NCA Center for Communication, Community CollaboratioN, and Change (CCCC)

The NCA Center for Communication, Community Collaboration, and Change (CCCC) seeks to facilitate partnerships with community-based organizations that create sustainable change for underrepresented and/or vulnerable communities through the production and application of communication-related scholarship and practice that lead to measurable outcomes for its community partners. The CCCC believes that when the best of communication praxis is coupled with community-based social justice efforts, communities tend to benefit.

Democracy Tables: An Experiment in Community Connection

A Collaboration with the Greensboro History Museum

Democracy Tables were a series of facilitated discussions designed to attract city residents, particularly those from traditionally underrepresented communities, into dialogues on locally based issues and concerns. Together, participants considered how to address a variety of matters through democratic processes and culture. Participants explored collaborative processes to understanding the diversity of experiences among city residents and how people can connect to government mechanisms that support change. The project sought to involve a multigenerational cross-section of Greensboro including younger residents.

Greensboro Learning Circles: A Journey into Knowledge

A Collaboration with the Greensboro Public Library

In an increasingly digital world, members of marginalized communities often find themselves lacking the resources to truly benefit from all the knowledge opportunities available online. Learning Circles brought together members of the community who were participating in online study courses to provide peer support and help in navigating the digital world. Participants were provided a space to meet and access to the internet in order to take online courses and receive technical support. Support from peers and facilitators was designed to motivate participants to further pursue online educational opportunities and improve their use of digital tools.

Growing Green for Greens

A Collaboration with Neighborhood Markets Inc.

The Growing Green for Greens program enables customers at two of Greensboro’s local farmer’s markets to purchase healthy, locally-grown food using SNAP/EBT. Using a token-based system, customers can double the dollar amount of SNAP-approved foods that they can purchase at either market, allowing their limited funds to go twice as far. The program is supported by donations from individuals, churches and other local institutions. The grant from CCCC will allow the program to develop a more sustainable donor network and expand the awareness of the program, reaching more families experiencing food insecurity.

Guilford Urban Farming Initiative

The Guilford Urban Farming Initiative addresses food insecurity through community engagement, partnership development, and sustainable practices. Donated property will be transformed into a local urban farm to provide area residents access to healthy foods, as they learn about local agriculture issues, training and workforce development opportunities, and available entrepreneurial activities. The farm targets providing 1,056 families with fresh produce at little or no cost while encouraging innovation and resilience among families of need in the community.

Beloved Community Center

The Beloved Community Center’s (BCC) mission is rooted in Dr. Luther King Jr.’s legacy of overcoming racial and economic injustices by creating democracy and beloved community. The BCC has “longevity,” founded in 1991 with a mission to “elevate the voices of the most oppressed,” according to Joyce Johnson, the co-executive director of the organization. Two ongoing initiatives for the BCC are energizing Black and Latina women to vote in the upcoming presidential election, and advancing justice for the late Marcus Deon Smith, who was fatally hogtied by the Greensboro Police Department in 2018. The BCC will hire a community intern, improve the organization’s communication operations in outreach and archiving, and develop a communications manual for future use. This sharing of information and stories that is at the heart of the BCC grant programming, promotes both connections and resiliency in oppressed communities.