"About two years ago, it was with some trepidation that Skip Halpern and Sara Finn first approached the council on behalf of the Page County chapter of Community Works, a recently launched strategy designed to get neighbors working together across the divide. Their request that the council support water testing by the Friends of the Shenandoah River was unanimously approved."
"Like other Community Works chapters in Virginia and elsewhere, the Page County chapter undertakes a wide array of community service activities about three times each month. Whether they're testing water, picking up trash, installing fire alarms in trailer homes or distributing food to homebound residents, Community Works' activities are done with no politicking or proselytizing."
"Community Works was designed as a pilot project to test whether sustained, concrete, nonpolitical action at the local level would gradually rebuild trust in rural and red communities, and some rural"
Luray, Virginia, a small Republican-dominated town in Page County's Shenandoah Valley, initially presented challenges for local Democrats seeking engagement with town leadership. Community Works, a strategy launched to unite neighbors across political divides, approached the Luray Town Council with a water testing proposal that received unanimous approval. This success initiated ongoing collaboration between the Democratic-supported Community Works and predominantly conservative churches, civic groups, and governmental bodies throughout the county. Community Works conducts diverse service activities approximately three times monthly, including water testing, trash removal, fire alarm installation, and food distribution, all conducted without political messaging or religious proselytizing. Since its launch in rural Virginia in summer 2023 and expansion to Georgia, anecdotal evidence indicates Community Works effectively builds trust and reduces partisan polarization in rural communities.
Read at The Nation
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