Progress Village
"A virtual village of neighbors helping neighbors; creating pathways to opportunities and solutions."
Progress Village is a group of neighbors who want to play an active role in their own community's response to poverty by helping others understand the reality and challenges of living in the crisis of poverty.
Our Beginnings
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Collaborating partners of the Traverse Bay PRI realized that a shared mission and coordinated service delivery across the region could produce solid results. Traverse Bay PRI learned early on that relationships make the difference when helping people realize their vision to exit poverty. Through their nearly eight-year history, partners of PRI became increasingly convinced that the journey to reduce poverty must have shared, equal representation from people who are living in poverty; Dr. Donna Beegle calls them "Authentic Voices". The commitment by Traverse Bay PRI to increase participation of those living in poverty led them to conduct a survey of people that had attended the Opportunity Conferences to identify willing participants. These participants attended a workshop with Dr. Donna Beegle, Authentic Leadership, and continued to meet to name the group and identify their vision. They are PROGRESS VILLAGE, and the members are identified as NEIGHBORS. |
View a video on UpNorthTV as Amanda Hilt, youth and family coordinator at the United Way of NWMI, interviews Ranae McCauley, program instructor, MSU Extension, and Dana Tuller, Progress Village. |
Our Vision
“A virtual village of neighbors helping neighbors; creating pathways to opportunities and solutions.”
Our First Event
Introduction to Poverty 101
Progress Village in Traverse City organized an event called Introduction to Poverty 101 to help local service providers understand the facts, myths, and realities of living in poverty. Progress Village is made up of people who've struggled with poverty and are now working with the Traverse Bay Poverty Reduction Initiative to provide community outreach. Watch the video to find out more about Progress Village and the event.
