Monthly
Column
Introduction
of Robin Drunsic:
By
Robin Drunsic
February, 2009
I
would like to take this opportunity to introduce myself
to the Seacoast community. My name is Robin Drunsic and
I am the Executive Director of Squamscott Community Commons
(The Commons). I moved to Exeter from Vermont 2 1/2 years
ago, and within a week of being here, became involved
with The Commons. Initially, the YMCA component of the
project peaked my interest. As new community members,
my husband and I were excited about the notion of affordable
recreation and activities for our young sons, particularly
in the long New England winter months. As my involvement
and understanding of the project has deepened, these benefits
are still high on my list, but there are others equally
powerful, particularly around collaboration and connection.
We
started the “Commons Sense” column about five
months ago to let Seacoast community leaders share their
thoughts on how this project will enhance and enrich our
community. Although the physical walls of the community
center have yet to be constructed, we are already sensing
a new spirit of community building with people making
stronger connections and working together in new ways
around this project. Each and every day I am inspired
by the positive connections that have been made through
this project. One of the founding principals behind this
first-of-a-kind collaboration between a YMCA and non-profit
agencies is that by locating several organizations together
under one roof – our whole becomes much greater
than the sum of its parts. This synergy is already being
manifested in many exciting ways.
An
exciting example of this is the new collaboration between
Great Bay Kids’ Company and Richie McFarland Children’s
Center – both of whom are involved with The Commons.
These two organizations are joining forces to open a new
center at Pease International Tradeport, which will serve
up to 270 children. Through their teaming up in developing
Squamscott Community Commons, they realized that working
together again in this new location would create a beneficial
alliance for the Tradeport community by mutually serving
working families and their children. A great example of
how collaborating and working together in new ways has
opened doors for these organizations, and more importantly
for the beneficiaries of their services!
We
have also had great opportunities to work with local students
from Philips Exeter Academy and the Seacoast School of
Technology (SST). The SST students have helped us to market
and plan events, they have catered events for us, and
we are currently working with the SST engineering program
to create a model of the building which we can use for
fundraising purposes. These students are genuinely interested
in helping with this project and we see so many opportunities
now and in the future to continue to work together. On
Earth Day we organized a Little River Clean-up on-site
and had a large group of students volunteers from Philips
Exeter Academy spend the day along with other volunteers
to learn about the condition of the Little River and help
to clean-up the site. These collaborations between The
Commons and area students provide opportunities for learning
and community involvement and allow the organization to
take advantage of valuable contributions that these young
people can make in our community.
At
a more grass roots level, this project has inspired individuals
familiar with The Commons to host house parties for their
neighbors to learn more about the project. These events
are bringing people together and allowing neighbors to
make new connections with their community.
As
we navigate these uncertain times, the value of community
and connections that we make has never been more important.
Through this project, our lives are richer, our community
is stronger, and we are working together in smarter and
newer ways... I don’t know about you, but that seems
like Common Sense to me!
