Fifth TAD Congress to be held at Saint Leo
Pasco News – June 15, 2006
By Janet Watson – Staff Reporter

SAINT LEO – East Pasco County citizens and community leaders who have a deep interest in child welfare are invited to attend the Fifth Annual TAD (The American Dream) Congress on Wednesday, June 21.

Dream-spinner Bob Loring is very excited about this particular session inasmuch as the original dream – that every child has a valid stake in “The American Dream” – has expanded beyond his own efforts with East Pasco Toys for Tots, each year adding new elements. In the coming year he expects that the dream will continue to evolve.

At this year’s Congress, Loring, in addition to reviewing what has come to pass, plans on outlining the “Tad Model,” which seeks to mobilize each identified community in east Pasco to address its own local poverty situation, based on the assumption that not only does each community have its own pocket of poverty, but that there are a growing number of children living in poverty.

“We can expect less and less support from the federal, State and local governments,” Loring says, which means that community organizations and individuals must accept more of the responsibility to eradicate poverty.

Members of the TAD Congress already include such organizations as the Greater Wesley Chapel Chamber of Commerce, East Pasco Habitat for Humanity, Pasco-Hernando Community College, the Greater Trilby Community Association, and Premier Community Health Care, along with many others, giving an idea of the wide variety of institutions that have a viable interest in poverty and how it affects our children.

One of the most exciting developments, according to Loring, is the plan in place to offer a course in Community Organization and Development – Theory and Practice, at Pasco-Hernando Community College. Students will attend to study models for community development and strategies for change. Loring hopes to have local community organizations sponsor young people who can participate in this new facet of TAD.

Registration for the TAD Congress at Saint Leo will be at 8:00 a.m., and the session will continue until about 4:00 p.m. A “working lunch” will be provided.

Call Bob Loring at 352 588-4230 for more information.

Site Designed by
PatE's Graphics
www.pegraphics.com