Community Action Network (USA)
The 'American Values Community Action Network' in New York advertises as 'the only national and international Idea Exchange Library. In cooperation with advertising and its media, it shares practical solutions to people problems with communities, volunteer group, government, clubs, schools and individuals ... an invaluable resource available on request to all'.
Their president Miles David, and their chairman Norman Glenn, used their long experience of the media in the States to recruit to the 'formation committee' the chief executives of key advertising and publishing associations. A telephone survey was conducted without charge by R.H. Bruskin to discover what problems most concerned Americans. The percentages of private citizens who expressed themselves as willing to do volunteer work on specific problems were as follows:
- Drunk driving (64.5%)
- Child abuse (62.1%)
- Missing and runaway children (62%)
- Rape and other sex crimes (56%)
- Drug and alcohol abuse (55.5%)
- Medical care (54.3%)
- Teenage suicide (53.7%)
- Burglary and street crime (53.5%)
- Problems of the elderly (52.3%)
- The hungry and the homeless (51.8%)
- Education system inadequacies (44.9%)
- Problems of the handicapped (43.7%)
- Criminal justice inadequacies (43.6%)
- Adult unemployment (35.9%)
- Environmental problems (35.4%)
- Inadequate affordable housing (32.2%)
- Family problems (31.1%)
- Youth unemployment (31.1%)
- Occupational and product safety (29%)
- Business neglect of community (21.3%)
They decided to focus only on these problems and to use their media contacts to advertise for media coverage of solutions, netting some thousand entries for their catalogue of headlines, a 'Can Do!' Databank Catalogue of 'Hundreds of Ideas to Change Your World'. This will be published as 20 separate booklets in 20 problem categories.
'Senior Gleaners, citizens over 50 years of age who operate warehouses in the San Fernando Valley from which they dispense donated food that would otherwise have gone to waste, helping feed 63,000 people'
They offer prizes for the best media coverage of community projects. One winner was an article in the Christian Science Monitor about 'Senior Gleaners', citizens over 50 years of age who operate warehouses in the San Fernando Valley from which they dispense donated food that would otherwise have gone to waste, helping feed 63,000 people.
Some of the more intriguing media articles listed in the catalogue are, for example:
229. Drunk driving. Hotel rewards groups who designate one person in the party as the non-drinking driver.
293. Drunk driving. TV spot with taxi company's offer of a free ride home.
135. Missing and runaway children. Strategies for protecting children from kidnapping.
'Problems of the elderly. Love Exchange (grade-school pen pals) and Homeshare (youthful 'roomers')'
8. Problems of the elderly. Love Exchange (grade-school pen pals for the elderly) and Homeshare (youthful 'roomers' living in an old person's house), Tulip Street ('senior centre').
87. Problems of the handicapped. Tender Loving Zoo takes animals to shut-ins and to the handicapped.
127. Problems of the neighbourhood. Albert Einstein Medical Centre's Capuchin Monkey Project provides trained pets to assist quadriplegics.
American Values Community Action Network, Suite 1203, 211 E. 43rd Street, New York, NY 10017, USA (tel 212 818 1360).
Previous / Next / Table of Contents