United Way hosting 'community conversations'

If you could build a stronger community through the youth, how would you do it?

That question is guiding an upcoming series of “community conversations,” hosted by the United Way of Eastern New Mexico.

In order to best improve the lives of the residents of Curry and Roosevelt counties, UWENM Director Erinn Burch said, her organization must focus on the young people who will eventually decide the future of both communities.

However, the organization doesn’t have a full picture of how best to serve area children, according to Burch; that’s where the conversations come in.

“There are a million things at play in the community. What if a big portion of them were all working in some way toward improving the lives of children and youth? What if that got on the radar of more than just the organizations that it’s obvious for? That’s where this conversation is important,” she said.

Burch hopes to hold around 30 different community conversations with various groups in both communities between January and the early summer, beginning with two events at 6 p.m. Jan. 16:

• One at the Roosevelt County Chamber of Commerce for chamber members and another at Matt 25 Hope Center for Clovis middle school and high school educators.

UWENM’s plan is to meet with various community groups in both cities.

“We have plans to reach out specifically to the Spanish-speaking community, to reach out specifically to different neighborhoods. We want to talk to educators. We want to hear from parents. We want to hear from youth,” Burch said.

Roosevelt County Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Karl Terry said the conversations give Portales a chance to develop a vision for the community, a process that hasn’t occurred for several years.

“I think this gives us a little different process ... Getting folks’ ideas and dreams on the table is always a good thing,” he said.