Bovina Collaborative
for
Community
Photo courtesy
Torkil Stavdal
Town Picnic | Aug 3 at 5PM
Town Picnic | Aug 3 at 5PM
Bring a dish to pass and enjoy a beautiful summer evening with friends and neighbors!
Food and drinks at the Bovina Fire Hall, games and gathering at the ball field next to the library.
What is the Bovina Collaborative
for Community?
Bovina Collaborative for Community (BCC) is a collaboratively led initiative formed to create connections among community members, facilitate community discussion, and support collective action to enhance the well-being of the residents and environs of Bovina, New York.
BCC members share information through an email group (kind of like a virtual bulletin board), and coordinate community organizing through virtual communications and four in-person meetings per year.
BCC is not tied to a political party.
Who is the BCC?
Members of BCC are guided by the following principles:
• mutual cooperation
• transparency
• inclusivity
• equity
• community-led, community-centered solutions.
BCC is open to any community member with ties to Bovina, NY who is interested in applying these principles to community activity and engagement.
How do you join and participate in the BCC?
BCC members communicate with each other through an email group and meet in person four times a year.
The listserv* is an open, email forum used by members to share resources and updates, express concerns, ask questions, and call fellow members into action on specific planning efforts and community projects.
*Not sure how to use a listserv? No problem! The BCC administrators can walk you through the process of reaching out to the group and receiving messages from others.
The in-person meetings are opportunities to engage in dialogue and reach consensus on actions and endeavors endorsed by BCC.
Do you have a community event you want to spread the word about? Want to find folks to help and support a community initiative? Looking to get a group together for a basketball game? Looking for a ride to Albany and wondering if anyone is driving there this week, or maybe there’s a snow storm coming and you want to know if anyone needs toilet paper from the Price Chopper? You can reach out to the group for all of those things!
BCC members hold these shared community agreements:
"Community agreements" are a collective vision of how we want to be in relationship with each other.
They are meant to ensure that everyone has what they need in order to feel safe, supported, and productive as we work together. Unlike "rules," community agreements are not identified or enforced by an authority figure, but rather developed and upheld by the group.
Together we know a lot:
Lean on the expertise and wisdom of all community members.
Be curious, open, and respectful:
Call in, not out.
Lean into discomfort:
It’s okay to disagree.
Challenge the status quo:
When something isn’t working, look for alternative solutions.
Acknowledge and take responsibility for any harm caused, regardless of intent.
Assume best intentions.
Take space / make space:
If you typically talk a lot, be mindful to leave room for quieter voices, if you are typically on the quieter side, challenge yourself to take space if you have something to say.
Take the wisdom out of the room but leave the details / names unless permission is granted.
Refrain from representing your views and actions as those held by the entirety of the BCC.
*Community agreements are inspired by those used by the Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Working Group and Farm to Institution New England