#DigOutLehigh - first report

We started with one goal: to help at least one car owner extract their vehicle from mounds of snow and ice. Yesterday, a small group of people (Four; and one of us with the right equipment) decided to form a small team to grab a shovel and just start digging. Three of us work at Lehigh, and we all live in NOT South Bethlehem. One of the team members has no relationship to Lehigh (doesn't work there, didn't graduate from there), but is one of the most respected volunteers in Bethlehem, he's my neighbor and a really good friend. Yep, he's the one with the right equipment, too.

Kathy Frederick, Stacey Kimmel, Todd Dietrich and myself. What do we have in common?
We are all older than 30 years old; one just slightly.
We all had some flexibility in our schedule.
We all love to burn calories (Shoveling snow burns 500 calories per hour!)
We all appreciate our garages, car parks and spacious driveways.
We all have seen the road conditions in South Bethlehem.
We all needed to do something about it.

I started recruiting with a hashtag on Monday, after posting a picture of me helping one student dig her car out of a Lehigh parking lot. Through a few comments in social media, it became clear that many residents understand the conflict: students don't have the equipment needed to dig out their cars. And guess what? The stores are not stocked with shovels either. I was so happy to see a few friends join me in not just complaining, but in their willingness to pick up a shovel.

Just moments before our scheduled rendezvous, someone posted a link to this article about the same motivation, validating our actions.

When we got to our selected meeting point, we discovered the city was going to remove the snow that night, and alerted everyone to move their cars. There was no email, no posting on a website, no press release, no warning. Just signs planted in the snow mounds. These signs were planted at some point during the day. When the students are in classes. By the time most of them returned to their homes, panic hit. They called their landlords wondering where they were going to be able to move their cars. Luckily, a few administrators at Lehigh worked out a temporary situation, but it definitely took a network of knowing who on campus can actually get things done - thanks, Dale Kochard!

We started at 3:30 to take the most advantage of late afternoon sun to melt the ice a bit. We started with the first person digging out, a nice young man named Alex. By 4:15 traffic started to increase, school busses were playing chicken with cars fighting for right of way. We were trying to put snow anywhere we could that would get cars out. Realizing we would just have to move snow twice, we just started throwing it anywhere.

Neighbors helped. Students called their friends to help. Landlords (Louis, you are awesome) came out to work with their tenants. Yes, there are actually landlords who step up in these situations. Not all are absentee. We took turns digging and pushing while dodging cars that didn't have patience for us. We were getting worried about what might happen after dark. I called Campus Police to help traffic flow. Dispatch told me to call the city. I called the city - no guarantees for help in a growing safety concern.

After 2 hours and 15 minutes, we got three cars out; Alex, Cheri and another Alex. I also met two fine neighbors Carlos and his wife, who offered us coffee. Other people were working on other cars and had equipment. We left feeling good about our efforts, but worried that the city would actually come through and clear the snow.

I'm happy to end this post on a positive note:

Lehigh University's Community Parterships Advisory Group

I couldn't be more excited about working with some of my colleagues on issues that are important to all of us at the university: community partnerships.

Lehigh has a long history of community engagement. The Office of Community and Regional Affairs and the Office of University Communications and Public Affairs recently completed a report that describes current programs and partnerships between Lehigh and the local community that support the mission of community engagement. What is very exciting, is being able to work with Dale Kochard. He's all around LEHIGH! Just find him on a rainy day, walking the streets of Bethlehem in his brown Lehigh Cap; smile on his face and a jaunty step. Dale is one of the most positive forces on this planet!

All areas of the institution are represented; all colleges, student affairs, athletics, academic outreach, and the arts. Every member of this group holds community engagement in highest regard. We're conscious of actions that build on existing partnerships, or create new relationships.

Through many activities, ArtsLehigh is driven to raise awareness of the available arts and creative activities on campus that may interest local citizens. We also encourage our students, faculty and staff to take advantage of the many resources in our community for exploration, learning, and entertainment.

Keys to great partnerships, is understanding what makes it work for BOTH parties. We must attribute the relationship whether the partnership is between the institution and a corporation, foundation, private donor, or community agency. We attribute gifts by naming buildings. When our research is backed by grants from government or foundations, each grant earned is recognized. For community agencies, our service and academic expertise supports their mission. We must continue to hold ourselves accountable for equal attribution. And we do.

It's not just about what's good for Lehigh - but what's good for the community.

Community Relations; an arts administrator’s art &; family

I saw some amazing things at the March 5th First Friday. This event was highly anticipated by the ArtsLehigh program, as it was the opening of a unique art installation in six storefronts along East Third Street.  The installation is one of a four-part series of art experiences dedicated to Women’s History month.

This blog post is not about the creation of the art – but of the installation. There is an “art” to this as well. Some administrators may find the work necessary to realize another person's artistic vision to be labor intensive. Perhaps it is challenging; or, downright TEDIOUS. I live for it! It’s almost like the role of a mid-wife. We encourage the curators and the artists. But on another level, we strive to assure community partner comfort with the experiments. This is a vital part to our institution’s evolving relationships with multiple constituents in our local community.

The local constituents referred to in this post are the merchants of central South Bethlehem. They were always open to the installation idea. But the artists had to find a balance between their work and the stores’ identity to their customers.  After the initial installation in one of the stores, the artist was only able to partially complete it. The store had a big, black shroud over the street-facing window. The store looked closed. It was a shroud of retail death. It worried us all. Hours before opening, the artist finished the installation with a beautiful cut away – which now makes the installation even more intriguing, and the merchant – very happy.
Here’s a little secret. The incomplete installation wasn’t a good signal to passers by. While the store looked closed, the merchant was patient. All the other merchants expressed concerns about it; and shared them with me directly.  It was the way they looked out for their neighbor that told me this is a real family on 3rd street.

There’s another family on west Fourth Street. See, First Friday goes up there, too. I stopped by HomeBase skate shop to check in with my friend Andy Po. He was in the middle of surprise for one of their loyal customers. When I saw the post on his website this morning – my heart grew even greater for this store and this community. I was so moved by my affection – I came back for a haircut at Eskandalo the next day.

The South Side merchant family is why I’m proud to wear my Bethlehem citizen badge. And the joy in my work is why I’m satisfied.

Gentle reader, if you want to know more about the art, I would direct you to the One Stone Collective website for the 3rd street installation. The installation runs until March 27th. And if you haven't yet voted for the Pepsi Refresh Project funding for the Bethlehem Skatepark - Please click here: bookmark it and vote every day. Our city's chance for $250,000 runs out March 31st.