150 Things You Can Do to Build Social Capital

 There are a great many projects in the Malden area that work with social capital, so I'll mention a few I'm directly involved with.   That's all I'll do in this post, as it will make it too long to include other info.  I should note that all programs below are supported in part or whole by Tri-City Community Action Program (Tri-CAP), for which I'm a paid consultant.  But I am also an independent partner with them  (and 3 other organizations) in the Cyber Cafe @ Malden Square. 

1. VITA Site (all-volunteer, free tax preparation): about 13 core volunteers did this program last year and we expect about 15-18 this year.  It's not easy and requires about 20 training hours and another 24-hour commitment to actually working with taxpayers to prepare them for taxes or do their taxes.  The Site is located at the Cyber Cafe (see below) and serves Malden, Medford, Everett, and surrounding communities.
2. Local Action Committee: this group is focused on affordable housing issues and for the past two years and worked in a dedicated manner to assist the elderly residents of a HUD-subsidized, low-income senior building that has had 3 rent increases (>35%) in one year.  LAC also funded a part-time community organizer to assist them.  They have had organized protests, periodic newsletters, several newspaper articles (Boston Globe, Malden Advocate, Malden Observer), and a lot of meetings with the building owner, its property manager, and others.  In October, residents held their first-ever tenant association election and are taking increased steps to have a voice in their living situation. 
3. Cyber Cafe @ Malden Square: a free, walk-in computer and Internet center for people who need it; formed and operated by 5 local organizations with one 1/2 time staff person and 15-18 volunteers (who do everything from tech support to one-on-one assistance to teaching courses to filing paperwork).   In 6 1/2 years, more than 6,000 unique individuals have utlized the Cyber Cafe's services and half a dozen local organizations have collaborated with them on projects designed to help lessen the local Digital Divide. 
4. Financial Literacy Education (FLE) and Individual Development Accounts (IDAs): This free program helps people learn how to better manager their money (FLE) and the IDAs help selected individuals save towards education, starting a business, or home ownership with matching funds (3:1).   Course instructors are volunteers, largely from local banks, and they love meeting people from the community and sharing their expertise with them.  Participants also enjoy learning that bankers are not "unknown faces" and are real people with warmth, compassion, and a sense of humor. 

Bringing the business community into non-profit, community-based projects like these is good business and helps businesses learn what the community is all about.   It also demonstrates to the low income commuity that local businesses do care about them.

I guess I'll end this post and take a stab at the other questions another time.

Claire A. Murray

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"There are many paths to enlightenment.  Be sure to take one with a heart."  -- Lau Tzu Tao Te Ching
Claire A. Murray, Murray Learning Associates
Partner, Cyber Cafe @ Malden Square