Discover DeSoto: Engaging People, Organizations, and Communities in Conversations with Ashley Coone (Part 1)

The Patterson Foundation believes that communities can shape their own future by involving people and organizations in the process. By collectively pursuing common aspirations, they can strengthen themselves and their communities as they share a vision to shape the future. DeSoto County Ahead exemplifies this approach, where community members learn from each other, share their experiences, and collectively evolve to create a stronger, more resilient community. In the first part of this Beyond The Blog Podcast, Ashley Coone, Co-founder and CEO of Links2Success and a TPF Consultant, joins Kiarra Louis to explore TPF’s efforts in connecting and engaging DeSoto County residents to turn their aspirations into actions. If you missed Part II, you can view it here.

Key Themes

• Inspiring Hope
• Building Trust in Community
• Everyone has a role in forging a positive future

Key Quotes

• I see people having hope for the future, hope that things can be even better than they are. I see people rising to the occasion to see what they can personally do to make DeSoto County better.
  
  
• It was a little difficult to accept the assignment of working in the community in this capacity, but I realized this work is very important. People trust me. I grew up there. They know me, they know my parents, they know my family, they know everybody. I recognized that people trust me and that people trust The Patterson Foundation. What better to get things done? It makes things easier when there is that trust.
• My background was not in community work, it was not in nonprofit work or any of that. I accidentally fell into this once I saw the statistics and outcomes for the people in the community, and I just thought, how can I help? So, to have a program like the Community Catalytic Guide is very helpful. Now I have strategies. I have opportunities to remember my why. Why am I working in the community? Who else cares? I now have tools and resources that can help guide me in assessing the temperature in my community.
• Although there are huge challenges and things to overcome, what can we do today that can make a difference while also working on the things of the future?
• There is a role for everyone in this work. Everyone's role is not the same, but it's equally as important. I would tell someone to do what they can and do what's in their power...what's in their heart, and it may be right in their own home.
• One of the things the Harwood Institute's training helps us do is find the invisible and make them visible. I think that is one of the most important things we can do in this work because that's where we find people—people who care about the community, who have their own gifts, and who can be part of the changes as well.

Timestamps

• 3:18: Having hope for the future
• 6:22: Reflections from The DeSoto Solutions to Action event
• 8:31: Building trust

The Patterson Foundation’s DeSoto Digest Newsletter strives to educate and engage while sharing the work of TPF initiatives and ways residents can participate in DeSoto County. Sign up here.

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