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Current Initiatives  Outside My Window |
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 Vision Within 10 years, McHenry County will be recognized among counties its size, both within Illinois and nationally, for effectively harnessing its creative resources as a primary driver in enhancing quality of life. Involvement Advocacy will be a catalyst for this insurgent creative spark. :: top :: Mission Involvement Advocacy is committed to developing and deploying programs that actively engage the citizens of McHenry County in self-expression, dialogue and action in order to address pressing social, economic, cultural and civic needs in the community. :: top :: Our Manifesto* Creativity is fundamental to being human and is a critical resource to individual, community and economic life. Creative communities are vibrant, humanizing places, nurturing personal growth, sparking cultural and technological breakthroughs, producing jobs and wealth and accepting a variety of lifestyles and culture. Creativity resides in everyone, everywhere, so building a community of ideas means empowering all people with the ability to express themselves and use the genius of their own creativity and bringing it to bear as responsible citizens. This is Involvement Advocacy’s call to action: 1. Cultivate creativity. Everyone is part of the value chain of creativity. Creativity can happen at any time, anywhere, and it’s happening in McHenry County right now. 2. Investigate the creative ecosystem. The creative ecosystem can include arts and culture, nightlife, the music scene, restaurants, artists and designers, innovators, entrepreneurs, affordable spaces, lively neighborhoods, spirituality, education and public spaces. 3. Embrace diversity. It gives birth to creativity, innovation, and positive economic impact. People of different backgrounds and experiences contribute a diversity of ideas, expressions, talents and perspectives that enrich communities. 4. Nurture the creatives. Support the connectors. Collaborate to compete in new ways and get everyone involved. 5. Value risk-taking. Convert a "no" climate into a "yes" climate. Focus on opportunity-making, not just problem-solving. Tap into the creative talent, technology and energy in McHenry County. Challenge conventional wisdom. 6. Be authentic. Identify our strengths and focus on the areas that make McHenry County unique. Dare to be different. Resist homogeneity. 7. Focus on quality of place, such as arts and culture, open and green spaces, vibrant downtowns, and centers of learning that can be developed and strengthened. 8. Remove barriers to creativity, such as mediocrity, intolerance, disconnectedness, sprawl, poverty, poor schools, exclusivity, and social and environmental degradation. 9. Take responsibility for enhancing the quality of life in the community. Improvise. Make things happen. This is a "do-it-yourself" challenge. Others will not do it for us. 10. Ensure that every person, especially children, has the right to be creative. The highest quality of lifelong education is critical to developing and retaining creative individuals as a resource in the community. * This manifesto was adapted from The Memphis Manifesto, The Memphis Manifesto Summit, held between April 30 — May 2, 2003 in Memphis, Tennessee, was the first gathering of the Creative 100. Selected from nominations from across North America by the summit hosts, the Creative 100 represented the creative class in all its diversity and multiplicity. Coming from 48 cities in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico, the Creative 100 wrote the manifesto for their own communities seeking to compete in today’s economy. :: top :: Current Initiatives OUTSIDE MY WINDOW 2nd Annual McHenry County Community Art Project Outside My Window is the second annual countywide community art project. Our first annual, the highly successful Many Faces One Community, commonly known as Many Faces, asked residents of all ages to look at themselves and create an image for all to see. It was “All about me.” This year we’re asking our family, friends, and neighbors to look at the world of McHenry County. Outside My Window holds promises of natural, man-made and imaginary environments creatively presented. To express how you “see” McHenry County, think of a scene close to home or far away that celebrates the beauty, ritual, treasure (or trash), cultural heritage, etc. of our community that only you can uncover. Last year's Many Faces self-portrait project received 206 entries, representing 19 communities. The youngest artist was 3, the oldest 83. We look for this year's project to be even bigger. On-going Initiatives  Blue Sky Project is a summer arts community that links professional artists with youth from McHenry County aged 14-18. Specifically, Blue Sky Project fosters the individual growth of artists and young people, while enhancing artistic understanding and commitment to the community. We