Turning the Tide on Poverty

Community champions as critical elements of success in economically distressed communities

Bibliographic Data

ID6181503
AuthorsSheri Lokken Worthy (0000-0001-7069-830X), Laura Downey (0000-0001-7604-4518), Patricia Hyjer Dyk, Pamela Monroe, Pamela A Monroe, Crystal Tyler-Mackey (0000-0001-9623-8723), Rachel Welborn
Year2016
Volume47
Issue3
Pages341-357
Publication date2016-05-26
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueCommunity Development (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1557-5330 • E-ISSN: 1944-7485
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/15575330.2016.1167096
OpenAlexW2322268689
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited7

Turning the Tide on Poverty is designed in part to expand the number of new voices in community dialogs and to spur those individuals to become leaders in their communities. In this article, we explore the degree to which the success of the Tide project is linked to the emergence or presence of a local champion. We defined a champion as a catalyst or sparkplug and then examined the extant literature and our data to determine the qualities of a champion. When a person (or persons) who was enthusiastic, rallied others, and provided momentum and passion for the project emerged, that person often was identified by other community members as a key element in the success of Tide. We argue that such a person is a community champion and discuss our findings within the Community Capitals Framework. Implications for spurring improvements in distressed communities in the southern US are discussed

Champion · Community development · Economic growth · Economics · Extant taxon · Political science · Poverty · Public relations · Sociology · Community Health and Development · Service-Learning and Community Engagement · Social Capital and Networks · Law