Everything Present in the Seed is a manual that was developed and tested through the Volunteers Connections Project, a three year participatory research project funded by the Human Resources and Skills Development Canada, and the Office of Literacy and Essential Skills. Capilano University instructors wrote the manual with the support of community organizations and learners. Specific non-profit organizations included a variety of neighbourhood houses, which assisted in understanding the community context.  A grass-roots, neighbourhood driven project, the manual is designed to engage community volunteers in developing a knowledge, language, and practical tools for community development. It is about supporting volunteers to grow and share their strengths. The manual is designed to be inclusive of all people living in our communities, and is written in a language that is simple to read, understand, and apply; and which is designed for people passionate about making a difference in their communities. It was written for staff in the non-profit sector who work with, and support volunteers in the community development process. Each section of the manual gives new language and different ideas for reflective learning. It builds concrete skills needed for community development such as: communication, facilitation, community research, project planning, and proposal writing. Each chapter provides: an overview of key ideas, definitions of new words, exercises to help you share ideas, multimedia available to help you learn more about the topic, opportunities to practice writing skills, and additional reading that expands your thinking and volunteer work.

Specific chapters include:

Chapter 1: You, Community, and Social Change Chapter 2:  What is Community Development? Chapter 3: Your Organization Chapter 4: Building Online Communication Skills Chapter 5: The Leader Within Chapter 6: Communication Skills for Working Together Chapter 7: Community Research Chapter 8: Project Planning Chapter 9: Facilitation Chapter 10: Learning Through Dialogue Chapter 11: Writing Proposals Chapter 12: Computers for Community Chapter 13: Sustaining Your Growth

This manual will be available after April 5th at: www.nald.ca