ACTIONN Knows When There is Lots of Work To Be Done, Many Hands are Essential

Three years ago when the Community Foundation of Western Nevada began bringing residents together to address persistent problems in the community, I learned of another group being formed for the same purpose.  I’ve been following their progress and their work is impressive. The effort, called ACTIONN, develops leadership of people of faith at the grassroots level to achieve power for positive change.  The acronym stands for Acting in Community Together in Organizing Northern Nevada.  This nonpartisan group involves 29 faith based communities in the region, bringing them together to address issues that these groups representing diverse faiths and backgrounds all agree need to be improved. The power isn’t just in their numbers, which in itself is impressive, but in their approach. On the numbers side, let’s face it, our elected representatives, and our leaders in business and education listen when hundreds of people show up at a meeting. On the approach side, ACTIONN is led by an all-volunteer board that engages congregations to address the things they care about, such as healthcare, education, jobs, and immigration reform.  Through hundreds of meetings and thousands of hours, they discuss ideas, bring in outside experts, vet ideas and programs, and produce thoughtful studies, reports, and specific recommendations about how to make improvements locally. Today, thousands of people in our community are involved in this effort and I’m impressed. I don’t often write about specific organizations in town but this isn’t a typical organization.  It is really citizen engagement on a broad, sustained scale unlike anything we’ve seen in our community before.  Typically such engagement is based around a particular group’s interest or a political movement, not community needs.  Hats off to this group for their good work! It will take every one of us to making sustainable improvements to our quality of life in Northern Nevada.Together, we should be able to make this place an amazing community for this and future generations.  ACTIONN is part of the PICO National Network, 1,000 religious congregations in more than 200 cities.  If you are interested in learning more visit FaithInActionNV.org  or find them on Facebook Whether you support the community through volunteering, contributing, or active engagement, you can help.  The Community Foundation of Western Nevada is here to help you care, connect, and engage.