By Morgan Bryce
Associate Editor
This is the second 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.
One of the Digital Era’s most prominent developments is social media, platforms that have helped connect people and enable them to communicate faster and more efficiently than ever before.
However, social media has limitations. Important discussions pertaining to problems or a lack of services that individuals see in their own communities are happening, but after all the talking is done, what is the next step?
The Village Creed, a local public benefit corporation, provides motivated individuals with an outlet to engage in their communities and find a way to make a difference.
“We have a way to talk about problems now, which is great … it’s beautiful. But we don’t have a way to do something about it, and we’ve developed a solution for that,” said Village Creed Founder Kermit Farmer. “The Village Creed is where people and their passions are connected. It’s a place where people can use their skills, talents, abilities or qualities to connect with others to better their own families and communities.”
Without a membership, individuals looking for ways to contribute to their community can search the Village Creed website and view postings by local churches, ministries, nonprofits and other organizations to find what volunteer opportunities most interest or suit them.
Village Creed membership is free for individuals, however. During the set-up of their account, users will be able to select certain interests. Once joined, theywill be able to access content and postings in their newsfeeds that is tailored to them.
“I think it’s a very healthy thing for people to ask the question, ‘where am I now and where do I want to be tomorrow or five years from now?’ And with all the resources in a community, you should be able to ask those questions in conjunction with the capacity of utilizing all those resources to put yourself or your family in a better position for tomorrow,” Farmer said. “We have the resources now, we have the people now, we have the energy now and the desire, and now it’s time to put all of that into motion.”
Though geared toward people of all ages, backgrounds and walks of life, Village Creed’s “ethos transcript” is an invaluable tool for students to set goals as well as log service hours and time spent honing a particular skill, creating a virtual resume that will benefit them as they advance through their high school and college years.
“What’s powerful about this is that one can see all the evidence of how a person has been engaged in meaningful ways. That’s what colleges want to see to get into school, and employers would love to see the soft skills that they’ve developed,” Farmer said.
Launched in Lee County earlier this year, Village Creed is a concept that Farmer said he and his team hope to expand in the future.
For more information, email kermit@villagecreed.com or visit www.villagecreed.com/about.
Next week’s third and final installment will focus on the “Village Creed News Wire,” a continuously updated community calendar. This calendar will focus on disaster recovery efforts of Hurricane Michael to inform our community on events and volunteer opportunities to get plugged as everyone can make a difference.