photo

Our Initiative

The Communities for All Ages Core Team:
The core team currently consists of the board members of Concho CAN

  • Tamara Talbot - President
  • Barbara Baum - VP/Secretary
  • Carol Smith
  • Cecilia Roberts
  • Linda Jones
  • Susan Pennington

The board is comprised of Concho community residents that have affiliations and connections with a range of organizations and institutions including the Concho Elementary school board, Concho irrigation water system, Foundation Board for Summit Regional Healthcare and Navajo County Tobacco Education and Prevention Program.

Funding and/or in kind support:

  • Arizona Community Foundation http://www.azfoundation.org
  • Abitibi Consolidated/Catalyst
  • Wal-Mart
  • Salt River Project
  • Safeway
  • Wilbur’s IGA Market
  • Nackard-Pepsi
  • SRP Booster Club
  • Navajo and Apache County Attorneys’ and Sheriffs’ Community Fund
  • Parenting Arizona
  • Concho Red Hats Society
  • White Mountain Woman's Club
  • United Way of Northern Arizona www.nazunitedway.org
  • Apache County Board of Supervisors

Community Linkages:
Community Members, Churches and Services Clubs

  • Sovereign Grace Baptist Church
  • Concho Valley Lions Club http://concholionsclub.com/
  • Assembly of God Church
  • San Rafael Catholic Church
  • Unity of the White Mountains

Businesses
Carol Smith, C.P.A.


Community/Social Service Organizations

  • Old Concho Community Assistance Center
  • Little Colorado Behavioral Health Center http://www.lcbhc.org/
  • Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northeastern Arizona http://www.bbbsneaz.org/
  • Concho Fire Department and Women’s Auxiliary
  • Arizona Youth Partnership
  • Apache County 4-H
  • B.L.U.S.H. Chapter
  • Concho Farmer’s Market, Inc. www.conchofarmersmarket.org
  • Concho Valley Country Club Men's Golf Association

Education

  • Concho Elementary School District http://www.conchoschool.net/
  • U of A Cooperative Extension
  • Northern Arizona University
  • Arizona Game and Fish

Government

  • Apache County Health Department
  • Apache County Adult Probation
  • Apache County Juvenile Court Services
  • Apache County Superior Court
  • NACOG Community Action Board
  • USDA
  • AZ Rural Development Council

Phase of development: IMPLEMENTATION PHASE

Starting date: January 2005


Our community assessment and planning work helped us to understand the importance of building a stronger sense of community as a vital first step in our work. We chose three main approaches to the community building process: creating a central gathering center for all ages, developing a local newsletter that would enable our widely dispersed residents to communicate with each other and sponsoring community wide gatherings for all ages.

The Concho Communities for All Ages team succeeded in establishing the Concho Activity Center. At this time the Activity Center is the only existing community space for residents of all ages to congregate. All of the activities and social services in the center, which include computer labs, craft centers, afterschool programs, lunches, exercise and social programs, health services, WIC services, and AARP tax prep, are designed to foster intergenerational connection and interaction.

We have been renting a space for the last 5 years and now are looking to find a permanent site to house and institutionalize the intergenerational hub that the Concho Activity Center has become.

Developing the Activity Center facilitated such a sense of community building among the people of Concho that a newsletter called the “Concho Connection” was created to keep the momentum and connectivity alive. The Concho Connection is sent free of charge to all houses receiving mail through the Concho post office.

The initiative also generated community-wide events and opportunities for intergenerational and intercultural exchanges including community celebrations/parades and a regular farmers market. Participant numbers at these events has been steadily growing every year.