Section I
Opening Statement
This Community Development Action Plan is for Walmart in the Chatham Community on 83 S Steward on the southern side of Chicago, IL (Chicago Cityscape, 2016) (See Appendix I and II). The social issue in the community is about elderly residents. The elderly residents in the area are facing problems accessing healthy food. This is because they have no other means of getting fresh healthy food. I would like to create a community development action plan which will involve other stakeholders in the community. The plan is to have Walmart to create a budget and look for their own delivery service to transport the fresh food to the retired elderly residents of Chatham community. The elderly are unable to get out of their homes and look for fresh food elsewhere. Some of the elderly residents are too old to walk out of their homes and look for food and others are ill. Some are even too old and also ill.
Elderly people need healthy food. Unlike young energetic people, the elderly need special food. Although they need same food like other members of family, the food should be less in high calorie foods such as carbohydrates, oils and fats (Coward, 2002). Most elderly people are facing other complications associated with old age. These complications are accentuated with lack of adequate and quality food. The food issue and the elderly forms the basis of this community action plan. This community development action plan aims to help the elderly residents to access healthy food delivered to them by Walmart stores because they cannot access fresh foods elsewhere. Fresh food will be delivered from Walmart to the elderly using Peapod delivery service.
History of the issue.
Available statistics show 5.4 million America were facing starvation in 2013. This comprised elderly aged over 60 while in 2014, up to 3 million of those aged over 65 faced starvation. By 2040. Elderly population would be approximately 80 million and many would be starving (Feeding America, 2016). Access to affordable and nutritious fresh food among the elderly in Chatham has a long history. Most of the elderly people living in the area are retired and they are unable to get out and look for fresh food in the Chatham community. This has been going on for a long time even before Walmart store was opened in the area. In the recent past, there has been no program that cater for the needs of the elderly. Most of the elderly stay alone and finds it difficult to get food. These old people therefore rely on well-wishers, churches, and others to get food.
Previous attempt to resolve the issue
Although the issue of food insecurity among the elderly population has been widely discussed, there has been little progress in terms of policies to find lasting solutions (Strickhouser, Wright, and Donley, 2015). There has not been any attempt to implement such an action in Chatham community in the past. This is therefore a new project.
Overall benefit of action plan
The overall benefit of this community action plan is to ensure that the elderly people of Walnut get access to adequate healthy food on a regular basis so that they can sustain healthy living. The outcome of this action plan is to reduce cases of malnutrition among the elderly residents of the area.
For whom, by whom, in what time periods
This community action plan is designed to benefit retired elderly residents of Chatham community by concerned parties who wish to come up with a sustainable solution for the current inadequate and poor healthy diet. The action plan will be implemented for a period of five years.
B. Stakeholders
The success of this program will require participation of various stakeholders in the community. This include Walmart, Peapod service delivery agents, government officials, community church leaders, kin of the elderly, political actors, and any other community leader playing an active role in defending the interests of the minority.
Reason for choosing stakeholders
The success of the project is partly contributed by the degree of involvement of project stakeholders (PMI, 2015). Every stakeholder has been chosen for a reason. Government officials takes statistics on census and they know how many elderly people reside in the place. Walmart representattive has to be there because food will be obtained from their stores while Peapod service agents will deliver the food from Walmart to the elderly residents. Community religious leaders have played a key role in mobilizing their congregation to offer support to the elderly in the area. They too know something about the elderly people and the information they have is very crucial. Kin of the elderly has information regarding the elderly because they are close to them. Political actors help in addressing social issues because they can influence policies in favor of the minority. By participating in the plan, they too will get to learn more about the elderly and how they can utilize their position to help them.
C. Key resources needed to address the social issue
The major resource required to address the social issue is money to buy food for the elderly. The other resource required is the means of delivery (vehicle) of the bought food to the elderly. In this case, Peapod delivery service will be contracted to do the deliveries. The elderly are at various stages of old age. Some are too old to eat on their own. As such, another resource is somebody who can assist to feed the elderly who are too old or too sick to eat on their own. The old does not eat food which any young person can eat. They require special diet. The composition of the diet could be designed in such a way that it offers greater healthy life of the elderly. Some are sick while others might need balanced healthy diet to remain healthy. Based on this, there is a need to have a specialist in food and nutrition and/or a nurse.
Resources
The following is a summary of resources, their cost, and their relative importance in this Community Development Action Plan.
The key assumption is that there will be no demographic changes among the elderly communities in the area. For example, that the elderly will not increase drastically in the near future because some elderly people in other places might migrate to enjoy the service. Also, the dietician and nurse can be part-time. They are not regular employees of the facility.
Securing resources
Money for the program will be raised using various approaches. Food will be bought on a daily or intervals which are deemed appropriate for the program. To avoid storage problem, food will be delivered on a daily basis from Walmart stores to the elderly residents using Peapod delivery service. Dietician and nurse are crucial for the program. However, they will be only around on a temporary basis. They will serve until the end of the program.
