by Will Stribling November 4, 2021
The Mississippi Department of Health reported zero new COVID-19 deaths on Thursday, making Nov. 3 the first day since June 30 without a pandemic-related death in Mississippi.
Though it’s just a single-day report, the announcement undoubtedly came as a relief to many living in the state with the highest COVID-19 death rate in the nation, which has lost one out of every 300 residents to the virus. In total, 10,134 Mississippians have died from COVID-19
During the pandemic, my 8-year-old son has been struggling with wanting more independence. He wants to have sleepovers with friends, take walks on his own and start to make his own meals. Although the pandemic has restricted much of his independence, I’m happy to welcome more help in the kitchen and to reinforce healthy eating habits, and introduce him to cooking.
The weekend of October 15 – October 17 has been one that I will remember for a long time. Jackson State University held it 2021 homecoming on Saturday. Although I did not attend the game, I have become more interested in the performance of the team. It was great to see on pictures in the news of a full stadium after the challenges of the past 2 years with COVID-19.
Friday, I visited with a great friend who I directly responsible for encouraging me to seek my Ph.D. Although we are in different fraternities, our friendship of over 37 years has sustained itself dispite years of distance. Our friendship started in college and was formed during the first few weeks of my Freshman year. We later hung out during summer interships with Eastman Kodak. He had been there before and introduced me to friend he had made during previous internships. Later when we both worked in the Maryland area, he invited me to participate in his fraternity’s weekend tutoring program. At no time did I feel like an outsider. During this time in Maryland, while he was persuing his Ph.D. at the University of Maryland, he asked me to protor an exam for him. It was the first time I stood in front of a class. Following my time in Maryland, I decided to pursue my MBA at the University of Memphis. My friend would always encourage me over the years as we would touchbase each homecoming. That classroom experience from the initial proctoring experience made working as a graduate assistant at the Univesity of Memphis less scary. Teaching incoming students about the Microsoft Office Suite that they would use throughout ther collegiate career was rewarding. Ten years after graduating from the University of Memphis, I started my Ph.D. journey. My friend’s simple request to fill in for him had sparked an interest that I completed in 2017.
Saturday, I had a breakfast meeting with a fraternity brother and we spoke about potential courses for the university where I currently work part-time. Problem solving is important to leaders so the timing of his desire to work in education and my desire to provide unique experiences to my students alligned. We met for an hour and developed a framework for a possible course and unique offering. Later that morning, my family worked to provide meals for the homeless through the Make-A-Wish Foundation. We served over 40 people and provided Abraham with an experience to remember.
Saturday night, my wife of nearly 29 years this November and I attended a live concert with The Elements in the elements of the outdoor ampitheater. This was the first time visiting the venue and hearing Earth Wind and Fire. I loved the horn section and enjoyed the work of Bobby Burns, Jr. I also enjoyed to outing with my lovely wife and a few of our friends. We held hands and cuddled under the open cool air while enjoying to great sound of Earth Wind and Fire. It was so great to get out and safely enjoy live music.
Sunday, I have the opportunity to catch up on yard work and will play tennis with a good friend and collegue to see who pays for beer. He suggested that the winner buys. He came back on me the first time we played so he ended up buying. In a strange way it has motivated me to improve so I will not loose again. I purchased a new racket hoping it will help me with my game. I know my conditioning will get better and I am budgeting to buy him beer everytime we play.
Community development has long been dominated by top-down approaches that focus on problems, deficiencies, and needs. However, in his TEDxExeter talk, Cormac Russell presents a compelling case for a paradigm shift: one that begins with the strengths and assets already present in individuals and communities.
Russell outlines the unintended harms caused by conventional methods of helping:
These models, while well-intentioned, ultimately disempower the very people they aim to support.
Inspired by the work of John McKnight and Jody Kretzmann, ABCD focuses on identifying and mobilizing the existing strengths within communities. After conducting over 3,000 interviews in 300 neighborhoods, McKnight and Kretzmann identified six key assets that drive sustainable community change. These include:
In Leeds, community builders trained under Russell’s program have focused on elderly care, especially combating loneliness. Rather than isolating seniors in programs, they are integrated into the heart of community life. The story of Robin, an elderly widower passionate about carving walking sticks, highlights how personal passions can spark communal engagement and purpose.
