Community Development

Do you want to know what it takes to make change and create solutions? Discover the model to meet the unprecedented challenges unique to the decade ahead and make a remarkable impact on people’s lives. To overcome the radically different challenges of inequity, division, and scarcity of...

Social isolation can shatter our confidence. In isolating times, we're not only lonely, but we're ashamed of our loneliness because our society stigmatizes people who are alone without support. As a single, 58-year-old woman who finds herself stranded after major surgery, Val Walker has woven into the narrative her own story. A well-established rehabilitation counselor, she was too embarrassed to reveal on social media how utterly isolated she was by asking for someone to help, and it felt agonizingly awkward calling colleagues out of the blue.

We are ready to rise up. But how, exactly, do we do this? How does one reconcile? What we need is a clear sense of direction. Based on her extensive consulting experience with churches, colleges and organizations, Rev. Dr. Brenda Salter McNeil has created a roadmap to show us the way. She guides us through the common topics of discussion and past the bumpy social terrain and political boundaries that will arise. In this revised and expanded edition, McNeil has updated her signature roadmap to incorporate insights from her more recent work.

This is the turbulent story of Naomi Parker, a courageous young woman who valiantly overcomes a series of devastating life experiences. She harbors a looming secret that dominates her thinking and negatively impacts her decision making. It infects her ability to process information and is compounded by a learning disability.

Family members, leaders, life coaches, and mentors often give recommendations and encouragement without understanding or sharing the pitfalls and responsibilities associated with the change. Most life changes need aftercare and management to avoid self-destruction and returning to the things you left or something worse. This book is intended to present tools and techniques to manage you and the community around you.

Representing the Universal Conscious Community, 52 authors have co-created the "Unfolding Journeys: Ways to Connect" book. Some of them are established writers, and for the others, it's a debut. Still, all have a few things in common—love for writing, the ability to reflect on their transformational journeys and willingness to share learnings along the way. The journey towards inner peace is unique for everyone. For some, it's a smooth road while for others, it's a bumpy, frightening ride.

What if you and just a handful of other dedicated, generous women could affect powerful change? That’s the question Wendy H. Steele set out to answer when she founded Impact100, one of today’s most significant grassroots organizations. In Invitation to Impact, she shares her story of creating a unique, successful giving model, as well as the stories of the amazing women who helped to make it grow, empowering you to spark change in your own community.

Life changes dramatically for the entire family when the decision is made to move a person who has dementia from home to community care. Rachael Wonderlin - a gerontologist, dementia care expert, and popular dementia care blogger - helps caregivers cope with the difficult behaviors, emotions, and anxieties that both they and their loved one may experience.

Las adversidades llegan para afligirnos y aunque nuestro deseo es triunfar sobre ellas, no todos lo logramos. En Vence la adversidad Ruddy Gracia nos revela las verdades necesarias para que podamos salir victoriosos ante los problemas de la vida. No solo encontraremos consejos para enfrentar las...

We each have our own unique hospitality personality. And when you tap into yours, you'll find a lot more blessing with a lot less stressing. With personal assessments, encouraging stories, and plenty of practical ideas, Morgan Tyree shows you how to identify and embrace your hospitality personality so you can stop worrying and start enjoying yourself and your guests. She helps you understand your hospitality habits, hurdles, and hang-ups, then offers real-life solutions that fit you.

When Nia Chiaramonte came out as a trans woman to her wife Katie, she knew she would be met with a loving response. But she was less sure where this would leave their relationship, their marriage, and their family. Even murkier was what would happen when they began to bring their extended family, friends, and broader community alongside them on their journey of identity formation as a Queer family. They needed a guide for what lay ahead.

Gaia Village is the culmination of Saeko Angwin’s inquiries to these questions–a journey through trauma and truth. This book will dispel the illusory world we are lost in and uncover the authentic self buried beneath layers of conditioning. Abundance, bliss and innocence already exist within you. Gaia Village shows you how to remember, reclaim and manifest them.

In 2010 former gang leader turned community activist Big Mike Cummings asked UCLA gang expert Jorja Leap to co-lead a group of men struggling to be better fathers in Watts, South Los Angeles. These men, black and brown, from late adolescence to middle age, come together each week to help one another answer the question "how can I be a good father when I've never had one?"

A companion to the acclaimed film Bully, this audiobook brings the story of the documentary beyond the closing credits, continuing the national conversation inspired by the film. Personal anecdotes from prominent antibullying activists and celebrities alongside essays from renowned experts, authors, government officials, and educators offer powerful insights, resources, and concrete steps to combat the bullying epidemic. An essential part of any campaign to decrease bullying and increase empathy, the audiobook also follows the stories of the families featured in the film beyond the big screen.

When Lynda MacGibbon moved from a small city in eastern Canada to a high-rise apartment in Toronto, she decided to follow Jesus' famous commandment to "love your neighbor" a bit more literally. In the past, she would have looked first for friends at her new job or her new church. This time, though, she decided to look for friends among the strangers who shared her apartment building - her actual neighbors in her new "vertical neighborhood".

Empowered Women Empowering the World represents women who have overcome adversity and risen above their challenges and created a life where they live by their own design. These stories are true and from women from all walks of life. They will inspire you to embark on your own self-empowerment journey, to grow into your own self-belief so you can be your best self, become confident, courageous, and empowered as they share how they changed their lives to experience deep and lasting transformation.

Online learning has seen a massive shift in recent years, with more people turning to digital platforms to gain new skills and knowledge. A key driver behind this trend is the rise of online communities that offer not just educational content, but also a supportive environment where learners can connect with peers, receive feedback from experts, and grow together. These communities are no longer just a bonus; they are becoming integral to the learning experience.

Our journey through life as African Americans comes with unique hurdles—generational struggles, systemic biases, and often unspoken pressures within our communities and families. In this book, I share my personal journey of overcoming toxic influences, offering tools and perspectives shaped by the strength and resilience of our culture. Chapter Themes Include: Understanding Toxic Influences: Recognize the patterns of behavior that hinder growth, whether from relationships, workplaces, or societal narratives.

Have you ever felt like life was finally going well, when suddenly life decides to throw you a curve ball? Life will knock you down when you least expect it. The important thing is not how or why we got knocked down, the important thing is how will we respond? In her early 40's, Nadine found herself to be a newly successful entrepreneur...and simultaneously...the mother of a heroin addict. She used this situation to create an out-of- the-box therapeutic travel recovery project which later evolved into establishing a nonprofit serving those choosing to live a lifestyle of recovery.

So you want to publish a best seller? You can learn to be a successful author with the 4 C's approach to successful authorship. Joan Gelfand, author of You Can Be a Winning Writer, has been teaching the 4 C's to aspiring authors at book festivals and writers' conferences for the past 10 years and helping writers around the country realize their dreams of becoming successfully published. Joan has taught her 4 C's method for becoming a successful author to college professors, CEOs, doctors, ghostwriters, poets, and playwrights.