On the evening of Nov 6, the FIC raised $790 at a House Party in Yellow Springs OH. The event was put together by local residents Don Hollister and Faith Morgan
, and held at Faith's home. We had an after-dinner audience of 15 and I had the chance to talk about FIC--its history, its mission, its accomplishments, and its needs. Following a 20-minute presentation, our hosts encouraged participants to make a donation or to purchase FIC products, after which everyone lingered happily over cake and cider.
Before my presentation, we did a Go Round where everyone spoke briefly about their connection to community, and it was very touching. Three people had been involved in the early days of Communities
magazine (there was a cooperative in Yellow Springs that was part of a seven-cooperative nation-wide collaboration that launched the magazine in 1972). Another had attended the Arthur Morgan School, a Quaker-based boarding school for 7-9th grade children that my daughter had graduated from in 2002.
To top it all off, Faith, as the granddaughter of Arthur Morgan, is a third generation community person. When I first met Faith in 1988, her mother and father--Jane and Griscom Morgan--were operating Community Service, the nonprofit established in 1940 to promote Arthur's ideas about Small Community as the fundamental building block of healthy culture. Today, that work is continued by Faith and her partner Pat Murphy, operating under their new banner: The Arthur Morgan Institute for Community Solutions.
Many at the House Party reported that their main connection with community was simply living in Yellow Springs, a small community in the outer orbit of Dayton that has developed a special quality of life. This afforded me an excellent entree into explaining why FIC made the explicit decision four years ago to add Creating Community Where You Are to its mission.
I love these chances to meet people who care about creating a more cooperative culture. I get the chance to explain why this goal matters, what FIC is doing about it, and how the financial backing of our supporters is crucial to our success.
If you're willing to host an FIC House Party--for friends and others interested in community living in your area--please get in touch with our Development Assistant Emily Hall (emily -at- ic.org) and we'll be happy to arrange one with you.
