Social Capital in Saint Maries…
This week, I went to a “Social Capital” work shop, and not only did I learn a great deal, I also realized just how “rich” not only I am, but also the community I live in. Social Capital defined as: The central foundation of social capital is that the conncections amoung people add value to a society in much the same way that financial capital does. It refers to the collective value of all social networks or “who people know“. It describes what can arise from these networks when they do things for each other. The basic premise is that the interaction enables people to build communities, to commit themselves to each other, and to knit the social fabric. Robert Putnam, a Harvard educated sociologist, describes Social Capital as: something that can be described as mutually respcetful relationships, connnectedness and trustworthiness among people, networks and involvement.
A few of the “facts” which Robert Putnam also includes in his book are:
1. Since the 1960’s, church attendance is down by roughly one third.
2. Club and Civic organization participation has been cut by more than half over the last 25 years. And,
3. Americans are choosing to bowl alone. More people are bowling than ever before, but they are no longer bowling in leagues.
Saint Maries, however, is quite the opposite! From what I have been told, bars which used to outnumber churches in Saint Maries, have declined and actually made room for more churches than ever! Our civic organizations are extremely active in our community! When someone is in need, they are ready, willing and able to lend a hand, as I know for a fact that we have more than one bowling league in Saint Maries; almost every week night, there is a different group of people who bowl!
These few facts just made me realize how lucky I am to have come into a community rich in Social Capital! We might not be too rich in financial capital, and that is exactly why we are part of this wonderful group of HORIZONS!
TTFN
Tala.