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<span style="font-family: Arial;"> </span><i><span
style="font-family: Arial;">By:</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family:
Arial;">Dr. Mike
Robinson<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Many
organizations, to include public K-12 schools and
institutions of higher
education believe a connection with their local communities
is imperative to
their ability to respond to their mission while offering
solutions to many of
the systemic needs facing those within their communities.
However, there is a
belief among organizational leaders that community outreach
is simply a matter
of knocking on doors or passing out flyers at local
community events. Albeit those are several of the methods one
can use to reach their constituents, the fact is community
outreach is much
more than
that!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Community
outreach requires a strategic approach, a methodology that
ensures your efforts
garner the optimal results and that those reached are best
able at the time of
your outreach to benefit from your services, desire your
services and
understand your services.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Here
are five myths regarding community outreach every
organizational leader needs
to know, as they will assist in creating a more effective
community outreach
program with a solid community outreach
strategy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family:
Arial;">Myth # 1 It Is Community Outreach, It
Cannot Be That Hard</span></b><span
style="font-family: Arial;">:
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Community
outreach can be done over the phone or simply from behind a
desk. This is
perhaps the most damaging of all the myths, as it the one
typically accepted by
those leaders with the least understanding of the mission of
the organization
and what is community
outreach.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Truth
is effective community outreach has a strong base of
research that does have a
need for a level of office work. But the more effective
outreach research is
conducted on the ground within the communities one seeks to
serve.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family:
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Help:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial;">
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family:
Arial;">Communities
are always amenable to organizations entering their
neighborhoods promoting
programs, services and opportunities. Organizations that
assume, because we are
a high profile institution or because we are addressing a
need that impacts the
majority of the residents of this community, therefore they
will accept us with
open arms is to discount the unique, distinct and diversity
of each
neighborhood that makes up a community.<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family:
Arial;">Myth # 3 Community Outreach Cannot
Contribute To The Bottom Line:</span></b><span
style="font-family: Arial;">
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Community
outreach is not a major avenue to create a revenue stream or
provide fiscal
opportunities for an organization. While
many organizations, especially community colleges have come
to understand that
an effective community outreach program, grounded in
research and an
understanding of community norms can create increased
enrollment, expand the communities’
educated workforce and serve as the economic engine of the
community have come
to understand the revenue generating potential of the an
effective community
outreach program.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family:
Arial;">Myth # 4 Strategy Not Needed:</span></b><span
style="font-family: Arial;">
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Community
outreach does not require a strategic assessment and
implementation and can be
effectively conducted via a willy nilly approach. In these
times of fiscal
challenges, tight budgets and competing initiatives, failure
to take a
strategic perspective on how best to reach those who can and
will access your
programs or services can result in a waste of revenue,
manpower, and other
organizational
resources.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family:
Arial;">Myth # 5 Staff
Departure:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Community
outreach staff are not really performing outreach, but they
are out looking for
a job. This is one of the most ridiculous myths in the
industry of community
outreach. Effective community outreach
staff will meet and network with countless community and
business leaders and
on a few occasions they will be offered opportunities to
work with other
organizations. While staff turnover is
not good for any organization or a department it does
negatively impact a
community outreach division. However, the possibility of
staff finding
employment elsewhere does not justify unprofessional
scrutiny and mistrust by
leadership. When this occurs the effectiveness of an
organization’s community
outreach is doomed for failure.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="background-attachment: initial;
background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial;
background-origin: initial; color: #777777; font-family: Georgia ;
font-size: 10pt;">Dr. Mike Robinson is the
creator of the National Men Make A Difference Day for
Student Success and the
host of Parent Talk Live. Dr. Robinson is a leading
voice/expert on parental
engagement and community outreach in education. He is also
the CO- CEO of <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placetype
w:st="on">Forest</st1:placetype> Of <st1:placename w:st="on">The
Rain Productions</st1:placename></st1:place>, an Internet
communication company, whose mission is to expand the voices
in and about
education.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="background-attachment:
initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image:
initial; background-origin: initial; color: #777777; font-family: Georgia ;
font-size: 10pt;">To contact Dr. Mike
Robinson, visit <a
href="http://www.forestoftherain.net/">www.forestoftherain.net</a>
or email at <a
href="mailto:forestoftherain@gmail.com">forestoftherain@gmail.com</a><o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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