This morning, I attended the MetroHartford Alliance breakfast where Brian Gallagher, the CEO of United Way Worldwide was the keynote speaker. Brian's primary messages was that, if we are going to solve intractable social problems, we need to build collaborations with business, nonprofit organizations, and government. No one of these entities can solve a problem like hunger or homelessness on their own. In addition, he noted that success means engaging people. Engaging people facing challenges to better understand those challenges and engaging people who can help in meaningful ways.
I left that event and went straight to a meeting of the Windsor Hunger Action Team. And it occurred to me that we were doing exactly what Brian was talking about. The twenty people who attended the Hunger Action Team meeting included representatives of various town departments - school food services and social work, public health, social services, and the police department - along with churches, nonprofit organizations, one business person, and community volunteers. We even talked about how to bring more business people to the table.
I agree with Brian Gallagher that these kinds of collaborations have the capacity to end hunger and am excited about working with this group.
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