Frank, a community artist in Wirral, tackled environmental degradation by turning a littered beach into a symbol of civic pride—a pirate ship called the Black Pearl. Instead of relying on government clean-up efforts, Frank involved locals in a creative solution, thereby fostering community ownership and involvement.
In Kigali, parents and community builders reimagined the role of education by integrating vocational training and community support. They addressed issues like street children and teacher welfare not through traditional policies, but through local collaboration and innovation.
Russell emphasizes that real change arises from mutual effort. Quoting Aboriginal elder Lilla Watson: “If you’ve come to help me, you’re wasting your time. But if you’ve come because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us work together.” This sentiment underlines the importance of solidarity, co-creation, and shared ownership in development efforts.
The movement from focusing on “what’s wrong” to “what’s strong” challenges us to rethink how we support communities. It urges professionals, policymakers, and citizens to embrace a more respectful, inclusive, and empowering model of development—one that sees every individual not as a problem to be solved, but as a solution in waiting. By identifying and mobilizing local assets, communities can unlock their full potential and create enduring, meaningful change.
A new report reveals that management consultant salaries at McKinsey, Bain, and BCG will remain flat in 2025, marking the third consecutive year without increases.
Starting salaries for MBA and business master’s graduates entering the management consulting sector have remained flat for the third consecutive year, according to the newly released 2025 Management Consultant Salary Report.
The report, based on Management Consulted data collected from new hires across the consulting industry, marks the third time in the firm’s 17 years of recording management consultant salaries that starting pay has not increased year-on-year.
Author:CarespringPublished in:Caregiving
Thanksgiving is right around the corner and many families are starting to make preparations for their celebrations. This holiday is a great opportunity to gather with friends and family to share a meal, show gratitude, and enjoy the company of the people we love most. If you are preparing to celebrate the day with your adult parents or grandparents, here are a few Thanksgiving ideas for seniors to make the day enjoyable for everyone.
Southeast Sustainability Directors Network (SSDN): SSDN is a network of local government sustainability professionals from various cities and counties across the Southeast. They focus on collaborative learning, state policy programs, and federal initiatives aimed at creating clean and healthy communities. SSDN supports municipal sustainability professionals with resources, collaborative opportunities, and best practices in urban sustainability. Their programs include the Southeast Sustainable Recovery Center and Environmental Finance Center (SESDN).
EPA’s Building Blocks for Sustainable Communities: This program works with local communities to develop smart growth solutions that benefit both human health and the environment. The program emphasizes a flexible, community-led process to develop strategies for vibrant, walkable, and revitalized neighborhoods. It partners with communities to address environmental justice concerns, preserve natural resources, and facilitate economic growth (US EPA).
Neighbors for Better Neighborhoods (NBN): Based in Winston-Salem, NC, NBN empowers community leaders through the asset-based community development framework. They focus on bringing residents to the table for decision-making processes that impact their communities, advocating for health, safety, learning, prosperity, and justice at the community level. NBN’s initiatives aim to strengthen neighborhoods by leveraging local resources and resident leadership (NBN Community).
Spruce Root: Although based in Southeast Alaska, Spruce Root’s approach to sustainable community development through business coaching, financial resources, and workshops is a model that can be adapted for other regions. They provide comprehensive support for local entrepreneurs, fostering economic development and job creation through their Path to Prosperity and other sustainability-focused programs (Spruce Root ).
Tara Laczynski leveraged Outschool to transform her passion for teaching math into a lucrative side gig.
The National Student Clearinghouse Research Center has released a new report on higher education enrollments. Undergraduate enrollment grew for the first time since the beginning of the pandemic this fall with an increase of 2.1 percent. Community colleges are starting to recover from the pandemic showing a growth of 4.4 percent this fall.
Rural Americans face numerous health disparities compared with their urban counterparts. More than 46 million Americans, or 15 percent of the U.S. population, live in rural areas as defined by the U.S. Census Bureau.
On August 22, 1950, officials of the United States Lawn Tennis Association (USLTA) accept Althea Gibson into their annual championship at Forest Hills, New York, making her the first African American player to compete in a U.S. national tennis competition.
These African American heroes battled the Nazis, but were still treated as second-class citizens in their home country.
