Community Engagement Paper

The community engagement project is a tool that has shown me how realistic the concepts I’ve learned in my core classes are to society and the city I live in. The purpose of this project is to apply concepts we learned in class to the real world and to help connect our individual experiences to greater contexts such as what we are majoring in college or what we plan to do for our professional career. Some of my personal goals include working in a field where I can be hands on and gain a more global perspective by helping foreign, underdeveloped countries. By having a clear understanding of how the church tries to fight societal injustices and understanding how communities can work towards fulfilling our human rights, I can be more successful

Dayton was founded in 1796 and is surrounded by some of the biggest cities in Ohio such as Columbus, Cincinnati, and Cleveland. Because of the citizen’s wide range of innovation, Dayton has expanded into the sixth largest city in Ohio and has over 140,000 citizens. While Dayton was once a hub for industrial work, small businesses, and new technological innovation, various changes throughout the past decade have altered the dynamic of the city and made this region more susceptible to poverty and other societal problems. One problem that Dayton is experiencing is an increase in suburbanization throughout low-growth regions. This means that people are migrating out of the city of Dayton and relocating to the suburbs where there is a better quality of life. The individuals who are most equipped to move out of these regions are those with the most financial security and resources. When the more educated, wealthier individuals leave, the city is left with individuals who have less education and little financial security. This destabilizes the Dayton area by driving commerce out of the city and reducing the population of consumers. Another problem the Dayton area is experiencing is the loss of industrial jobs.