A Social Innovation Newsletter for YOU

We believe that healthy communities support innovation and growth, and that enacting our vision for a more innovative region requires us to think critically and creatively about how we can mobilize our community’s best resources in support of our neighbors who are most in need.

We are relaunching our Social Innovation monthly newsletter, and we think you're really going to like it.

What can you expect? >>

What's happening this month
Innovate Springfield Social Innovation News (aka iSPI SI News)
News from our partners
Our monthly iSPI SI Spotlight
Content we think is worth your while

Learn more about iSPI and Social Innovation

THIS MONTH >>

Social Innovation Events

Register for the FREE and FULLY VIRTUAL 60 by 25 Conference!
The Hunt Institute is offering a free panel on Early Childhood Philanthropy Amid Covid-19
Join the United Way of Central Illinois for their Equity Challenge Community Conversations. More info below!

iSPI SI NEWS >>

BECOME A PROFESSIONAL ONLINE FACILITATOR AT UIS

The University of Illinois Springfield ION Professional eLearning Program has two decades of experience training instructors to be master online teachers. Now they are applying the best practices of online education to create a program designed specifically for professionals leading remote teams.

The Professional Online Facilitator micro-program is a four-week, online experience led by an accomplished ION Instructor. Participants can access the course content anytime, day or night. Topics include:

Methods of online facilitation and training
Developing virtual training components
Effective development of remote meetings and presentations
Using virtual meeting technologies
Designing online content and goals
Assessing program outcomes

Program completers earn an ION Digital Credential that authenticates the learning experience on social media. The next UIS Professional Online Facilitator program starts on March 22, 2021.

Sign up now for the UIS Professional Online Facilitator non-credit program and learn how to successfully direct virtual trainings, online meetings, and remote presentations!

The Continuum of Learning website is getting a refresh!

The Continuum of Learning is a consortium that promotes evidence-based and evidence-informed programs, practices, and public attitudes that address the educational, social-emotional, and health needs of youth throughout Sangamon County. The Continuum is made up of this core group:

Community Foundation for the Land of Lincoln
United Way of Central Illinois
the Greater Springfield Chamber of Commerce
the University of Illinois at Springfield’s Center for State Policy and Leadership
Innovate Springfield
Lincoln Land Community College
Springfield Public School District 186.

In 2015, The Continuum released the Sangamon Success report, a series of 25 recommendations on how local agencies can align around the use of evidence-based programs to support local youth from cradle to career.

The Continuum website is currently under construction, but you can still find the Sangamon Success report and subscribe to get more updates. Need more information in the meantime? Well, just click here.

Take the Pledge to Build Better Boards

Building Board Diversity (BBD) strives to raise awareness within our nonprofit sector of the positive impact individuals on their boards with different perspectives, different lifestyles, and different experiences bring to the table. It makes a board more productive and enhances creative thinking, innovation, and decision making.

Building Board Diversity was created by a volunteer task force in the Sangamon County community which included Forefront and the United Way of Central Illinois. As the initiative gained momentum, the team expanded to include the Community Foundation for the Land of Lincoln, Innovate Springfield, The Greater Springfield Chamber of Commerce, and the Springfield Black Chamber of Commerce.

BBD is committed to providing training and resources to support new board members, board diversity preparedness, and community connection. Through 100% volunteer effort, BBD has created a task force, executed diversity training, and created board survey tools.

Your organization can join Memorial Health Services, Compass for Kids, Girl Scouts of Central Illinois, and Senior Services of Central Illinois and take the pledge to prioritize diversity, equity, and inclusion.

iSPI PARTNER NEWS >>

Take the United Way Equity Challenge

The United Way of Central Illinois has partnered with United Way organizations nationwide to take on this 21 week Equity Challenge. Every week, you will be presented with a prompt as well as content to engage with, reflect on, and discuss. The iSPI crew has taken the challenge and have begun weekly discussions about the material. You can join the community conversation too. Join us, and we can make the world a more aware and equitable place!

Watch The Next 10 Speaker Series

The Next 10 is going strong! The Community Foundation of the Land of Lincoln recently hosted their first EXTRA session, a deep discussion about downtown revitalization and the next steps for Springfield. Watch the recording of the January session, and keep an eye out for more upcoming discussions in the near future.

Congratulations to Friend of iSPI Shelia Boozer

She has been selected as the new superintendent for the Champaign Unit 4 School District! She currently serves as the Director of Teaching & Learning and Technology in Springfield District 186, using her 23 years in education to serve students and families. She also serves on the Community Health Round Table, where her expertise helps to inform public health discourse in Sangamon County. Mrs. Boozer will be missed, but we are excited to see all the amazing things she will do in the future.

Got big news? SHARE it with us, and we'll share it with the community!

iSPI SI SPOTLIGHT >>

We love being able to shine a SPOTLIGHT on our partners and extended family members. These community champions are changing the game and making Sangamon County a better place.

Tara Allbritton

After joining iSPI in early 2019, Tara started She's Got the Nerve, a coaching and consulting firm focused on uplifting women and children.

After participating in iSPI's virtual DEMO day, Tara was contacted by Girl Scouts USA to develop and implement a professional development opportunity for Girl Scouts staff on relationship building.

In the coming months, Tara will be hosting a confidence building workshop titled Confidence in Motion, as well as a five-week training on image building called Your IMAGE Matters.

Tara is a valued member of the iSPI family, and we can't wait to see what she does next!

"I Speak Life!"

iSPI ENGAGE >>

This is what we are reading, watching, listening to, and experiencing to fuel our growth and understanding.

Strong Towns: A Bottom-Up Revolution to Rebuild American Prosperity by Charles L. Marohn Jr.
The darling of the downtown revitalization crowd, but popular for a reason. We're all about reinvesting our time and money into our neighborhoods. The book has inspired an ongoing conversation here in Springfield, and you can even participate in online sessions to dive deeper.
Amazon Indiebound Lincoln Library

As Yet Untold
A national leader in public education policy and process, The Hunt Institute has branched out into podcasts. The first episode is a conversation with founder Governor Jim Hunt, with more inspiring episodes to come.

The Pandemic Reveals Racial Gaps in School Meal Access
Civil Eats compared data from big cities and the rural South in order to investigate access gaps to school meals. While many cities prioritized sites that were accessible for their students of color, the rural areas investigated here often did not. Overall, there are few national best practices or guidelines for meals when students cannot be served at school.

How Are They Faring: Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Lives of Young Children and Families in Massachusetts
The Saul Zaentz Early Education Initiative at Harvard happened to begin a longitudinal study with young children and families in 2017, and that data helped this publication accurately characterize the many impacts of the pandemic on families in 2020. Listen to a Hunt Institute panel discuss the results and the critical needs of early childhood education and childcare here.

The Effects of Police Violence on Inner-City Students
A deep-dive published in The Quarterly Journal of Economics. Using hyper-local data from Los Angeles high school students, the author explores the causal relationship between police violence and decreases in GPA, increased incidence of emotional disturbance, and lower rates of high school completion and college enrollment.

National Register of Historic Places Thematic Survey of Springfield's African-American Community, and the Central East Neighborhood, Springfield, Illinois
This is a DEEP dive into Black History in Springfield, from 1818 forward. Photos and maps, historical and contemporary, tell the story of settlement, riot, reconstruction, and resilience.

Thanks for reading this far! We can't wait for our next update. Do you have engaging content to share? Let us know.