Thinking Out Loud Together

Community Partners Roundtable keeps Dickinson and Carlisle connected

November 24, 2009

At a recent Community Partners Roundtable, Bill Shoemaker, director of environmental health & safety at Dickinson, led a discussion on crisis management.

It is 8 a.m. on a gray November day. With cups of steaming coffee in hands, leaders of local nonprofits and faith communities meander into the meeting room at Grace United Methodist Church for the monthly Community Partners Roundtable. The two long tables are soon full, and a few latecomers settle into chairs lined up against the wall.

Among those at the meeting are representatives from Sadler Health Center, Cumberland County American Red Cross, First United Methodist Church, New Life Community Church, LeTort Elementary School and the Employment Skills Center—to name a few. Some of the partners collaborate regularly on projects; for others, this monthly gathering is their only chance to connect with their community peers.

Identifying Needs

Originally formed by Rusty Shunk, executive vice president for college and community development, the Community Partners Roundtable has been meeting for almost five years. “It started as a way to get community partners to identify needs and to share what was going on at Dickinson,” says Mira Hewlett, interim director of religious life & community service. “It helps build connections among community members.”

Attendance varies monthly, but a core group of about 35 Carlisle-area organizations forms the roundtable, along with Dickinson regulars such as Hewlett and Karen Neely Faryniak '86, associate vice president for enrollment and communications.

Hewlett adds that Tiffany Tucker ’10, the college’s CommServ leader from Colorado Springs, Colo., and Kim Blank ’10, Dickinson’s Day of Service leader from York, Pa., also attend the meetings to hear about the needs of local organizations. “The student staff and I are then able to share those needs and special projects … with student groups looking for service opportunities,” she says. “It makes sense for our community and for our students.”

Three years ago, Hewlett became coordinator of the roundtable, which has evolved to include informal training sessions led by Dickinsonians. “We always share what’s going on at the college,” she says.

Last spring, Vice President and Treasurer Annette Smith Parker ’73 outlined college finances. Director of Media Relations Christine Dugan and Director of Publications Kim Nichols led a May session on media and marketing. In September, President William G. Durden ’71 updated the community on college initiatives, and Lt. Mike Guido from the Department of Public Safety discussed campus and community issues in October.

Sharing Expertise

On today’s agenda is Bill Shoemaker, director of environmental health & safety at Dickinson, whom Hewlett tapped to discuss the college’s crisis-management plan.

After outlining Dickinson’s emergency-response framework, Shoemaker leads a group discussion on the importance of having such a plan in place. Without one, “you may have three minutes to respond [to a crisis],” he begins. “After that, everything gets decided for you.”

What follows is a wide-ranging conversation about the most likely scenarios—from domestic violence spilling over into the workplace to the H1N1 flu pandemic to major weather events such as tornadoes and blizzards. By the end of the session, everyone at the table has learned about the resources available through Dickinson, the local American Red Cross office, the Pennsylvania State Police and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

As 9 a.m. nears, Hewlett wraps up by inviting everyone to share organizational news, such as the third annual car winterization program coordinated by New Life Church, Project S.H.A.R.E and His Hands Auto Ministry. Sherrie Davis from the Cumberland County Red Cross announces a need for additional volunteers, and then Shari Bellish from Carlisle C.A.R.E.S., which provides emergency shelter for homeless adults and families, updates everyone on the progress of a new center.

According to Hewlett, Carlisle C.A.R.E.S. is a recent example of how the roundtable has led to opportunities for Dickinson to creatively assist with community needs. Earlier this year she heard about the new center’s high construction costs, so Hewlett contacted Ken Shultes ’89, interim vice president for campus operations. Shultes then found a way, and several facilities staff members, to help with electrical work and floor installation—tasks that would have overstretched C.A.R.E.S.’s budget. Members of Scroll & Key, a Dickinson community-service honor society, stepped in and painted the new bookshelves.

Jon Hand, pastor of Engage Community Church, has been attending the roundtables since 2007 and finds them invaluable. “As far as I know, there’s no other venue bringing nonprofit, educational and faith organizations together to hear what’s going on,” he says. “It’s in the friendships—we get to have coffee and think out loud together. The churches and nonprofits are serving thousands of people, and the information shared has ripple effects.”