KidsQuest Children’s Museum had an unusual group of visitors in the evening on Wednesday, April 26. Executives and staff from community organizations on the Eastside trooped in to be a part of Eastside Pathways 101 – a quarterly gathering that gives community members and potential partners the opportunity to learn more about Eastside Pathways, the collective impact framework, and how they might get involved.
Among the attendees were people from Social Venture Partners Seattle, Overlake Park Presbyterian Church, Hopelink, King County Housing Authority, Petite France Preschool, Sound Mental Health, and the University of Washington, as well as high school students and other interested community members.
The evening began with a quick icebreaker Jenga game – each person wrote a word relating to community and explained to a ‘stranger’ why they chose that word. Among the many words, support, diversity, and welcoming were heard frequently to describe the Eastside today, and what many envision for the future.
Stephanie Cherrington, Executive Director of Eastside Pathways gave a short presentation on collective impact and how Eastside Pathways is getting together many organizations on the Eastside and greater Seattle area to work together and benefit from the synergy created to accomplish their mission to help every child achieve success, from cradle to career.
She shared the five key components of successful adoption of the collective impact framework: a strong backbone, communication, a common goal, progress measurements, and mutually reinforcing activities. Stephanie also highlighted the recently-released 2016 Eastside Pathways Community Report, which emphasizes that equity gaps still exist in Bellevue, and the need to close them.
Several community members expressed their positive impression of Eastside Pathways and its work to convene and mobilize the community. Kim Townley Clayton from Sound Mental Health said, “I’m impressed about how we’re all getting together, different companies getting together, and trying to make things better.” Another attendee noted the “incredibly positive impact” that Eastside Pathways is making in the community.
Eastside Pathways is grateful to KidsQuest Children’s Museum for hosting the event.
The next Eastside Pathways 101 will be held on July 18, 9:30 to 10:00 am. To register click here
Article written by Kate Chen, social media intern at Eastside Pathways