ACTION RESOURCES INTERNATIONAL
Community-Based Leadership and First-Person Expertise for Positive Social Change.
Action Resources International is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that supports and advocates
for community organizing that strengthens neighborhoods, communities and regions.
We are a Wyoming-based, grassroots organization dedicated to community activism
that promotes safety and prevention of violence; social and economic justice;
sustainable food security and sovereignty; and access to overall health and wellness for everyone.
We believe that lived experience as expertise is essential for achieving positive, effective social change.
Based on this philosophy, we support, develop, and sponsor community programs
that amplify the voices and self-empowerment of individuals living with the problems being addressed.
ARI's FLV is a community-based, designed and led nonprofit program working for food security and an equitable, just and sustainable food system in Albany County.
FLV works to fulfill the mission through increased food production, access, distribution, and educational efforts that encourage community-led food sovereignty.
FLV shares high-quality produce with individuals and families, at no charge to them, with a special focus on elders, children and people living with disabilities and chronic illness.
Collaborative Pathway Modeling
CPM is an innovative, values-based research, program development and evaluation tool developed by Action Resources that can reveal often overlooked or inaccessible knowledge of community organizers. We believe that community-based programs hold expertise, insights, and first-person knowledge that are essential for developing innovative, relevant, and effective responses to community needs.
CPM is a method of designing and tracking theories of change that reflect the voices and expertise of those most greatly impacted by challenge and oppression. We are bridging the gap between outside stakeholders and community leaders and members by helping to create a better understanding of each other to more effectively be able to discuss program design and evaluation meaningfully.
The Higher Ground Fair is an annual educational and cultural event celebrating the best of Rocky Mountain tradition and innovation.
We find, showcase and promote materials, products, labor, ingredients and concepts that originate from the six Rocky Mountain states of Colorado, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, Utah, Wyoming and the Native First Nations that call this region home.
The Higher Ground Fair is both a place and an experience that nurtures the intersection of art, music, folk crafts, agriculture, gardening, local foods, grassroots social action, shelter and energy, wildlife and the great outdoors, holistic health practices and sustainable living.
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Volunteering, Internships, Apprenticeships, National Service
ARI uses a strategic, multi-tiered approach to utilizing hands-on learning opportunities as a highly effective method for planning, launching, and developing core components crucial to sustainable, community-based social and economic development. The various volunteer, paid internships and apprenticeships, and National Service program streams lend themselves naturally and effectively to creating networking connections between interests, generations, and diverse life experience perspectives.
ARI’s process for tapping into the best of each stream in order to build capacity and contribute to sustainability, has proven to be highly effective. Our various programs have ongoing opportunities including short-term, seasonal, and full-year work/learning placements.
Participatory Research
ARI conducts education and needs assessment through diverse community partnerships and collaborations. We advocate for entrepreneurial local food projects and offer project support through community-based participatory action research.
Sample areas of award-winning research are focused on Gardens for Health Healing, providing gardens in Albany, County for people managing chronic health conditions; Food Dignity, a 5-year initiative to trace the paths taken by five US communities and to collaborate in mapping and traveling the most appropriate and effective roads forward for creating sustainable community food systems that build food security; and Growing Resilience, a collaboration between Universithy of Wyoming, the Northern Arapaho and Eastern Shoshone Tribes of Wind River Reservation.
Foster Grandparents of the Wyoming Rockies
ARI AmeriCorps Seniors program provides community elders with opportunities to serve as mentoring volunteers for children in educational settings. Our mission is to foster a healthy, unified and productive community through the cultivation of mentoring relationships between wise elders and children with identified needs.
We provide volunteer opportunities for low-income seniors from all economic, educational, and social backgrounds to serve children and teenagers who need one-on-one assistance. ARI's programs and service sites are greatly enriched by proactive multi-generational collaborations through Foster Grandparents of the Wyoming Rockies.