It has been officially announced that Chestermere is one of the ten rural Albertan communities chosen to take part in the ‘Becoming a Community Builder’ initiative. This initiative was designed by Ian Hill; an award winning Humanitarian, Social Innovator and Business Leader. Part of the ‘Let Them Be Kids’ program, Hill has provided over 160 communities across Canada within the past five years with playgrounds and skate parks to increase community strength and youth involvement.
The initiative received thousands of applications in response to the previous success of the program, and Chestermere is one of the ten rural communities in Alberta to have been chosen to have access to the free program. ”It’s always a pleasure to see the same faces at community events such as this one,” Chestermere-Rocky View MLA Bruce McAllister comments before welcoming Ian Hill, “I look forward to increasing the amount of familiar faces in the room with the success of this program.” As McAllister is a resident of Chestermere himself, he says that this initiative allows the people to be close to the action, and that it is an honour to be part of the movement.
The goal of the program is to promote leadership among the community’s citizens and thus enhancing the amount of pride among both formal and informal leaders. “Every community has a different reason for taking part in this program,” Hill states, “and it can’t reach it’s full potential without the involvement of the citizens. A community cannot sustain as individuals; the change begins with you.”
The Becoming a Community Builder initiative is an all out commitment to making leaders within the community, and the 15-week-program that every member of Chestermere has the opportunity to register for is completely free. The program officially starts on March 28th, but the program will be funded forever, making it available for use at any time for an individual who may need it.
Upon registration, you are asked to explain why you are going to take part in the program. Ian Hill himself reads every entry in order to make each person’s journey through the program personalized and relevant, “The only thing I ask for in return for this funded program is the commitment of the individual who signs up to make a difference in the community,” says Hill. Whether you commit to make your relationship with your family stronger, or to become a more influential role model in Chestermere, anything you have to offer to the community is important for the success of the community itself.
The learning model called, ‘The Change Continuum’ is based upon the scientific knowledge that it takes 21 days to create a habit. Using this effective way of behavioral change, the 21 day blended learning model promotes performance improvement and has been proven to be successful in other rural communities across Canada. Through workshops and coaching sessions over live streaming videos as well as weekly reinforcement exercises and motivational emails, the amount of leaders within the community will skyrocket. Two different tracks are offered, one for community members and one for High School leaders. ”Alberta has the chance to be the Athens of the 21st century,” says Hill, “we have talent pouring in from all over, and enough natural resources to last more than three lifetimes. 100 years from now, how will we feel about how we used our opportunities?” This is why the emergence of leaders among the community is so important; they are required in order to promote change and enhance pride in Chestermere to create a place where we can all live, not just come home from the city to sleep in. If you are interested in learning more about this program that Chestermere has earned, you can visit: www.becomingacommunitybuilder.ca. If you want to register for the program, you can visit www.register14s.becomingacommunitybuilder.ca.
