According to Ogallala Commons, the commonwealth assets are seen as the foundation for all communities. There are 12 commonwealth assets which include education, health, leisure and recreation, spirituality, history, sense of place, arts and culture, water cycle, wildlife and the natural world, soil and mineral cycle, foodshed, and renewable energy. The two assets I will focus on talking about in my community are leisure and recreation and spirituality. Leisure and recreation is a really obvious one to me given that my internship is centered around our communities recreation department. My experiences I’ve had through working with the recreation department has taught me so much about just how active our community is. While the majority of the recreation we deal with in Holyoke is sports for kids, there are still so many ways for the community to get involved. For example we were able to do activities such as attending a free senior workout at Sunset View and set up a table for kids to come paint and craft at our county fair. As for the other asset, spirituality can be described as the relationships, connections, and practices that knit a community together and keep everybody connected. Church communities are a huge asset to my community. It seems most everybody belongs to a church here. This allows for a place and time where even if all the members have nothing else in common, they are able to come together in fellowship with their church. My home church also hosts a Vacation Bible School each summer which allows kids from all over the community, not just our church, to interact, learn, and have fun. My internship and the commonwealth assets have definitely opened my eyes to see how involved and connected my community really is.
