Toys for Tots Pasco - How You Can Help

Preparing the next generation of leaders

by JANET WATSON, Staff Writer DADE CITY--

On November 21, 2006, twenty people completed a Community Organization course at Pasco-Hernando Community College’s Dade City campus. Although the three adults registered for the course, it became clear that learning the ins and outs of how communities develop was of special interest to high school and college students, and 17 of them saw it as a way to prepare themselves for the world outside their educational institutions.

Many, of course, are already involved in their local communities and even the larger world community. Paul Peterson, for example, is a Saint Leo University student who works as stage manager at the Pasco Schools Center for the Arts at Wesley Chapel. Peterson has already participated in a Rotary International polio eradication trip to India and spent last summer in Ukraine, teaching English in a camp setting.

In an end-of-course evaluation, high school student Chris Ryan, who is also a Pasco County Sheriff’s Office Explorer, expressed his gratitude for the opportunity to attend the class.
“As I am interested in law enforcement and hope to one day serve this great county, I believe your class has been a great benefit to my hopes and dreams,” Ryan said. “It has given me preparation for my future profession that could not be found anywhere else.”

The Community Organization Course was organized by Bob Loring, “Chief Dreamer” of The American Dream project and “Chief Elf” of East Pasco Toys for Tots. Loring taught the course with the assistance of various community leaders who served as guest instructors, such as former State Representative Ken Littlefield, who has been appointed by the governor and is now serving on the Florida Public Services Commission.

Local schools recommended the students who eventually enrolled, and Loring enlisted businesses and civic organizations to sponsor them, giving them the opportunity to take the course tuition-free. Thanks to community interest, there were actually more willing sponsors than there were students, which makes Loring believe the class can continue.

“We had a great group of kids,” Loring said. “They are my heroes. It takes time to do this, and they already have busy schedules.” The class was a non-credit course, he pointed out.
There was an interesting diversity within the group, somewhat a microcosm of a community. Course work included levels of community organization, core values of community, the emergence of communities in the United States, and the global context. Further understanding came from the study of human diversity, social values, problems, and resolutions. Implementing programs to promote community and social change led to discussion of the political community, so that students could gain a sense of empowerment to lead research and action.

Evidently the future is “now” for graduates of Community Organization, and several students, after identifying concerns and designing courses of action, have already progressed with programs in their own schools, organizations, or communities.