A workshop and training is in town on how to start a cooperative business to foster community asset growth focusing on the needs of community members. A segment will be given on community wealth building using the Ford-Yellow Wood model with a visioning exercise about the potential for cooperatives in Augusta. Various cooperative models and current cooperative development legislation will be discussed. This workshop is highly recommended for community leaders, local residents, youth and motivated individuals or groups in the quest for more collective and balanced economic empowerment. Lisa Stolarski will be conducting the workshop.
“Cooperative Enterprises Build a Better World”. A cooperative is an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through jointly-owned and democratically-controlled enterprise. It contributes to the local economy and remedies local economic back logs that are not provided for by small businesses or large corporations. It seeks to cooperate with immediate government initiatives for more economic progress.
Lisa Stolarski is the Executive Director of the Co-op Development Center at the National Cooperative Business Association. The Co-ops USA Center is a technical education center serving cooperative organizations and development practitioners in the United States. Lisa has Master’s Degree from the School of Community Economic Development at Southern New Hampshire University in 2010 where she specialized in cooperative development and policy. In her 11 years of cooperative experience she has been involved in food co-op, farm co-op and worker co-op development, cooperative policy development and cooperative education.
A current success story is one in the heart of Cleveland, Ohio.
Evergreen Laundry, Evergreen Solar and Evergreen Growers.
In the US there are over 29,000 cooperatives in different sectors that generate over 650 Billion annually with 3 Trillion dollars in assets and jobs to over 2 million owner employees. Co-ops have been part of the American fabric since Benjamin Franklin initiated the first successful co-operative in 1752 for the provision of fire insurance. Last year, The United Nations declared the year as the International Year of
Cooperatives.
PUBLIC EVENT
Saturday, Feb 23rd - Workshop
9:00 Am to 12:00 Noon “101 on Cooperatives and the Seven Forms of Wealth”
2:00PM to 5:00 pm 2nd Session “Encouraging Cooperative Development in Your Community”
“How Worker Co-ops Create Jobs, Wealth and Community”
5:30pm-6pm Closing Ceremony.
Recognition of Course Completion.
For more information: Ame Johnson, phone: 706-814-1129.
No comments:
Post a Comment