By Morgan Bryce
Associate Editor
This is the first installment of a three-part series on how the community can benefit through utilizing the “Village Creed,” an Opelika/Lee County-based public benefit corporation designed to connect individuals and organizations to services, volunteer opportunities and needs present in the Opelika-Auburn area.
2018 finds society in the heart of the Digital Era, a time in which the world is more connected than ever before through the sheer plethora of platforms that exist to relay information.
This seems like a great problem to have, but many organizations struggle to decide how and which channel is appropriate to both convey their message and reach the public.
The Village Creed, a local public benefit corporation, is harnessing all of these channels and combining them into one central location to streamline that process.
“Think of having a really large mall and a lot of smaller retail shops inside of that mall. Through the Village Creed, every organization will have their own retail shop, a place that they can use to promote events, communicate what their needs are and list what services they offer,” said Village Creed Founder Kermit Farmer. “What we’ve learned is that a lot of organizations just need a singular tool that reaches lots of different web applications at one time. The more that we can help organizations manage their content (including social media) and get funding and volunteer management, the better job we’re doing.”
Once organizations join, they will have the ability to immediately create and share engaging content that includes information about their events, list of services offered, needs, volunteer opportunities and more for Village Creed’s individual users.
“This gives organizations the ability to communicate what their needs are. If, for example, a local public library was in need of Legos, they would share that need,” Farmer said. “Most likely, there are some parents out there who have Legos that their children have outgrown that would be able and willing to help. We’re looking to connect those that have the resources to those in need.”
Monthly memberships start at $9.95 for churches, healthcare providers and nonprofits and $24.95 for government agencies and schools. Individual memberships are free.
Farmer and his team launched Village Creed in Opelika and Lee County earlier this year, and plan to expand this concept in the future.
For more information, email kermit@villagecreed.com or visit www.villagecreed.com/about.
Next week’s installment will focus on the individual user’s experience within the Village Creed.