Here are some upcoming events and news of interest for you.

PUBLIC INVITED TO "CHANGING RACE RELATIONS THROUGH FRIENDSHIP" EVENT

Journey across racial lines with national race relations expert Dr. Deborah L. Plummer on Tuesday, February 1, 7:00 pm at the Flanzer Jewish Community Center in Sarasota. Dr. Plummer is professor of psychology and director of the Diversity Management Program at Cleveland State University. Her book, "Racing Across the Lines: Changing Race Relations through Friendship," is helping communities across America examine race through the lens of friendship and has captured the attention of admirers like Academy Award winning actress Halle Barry and author and Newsweek columnist Ellis Cose. Please call 941.365.8751 for more information (RSVP preferred but not necessary). This free event is brought to you by the Community Foundation of Sarasota County, Embracing Our Differences, Flanzer Jewish Community Center, Nuevo Advertising, RBC Centura Bank, SCOPE, and diversity management and organizational development firm Smith-Soeder Enterprises, Inc.

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SCOPE INVITES PUBLIC TO PARTICIPATE IN NEW STUDY:  "AGING: THE POSSIBILITIES"

SCOPE continues to hold community conversations throughout Sarasota County as it begins its latest community study on Aging: The Possibilities. Study co-chairs Isabel Norton, Co-Owner of Norton Family Partnerships, and Jono Miller, Director of the Environmental Studies Program at New College of Florida invite you to share your ideas about the possibilities for active aging and to search for new possibilities in Sarasota County. Please call 941.365-8751 to RSVP for one of the following conversations (an RSVP is preferred but not required): Jan. 10, 5 - 6:30pm at the Elsie Quirk Public Library in Englewood, Jan. 11, 5 - 6:30pm at the George D. Mullen Center in North Port, Jan. 12, 5 - 6:30pm at the Sarasota-Manatee Jewish Federation in Sarasota, and Jan. 20, 4- 5:30pm (note earlier time) at the St. Armand's Key Lutheran Church in Sarasota.

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GULFCOAST COMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF VENICE EVENT TO BENEFIT SCOPE AND SENIOR FRIENDSHIP CENTERS

The Gulf Coast Community Foundation of Venice presents "Better Together: Creating Communities for All Ages" featuring Marc Freedman, author of "Prime Time: How Baby Boomers Will Revolutionize Retirement
and Transform America" and "The Kindness of Strangers." Marc Freedman is Founder and President of Civic Ventures. He led the effort to create The Experience Corps, the nation's largest national service program engaging Americans 50 and above. An author and frequent commentator in the national media, Freedman has testified before numerous committees of the U.S. Congress and the British Parliament on topics including the aging of America, retirement, and volunteering. The event will be held Thursday, February 17 at the Chelsea Center in Sarasota, noon to 1:30 pm. The price of the ticket, which includes lunch, is $35 with proceeds benefiting the Senior Friendship Centers and SCOPE. Advance reservations are required. Please reply by February 10 by visiting www.gulfcoastcf.org or calling 941.486.4600 for more information.

BUILDING COMMUNITY ONE NEIGHBORHOOD AT A TIME

Manatee County, Sarasota County, the City of Sarasota and SCOPE are pleased to announce the first Manasota Regional Neighborhoods Summit on February 26, 2005 at the Sudakoff Center at the Sarasota-Manatee Campus of USF. The event will be led by John L. McKnight, national author, scholar, and co-director of the Asset-based Community Development Institute. For nearly three decades, McKnight has conducted research on social service delivery systems, health policy, community organizations, neighborhood policy and institutional racism. He currently directs research projects focused on asset-based neighborhood development and methods of community building by incorporating marginalized people. Registration fees for the summit are $10 per person in advance, $15 at the door. This includes admission to all summit workshops and events and lunch. Registration information will be available in mid-January at www.scopexcel.org and www.npo.sarasotagov.com

SCOPE LAUNCHES NEW WEBSITE

As the New Year "rolls in," SCOPE "rolls out" its brand new website! With nearly 300 visits a day to its old site, SCOPE decided to create a more "user-friendly" version that would allow people to access community-building tools with greater ease. Tools like People Count, the Community Report Card, the CHIP Household Survey, and SCOPE Study Group Reports. In addition to brushing up on local facts, you can also take a step back into Sarasota County's history thanks to the Sarasota County History Center. Each page on the SCOPE website contains a historical photograph provided by the County History Center. Catch a glimpse of an unpaved, dirt Fruitville Road, the construction of what were then considered "starter homes" in the Burns Court, and a bird's eye view of Longboat Key when it housed only a few beach cottages. Click on www.scopexcel.org and give us your feedback. Special thanks to homelessweb.com for helping SCOPE put together its new site.

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DONOR SPOTLIGHT

SCOPE would like to thank the Community Foundation of Sarasota County for its grant supporting the Silent Witness Display. The grant is made possible through The Family Violence Task Force Fund of the Community Foundation of Sarasota County, Inc. Also, special thanks to the United Way of Sarasota County, Margaret Kennedy, Mr. and Mrs. Dennis McGillicuddy, Isabel and Randy Norton and Jan and Donald Smally for their year-end contributions to SCOPE.