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Circles of Support (CoS)

Circles of Support is a high-impact strategy built on community support to assist community members in need.

The basic idea has been around for a while. The Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., saw it as he sat in his cell in the Birmingham jail seeking the strength to challenge the system of segregation.

“We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality,” he recognized then, “tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.”

With this basic idea, Circles of Support began in Iowa as a community development initiative committed to the empowerment and economic self-sufficiency of families and individuals in need. The program engages the greater community to:

  • understand the impact of a lack of adequate resources
  • utilize their own networking resources to help community members succeed in a supportive environment
  • support community members to advocate for systemic change that will strengthen families and transform communities

Learn more by watching the NeighborKeepers video on Blip.TV.