Social+Case+Study

CASE STUDY: Social Capital and Bowling Alone

 According to a Harvard University report, communities with a high level of social capital benefit from better quality of life. Social capital in the community plays a significant role in every aspect of our personal, professional and community life. The common saying, //‘it’s not what you know, but who you know and who knows you’// explains some of the benefits encountered when engaging in social capital. This section of the report will initiate the civic engagement portion of the client’s [Bowling Alone] request which will involve the political partner groups focusing on the formal and informal social activities. The objective of this plan is to improve the quality of life by creating social capital in Bowling Alone, Ohio. There are three stages of this plan which involve formal and informal activities consisting of the following: 1.) Civic Engagement 2.) Religion and 3.) Recreation.

I. Civic Engagement As described by its leaders, Bowling Alone, OH has any number of civic groups organized within the community. However, membership and participation has languished over the last fifty years or so. In order to more fully take advantage of the existing social network, Davinci, Inc. recommends some of the following activities and strategies to revitalize those groups:

Community forums should be held as part of city commission meetings in neighborhood community centers for monthly meetings. At least one item on that month’s agenda will cover concerns of the neighborhood in which that meeting is being held. From these sessions, civic clubs from that area of the community would get involved with programs developed to address these concerns. As an example, the local Blood Center is always in need of blood donations as a result of the fine medical facility in Bowling Alone. However, it is difficult for some without transportation or those who work full time to get to the Blood Center. Civic clubs will sponsor blood drives at community centers and local businesses in order to encourage participation. This would provide excellent examples for the youth of the areas in a very basic form of community involvement. In order to involve more youth in the entire process, civic groups will present programs to school clubs and organizations about community involvement and to recruit new membership for the future. Some groups are encouraged to sponsor school clubs within their neighborhoods to involve students in civic activities. In addition, "volunteer fairs" can be organized to occur during annual events such as the county fair to recruit membership.

It is also recommended by Davinci, Inc. that civic clubs and organizations hold seminars and workshops to train leaders using the principles of Servant Leadership and Emotional Intelligence to help sustain the growth in membership and engagement. Additional activities to encourage civic participation would be to have the League of Women Voters make presentations to high school juniors and seniors about voting and the voting process, use city planning committees to be intentional about future growth and development. Physical spaces that promote community interactions need to be developed such as bike paths, parks with benches & picnic areas, green spaces, large gathering places like a town hall for meetings, events, and social clubs to come together. Development and improvement of public libraries, the arts, music or other common interest programs that encourage people to come together to enjoy those hobbies/interests must be publicized and encouraged. Local businesses are encouraged to invest in public services and offer incentives for people to spend time volunteering for those agencies separate from vacation, sick leave, and personal days.

Technology may also be utilized to help residents of Bowling Alone, OH to find creative and innovative ways to embrace and leverage the use of media-based social networks to improve the quality of civic engagement. An online social network site for the community can be created to allow the various groups to post activities and membership drives. Support groups and athletic teams can post meetings and announcements. A community calendar can be created to share what’s happening in town for residents and visitors alike. Blogs can be created for community members to express concerns or request for improvements to community leaders as well as to post appreciation of other’s “good-deeds” or community service actions and needs.

Historically, downtown centers have acted as central areas of activity for communities. During the 1960s, however, many of those activities shifted locations to the suburbs. While this was more convenient for many residents, it had the unexpected consequence of diluting civic engagement for the betterment of the community as a whole as opposed to selected neighborhoods. Davinci, Inc. recommends that a feasibility study on the issues surrounding downtown revitalization be conducted. The benefits of a revitalized downtown center would be increased revenues for the city through new businesses and re-use of older architectural structures. The history of the community can become a symbol for Bowling Alone and a rallying point to bring interested individuals together. By revitalizing its downtown and other neighborhood centers, Bowling Alone, Ohio will create an active and vital business environment where pedestrian traffic and re-opened neighborhood community centers will become centers for facilitating the expansion of service organizations, and giving the local government venues for one-on-one communication with individual neighborhoods. The community as a whole would benefit from reconnecting with neighbors from other parts of town over a central unifying issue relevant to all.