provide unmatched experiences for our youth participants, allowing them to develop their artistic abilities, leadership, critical-thinking and creative problem-solving skills. Long-term we will attract artists from around the country who seek new avenues to pursue artistic investigations that include the participation of young people as well as serve as a model for achieving community development through artistic production. :: top :: History Involvement Advocacy was founded in Chicago in 1992 by Peter Benkendorf, to provide individual citizens the opportunity and resources fundamental to addressing systemic community needs. In 1993 Involvement Advocacy created Sister Neighborhoods, an initiative to link up residents of resource-rich communities with those of more limited resources. The first relationship was between the north shore suburb of Winnetka and the Chicago public housing community of Cabrini-Green, much to the surprise of many. A number of exchanges and programs took place over the first year, however the one project that took hold was the establishment of Voices of Cabrini, the only resident-run community newspaper in the Chicago public housing. Through Voices of Cabrini, which received national recognition for highlighting the positive activities taking place in the community, residents were trained in writing and interviewing techniques, project management, desktop publishing and advertising sales. As a result, a number of people working on the paper were able to gain full- or part-time employment and the paper was self-supporting over its four-years of publication. However, at a higher level, hundreds of people of all ages from throughout the community who had never been heard, took advantage of an opportunity to share something important and begin to make a difference. In 2000, Benkendorf relocated to McHenry County and in 2004 Involvement Advocacy was reconstituted with a local board of directors to initiate Blue Sky Project, as well as other innovative programs that offer new frameworks for community-building. :: top :: About the Founder A highly creative conceptual thinker, Peter Benkendorf is both a Brand and a Social-Change Catalyst. On the business side, Peter has broad-based experience, from brand development to implementation of integrated marketing campaigns, with particular emphasis on the relationship between brand, product and communications. Prior to launching his own brand practice in 1999, Peter spent seven years as a partner and Director of Client Service at Magnani, a Chicago-based marketing and advertising agency. There he worked on a variety of packaged goods, hard goods retail and service-sector accounts, including: Sunbeam Household Products, Nestlé Clinical Nutrition, Allstate Insurance Company, Culligan and the Greater Chicago Food Depository. He also directed Magnani’s new product development practice, working with Quaker Oats, Whirlpool, S.C. Johnson, Johnson & Johnson and Frito-Lay. Peter began his career on the client side, first as Product Manager-Fitness with the Schwinn Bicycle Company, where he successfully grew the fitness line into the company’s largest profit contributor, and then, as Marketing Manager at Dacor Corporation, a leading manufacturer of scuba diving equipment. In 2006, Peter teamed with a group of youthful collaborators to form Precinct 12 (www.Precinct12.com), a new agency dedicated to developing original products, marketing content and advertising for 18 - 25 year-olds. Individually, the group represents a diversity of creative and technical backgrounds-some of which one would not expect to find in a marketing organization. Collectively they push boundaries with daring, original work, made only better through collaboration. Peter is a graduate of the University of Cincinnati. He holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering. :: top :: Board of Directors Don Englert, President Retired, McHenry County Regional Superintendent of Schools Betsy Sodergren, Secretary Retired, Corporate Communications Executive Tom Ellinghausen, Treasurer Owner, Forge Technologies Greg Buchannan Assistant Superintendent, Woodstock District 200 Lynn Carlson Arts Advocate Catherine Cox Marketing Consultant Dan Deters Richmond Village Trustee Joel Green Director, McHenry County Cooperative for Employment Education Sheila Highland VP – Marketing & Circulation, Northwest NewsGroup Luisa Lauf Bilingual Counselor, McHenry County College Don Metivier Chairman, SportDecals, Inc. Glenda O’Brien Plant Manager, Claussen Pickles Paul Rice Owner, Construction Management Concepts Nancy Sobol Realtor, ReMax Transitions Tim Stratton Vice President, Hutchinson, Shockey, Erley & Co. John Truskowski Partner, Lord Bissell & Brook Michelle Zimmerman Art Department Head, McHenry West High School :: top :: Contact Office: The Starline Building 306 West Front Street, Suite 100 Harvard, Illinois 60033 847.287.6702 info@involvementadvocacy.org Mail: P.O. Box 575 Woodstock, Illinois 60098 :: top :: |
