to be a winner meaning they are achieving their goals as they wanted

-to do evaluation and assessment because through assessment can they figure out which action works and which one not. From then, they can move on and improve on the current action they have and do better the next time they have a project to work on with (Getsos & Minieri, 2007).

Social community groups can start by doing something that they believe is right for their community like having curfews for their children. Once the goal is established, the members can share responsibilities like who will guard the community exits and entrances to ensure that everyone is home at the said hour. Individual member can now play their role, select the part they want to play and do it for the common goodness of their community. I knew a community where in everyone is encouraged to participate in buying the products of their fellow members before choosing other products from the market especially when it comes to fruits and vegetables which is actually good because they can now buy fresh fruits and vegetables while at the same time helping their co-members earn something. Social change is needed because there is a social problem hence in order for a social change to take effect, we must understand first the social problem we have. Identify the problem that you are having in the society and community and make sure that it is in fact a problem and not just a part of your cultural heritage like maybe part of your prejudistic personality. If you have a clear problem in the community, then it will be easier to device a resolution for it and this time, make sure that everyone on the organization is ready to participate and are willing to be empowered.

References
Hardisty, J. & Perea, A. (2005). Mapping the Progressive Movement. Retrieved from:http://www.jeanhardisty.com/essay_mappingtheprogressivemovement.html Rubin, Herbert J., and Rubin, Irene S: (2008)Community Organizing and Development; Pearson Education, Inc. New York, NY.

Getsos, P. & Minieri, J. (2007). Community Organizing- what do we mean?., Chardon Press., Retrieved from: http://archive.changemakers.com/media/docs/0133_Community_Organizing.pdf 21st Century Enlightenment (2011). Retrieved from: http://comment.rsablogs.org.uk/videos/