II. Religious

The diverse religious composition of Bowling Alone lends itself to parallel offerings of similar activities. Putnam states that roughly "nearly half of all associational memberships in America are church related, half of all personal philanthropy is religious in character, and half of all volunteering occurs in a religious context" ( Putnam, 2000, p.66 ). By concentrating efforts on religious venues, the town can therefore expect to reach approximately half of the town’s population, including opinion leaders and other stakeholders. The number of opportunities for social activities supported by religious affiliations are abundant. In addition to traditional worship activities, Davinci, Inc. suggests engaging its congregation with support, development, and purely social activities. Those community members that are active in religious affiliations are more likely to volunteer and give to charity. (Putnam, 2000, p.67) With the changing modes of communication, it is suggested that weekly services be recorded for re-broadcast in a preferred mode (webcast, download, etc...) Some of the Support systems, Development Workshops and Social Activities should also incorporate other modes of communication in addition to in-person contact such as texts, email, blogs, etc... Obviously the day care option is not one of them, however, a live feed is possible so that parents could 'look in' on their kids whenever they would like.

Support Services may include topics such as:  Development workshops (Education) include:  Social Activities include:
 * Alcoholic Dependency,
 * Narcotics Dependency,
 * Smoking Dependency, and
 * Divorce Recovery.
 * Day Care
 * <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">Summer Camps for Kids
 * <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">A religious school system,
 * <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">Religious Education Classes,
 * <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">Sex Education (if it is supported by the religious mission)
 * <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">Education of Diseases - HIV, AIDS, STDs,
 * <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">Mission Activities that support local congregations of the same nature.
 * <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">Pot Luck Meals before/after worship,
 * <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">Holiday parties such as an Easter Egg Hunt,
 * <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">After Prom Parties & other approved 'all night' sleep-ins which support the religious mission, and
 * <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">Weekly Bingo or other board games.
 * <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">Book Club,
 * <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">Scripture Club,
 * <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">Watching of appropriate movies & tv programs

<span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">Fundraising Activities include:
 * <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">Carnivals,
 * <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">Brunch or other Meal, and
 * <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">Weekly Bingo or other board games.

III. Recreation Davinci Inc. has developed a local program entitled Neighborhood Park Watch. The program was conceptualized with the Department of Parks and Recreation for the people in the Bowling Alone community. The goal of the Neighborhood Park Watch Program is to enhance the quality of community life in Bowling Alone through the establishment of an active partnership between park users, Bowling Alone Parks and Recreation, and the Bowling Alone Police Unit. The program provides active involvement by citizens in the observation, caring and protection of their parks. It serves to deter and reduce crime; thereby enhancing safety in neighborhood parks. This program is not designed to be a vigilante force or for participants to take personal risks to prevent intervene in Bowling Alone Parks. // Park Watch is: // <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">The Bowling Alone Neighborhood Park Watch Program offers an opportunity for family, friends and the entire community to gather and cultivate social capital. It is important to remember that communities that have an invested interest in social capital are capable of handling various dilemmas and are less vulnerable to life crisis. Social capital is so valuable that it affects almost every aspect of personal and community life. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;"> Parks & Recreation’ Park-ner-ship with Bowling Centers Davinci Inc. has developed a strategic ‘Parknership’ with the Bowling Alone Department of Parks and Recreation and all area Bowling Centers. The basic idea of this strategic alliance is to bring men, women, children and the entire family out for a social gathering at all area Bowling Centers. The Parks and Recreation department has been a leader in creating year-round programs to get families involved in the community. This relationship provides a nice fit for cultivating social capital in the community. The concept is simply; enjoy the simple pleasantries of life with family, friends and neighbors. The ‘park-ner-ship’ involves the industry and business community, religious groups, educational institutions, and local government staff and employees an opportunity to get involved. The project offers something for everyone. Most importantly it offers an opportunity to foster relationships and engage in civic and social responsibility. Summary <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">America’s first female on the Supreme Court Justice, Sandra Day O’Connor statement regarding social capital, ‘We don’t accomplish anything in this world alone and whatever happens is the result of the whole tapestry of one’s life and all the weavings of individual threads from one to another that creates something.’ The consultant group of Davinci Inc., has provided recommendations for projects that involve increasing social capital in Bowling Alone. An important aspect of these projects have been developed to improve the quality of life and social capital by reaching out to families, friends, associates and the business and religious communities to get involved. This plan provided a call to action for the community of Bowling Alone to spend time talking with neighbors, playing sports, attending religious gatherings, eating together or volunteering for community projects – but overall improving the quality of life which is all apart of what social capital in Bowling Alone is all about. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">A crime prevention program that teaches citizens techniques for personal safety as well as techniques to reduce the risk of being victimized in parks and other areas.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">A program that trains citizens on the importance of recognizing and reporting suspicious activities in neighborhood parks.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">A cohesive body of concerned citizens addressing issues that is of importance to the entire community.