Love Is Concrete WHAT GIVES?

WHAT GIVES?

When inroads are madeto engage the community's

most forgotten and disregarded,and their stories are heard

something in the communitycomes alive and we get

a glimpse of what we were meant to be

when we don't notice

they find other places to belong-

often ones that don't regard them in a way that would

help them to be what they were truly meant to be

Think about it -

all violence and warcan be traced back

to a reaction ofbeing disregarded

why don't we act to prevent this?

PROBABLY BECAUSE:- to regard is to embrace unfamiliar things

- to regard is to face the fear of being rejected

- to regard is to risk things not going as planned

- to regard means to admit we play a part and our actions matter

what can be done?

simple practices can graduallychange the way we look at others

(and in the process we can see how we look to them)

simple CONCRETE waysto exhibit love and regard

in order to engage the forgotten and overlooked of our communities

(both inside and outsideof the building walls)

We practice simple CONCRETE ways to exhibit LOVE and regardin order to engage the forgotten

and overlooked of our communities

(both inside and outsideof the building walls)

THAT is what we can do.

THE GOOD NEWS?

we aren't alone in this processof searching and discovering

these ways

All over the worldpeople have discovered the effects

of CONCRETE LOVEand everyday new ways/ideas

are revealed to them

We just need to find the ways that could work to engage those

disregarded in our localcommunities and TRY THEM

And the idea you have alreadyfound that works for

your community?

Well, someone else may be searchingfor that very idea this very minute.

And if there are no resourcesor ideas that fit your situation?

The whole world communitycan build and develop them

alongside you.

you only need to knowwhat you can give

right now

Time? Food? An ear?A strong back? 50 cents?

Vacation Home?

Then, find the idea that matcheswhat you can give and VOILA!

A match is made.

Then you would share your storyin any form (video, audio, blog)

and let the world know how well it worked.

On our site, you can specifically request help with developing an idea

in our forums OR you can attendour popular online collaborativeevents and talk with people who

will help in REAL-TIME!

You can also follow our online Do-It-Yourself (DIY) Community

Engagement Resource Kit (coming in Spring '09)

as we practice these simpleacts of CONCRETE LOVE

we will grow more accustomed to embracing “the unfamiliar”

and see our communitiesCOME ALIVE!

For more evidencego to LOVE IS CONCRETE.comand search “EXAMPLES” and

Read the “STORIES”