This post is a re-print of an article published by the Georgia Tech Office of Undergraduate Education.
Georgia Tech's Serve-Learn-Sustain recently hosted an Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD) session in Jackson, GA.
The session was part of a short course, titled "ABCD in Practice," aimed to introduce and review the basics of ABCD, which is an approach that focuses on working with communities based on their assets and strengths.
The course, led by two Serve-Learn-Sustain faculty members, Dr. Jennifer Hirsch, and Dr. Ruthie Yow, was open to undergraduate and graduate students, as well as community partners from outside Georgia Tech.
In February, course participants visited the Henderson School, an all-Black school in Jackson, GA, that opened in 1955 and closed in 2010. The school is being restored and repurposed by the Henderson School Alumni Association Trust (HSAAT), which hopes to turn the building into a community and workforce development center. Participants worked with HSAAT and other community members to brainstorm ways to move the restoration forward. "Often, you may only get a small slice of the community when you do this type of work," said Yow. "But in this case, the diverse group included pastors, teachers, a representative from Georgia Power, local officials, an economic development officer, and staff from the local historical association.