D. Development, communication, implementation
The community development plan will be developed by conceptualizing and planning it at initial stage. This involve brainstorming with the stakeholders on the best way forward and doing a feasibility study to determine its sustainability. Next is the issue of financial resources. Cost estimations will done to come up with a figure of the approximate total cost to run the project. A budget will then be prepared and a cost control measure then put in place. A baseline budget will be prepared alongside the general budget. A cost management plan is then designed to help in management of costs to ensure that there will be no cost overruns during implementation (Whitaker, Heldman, Mangano, and Feddersen, 2016). A communication plan will be designed for the program detailing the nature of the information that will be communicated, the method in which information will be communicated, when information will be delivered, the person holding responsibility for project information, requirements for communication among the various stakeholders, method of communicating sensitive/confidential information, management of changes of information and methods of communicating, flow of project communication, internal and external constraints to communication, and standard templates or formats of communication (Dow and Taylor, 2008). The program will be implemented fully if adequate funds are available. Otherwise, it will be implemented in phases.
E. Evaluation of development, communication, implementation
Monitoring and evaluation, communication, and implementation will be done by observation and scoring progress as per the project baseline prepared during the project planning. Feedback forms will be used to evaluate development, communication, and implementation to find out whether the project outcomes were met.
F. Tracking and reporting progress
Program will be tracked by analyzing reports generated by Walmart, Dietician, and nurse. A comprehensive report will be also prepared by assigning an independent party to conduct a survey and obtain the views of the elderly regarding the program. The report will be send to the program stakeholders. This will be done quarterly.
G. Exit Strategy
(a). Leadership/succession
In the course of operation, leaders will be developed who can take over when the program comes to an end. There will be training of potential leaders in the local community or other charitable organization with similar program.
(b). Long term funding plan
Long term funding will be secured by linking the program with other well established charitable organizations with adequate funding to support the program for a longer period of time. Other strategies involve creating a website for the program, and also collaborating with Walmart to solicit help from the shoppers. Shoppers can make small donations every time they shop at Walmart and the proceeds saved for the program. Shoppers will be clearly informed about the program. In the website, people from any corner of the world can read more about the program and they can contribute.
Section II
Goals and Actions Steps
Key outcome goals
The key outcome goals for this Community Development Project are:
Plan for each outcome goal
Responsible stakeholders are Walmart, Peapod delivery service, the staff employed to assist the elderly, the kin of the elderly, and the local leaders.
The food will be supplied once a day by Walmart through a delivery agent. The package consist of meal that can last the entire length of the day. Nurse and dietician are to visit at least once a week.
The project cost for this specific goal is $416, 750.
Sources of funding include fundraising events, donations from associated charitable organization, government funding, individuals, and companies.
The positive outcome of this goal is increased access to adequate fresh food and reduced complications associated with food among the elderly residents.
Measurable success about this project is the comments by the elderly about the impact of the program in their lives. A survey will be carried out to determine the views of the elderly residents.
Section III
Community Action Plan Resilience
Strengths that enhance success and sustainability
The key strengths that will enhance the success and sustainability of this project is adequate funds, Presence of an efficient delivery agent, proximity to Walmart, committed staff, and supportive local community.
Potential weakness that can hinder success and sustainability
Weakness include intermittent cash flow
Taking advantage of the current marketplace situation
Purchasing food in large scale, delivering in bulk, and negotiating for discounts
Addressing potential threats
Key potential threats are funds. With adequate funds, it will be easier to handle the rest of the threats. An attempt will be made to identify sustainable sources of adequate funds.
Section V
Source and Use Budgets
Reference materials
Useful reference materials include local government statistics, community development plans of similar organizations, statutory publications, websites of stores, website of logistics service providers, catalogs, books, journals, and reports.
Learning
I have learned how to prepare a community development plan. I have also learnt the key issues involved in the community development plan such as conceptualization, planning, preparation of budget, implementation, handling various stakeholders, risk analysis, and ensuring that the source of funds is sustainable.
Using learning experience
Knowledge gained in the preparation of this community development plan is useful in future because it is transferable. I ca apply the knowledge in a similar setup or if I happen to register a community development project on my own or as a group. Further, I will be in a position to advise better anyone intending to start a community development project or any other project. Project management is almost similar across sectors and I find this knowledge very applicable in future.
References
Chicago Cityscape. (2016). 83rd/Stewart: Retrieved from:
Coward, A. (2002). Home Economics in Action. Oxford: CAHE
Dow, & Taylor. (2008). Project Management Communications Bible. Indianapolis, IN: Wiley Publishing
Feeding America. (2016). Senior Hunger Facts. Retrieved from: http://www.feedingamerica.org/hunger-in-america/impact-of-hunger/senior-hunger/senior-hunger-fact-sheet.html?referrer=https://www.google.com/
Project Management Institute (PMI). (2015). Engaging Stakeholders for Project Success. Retrieved from: https://www.pmi.org/~/media/PDF/learning/engaging-stakeholders-project-success.ashx
Strickhouser, S., Wright, J.D., & Donley, A.M. (2015). Food Insecurity among Older Adults. Retrieved from: http://www.aarp.org/content/dam/aarp/aarp_foundation/2015-PDFs/AF-Food-Insecurity-2015Update-Final-Report.pdf
Whitaker, S., Heldman, K, Mangano, V., and Feddersen, B. (2016). PMP Project Management. Danvers, MA: John Wiley & Sons.
Appendix I
Appendix II
