Syracuse Stands Tall: Young Entrepreneurs Can Make a Difference

February 28, 2014 

Written by Nina Housman with contributions from W. Michael Short
These are exciting times for social entrepreneurs in Syracuse, New York. That’s the message I got from a conversation I had with W. Michael Short, founder and principal of Short Enterprises, who just won the Best of Syracuse Award for his work as a social entrepreneur in helping to revitalize our city. Through our conversations and a series of email exchanges, I got a picture of a city open to innovative public/private partnerships and welcoming of those who want to lead socially beneficial development efforts and community initiatives. 
Opportunities for social change through innovative partnerships exist here in ways that they may not in some larger cities. We may even be able to serve as a model for accomplishing positive change for other smaller cities struggling with similar challenges such as unemployment, poverty, illiteracy, and declining population. As someone committed to a vision of urban revitalization that preserves and strengthens existing neighborhoods, I find that prospect exciting.
Michael and I first met when he was a Syracuse University Graduate Fellow and Deputy Director of the nonprofit Near Westside Initiative (NWSI). His commitment to transforming Syracuse through positive change was evident then, when he spearheaded efforts to launch a revolving micro-loan program for community entrepreneurs in partnership with the Southside Innovation Center (SSIC), Cooperative Federal Credit Union, and the Central New York Community Foundation. He also created and chaired the Near Westside Business Association and developed a neighborhood-based small business development program with partners at SSIC and the New York State Small Business Development Center at Onondaga Community College. These efforts were all part of the overall mission of the NWSI to move what was once the 9^th poorest neighborhood in the United States in a more positive direction.
His efforts to assist small community businesses, Michael explains, allowed him to work with people like Bob Herz, whose leadership at the SSIC resulted in it being named the National Business Incubator of the year in 2012, and who has now gone on to serve as Director of the New York State Senate Select Committee on Science, Technology, Incubation, & Entrepreneurship.
“People like Bob really showed me how to get things done and showed me how an entrepreneur could do good in the community,” Michael added.
But what’s a social entrepreneur? There are different definitions but common threads involve those who develop and pursue partnerships between the private sector, nonprofits, and government entities to solve communal and social challenges such as low literacy rates, poverty, urban revitalization, low employment, or developing sustainable solutions to environmental problems.
In Michael’s case this has involved spearheading public/private partnerships to help turn a vicious cycle of community challenges into a virtuous one in Central New York by focusing on diverse projects involving community development, low literacy rates in children, green infrastructure, storm-water management, and the redevelopment of derelict, abandoned, and tax delinquent properties.
As Michael described it to me, in addition to bringing partners together and helping facilitate the process of developing a vision for change, his role has included being a kind of translator, helping partners communicate better to define challenges and achieve common goals more effectively and efficiently. He credits his educational background with providing him the skills necessary to serve in this capacity. Specifically, he notes his experiences at the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, widely regarded as the most prestigious communications school in the United States.
According to Michael, “transparent, strategic, and reciprocal communications management is a crucial ingredient in any successful public/private partnership.”
After learning under the trusted-hand of SU’s Vice President for Community Engagement and Economic Development, Marilyn Higgins, who he considers a mentor and inspiration, Michael launched his own social enterprise in 2011 to pursue the social goals he cared about.
“As a Graduate Fellow at SU, I was able to be involved in large-scale efforts to transform the community through projects like the Near Westside Initiative and Connective Corridor,” Michael explained. “I was also able to learn from and work with community leaders such as Marilyn Higgins, Paul NoJaim, Anne Messenger, Carole Horan, the Gifford Foundation, the Community Foundation, the list goes on and on, and these relationships have changed my life and inspired me to start my own social enterprise.”
One of his early projects after launching Short Enterprises involved a partnership with the Literacy Coalition of Onondaga County (LCOC) and the Central New York Community Foundation in authoring the City of Syracuse’s Literacy Action Plan. That plan recognized the centrality of literacy to overcoming the social and economic challenges associated with poverty and unemployment.
As stated in the City’s Literacy Action Plan, “considerable steps have been taken to facilitate access to comprehensive literacy and community services for individuals and families as they cycle in and out of poverty.”
They were recognized in 2013 by the National Campaign for Grade Level Reading. Michael credits the persistence and determination of Virginia Carmody, LCOC Executive Director, with moving these noteworthy efforts forward.
“Working closely with community partners, I am convinced our targeted and measurable community impact strategy will improve the educational outcomes for disadvantaged children in our community,” said Carmody.

Two of the other more publicized areas of focus for Michael have involved innovative green infrastructure installations associated with the Save the Rain Program of Onondaga County and the redevelopment of derelict, abandoned, contaminated, and tax delinquent properties on the City’s Near Westside. Both of these efforts have been associated with expansion efforts at the Onondaga Commons health and human services campus, which involves a number of innovative private/public partnerships designed to benefit the entire community.
Michael explained that the plan for the 5.5-acre Onondaga Commons has several phases but will ultimately be determined by the property owner as the efforts move forward.
“We typically assist property owners in identifying opportunities and help them develop a strategy to achieve goals that are in line with the broader community,” Michael explained. “In the case of Onondaga Commons, one of the more visible projects we have assisted with, we were able to develop and put in motion plans to address a number of vacant neglected properties and incorporate what will be the largest green infrastructure project privately pursued in Onondaga County once complete.”
These green infrastructure projects will manage up to 10 million gallons of rainwater runoff and storm water annually and prevent the overload of the local sewer system, which in turn will stop raw sewage from overflowing into Onondaga Lake. Working with Kyle Thomas of Natural Systems Engineering, who he cited as a key partner, Michael was able to develop the framework for the green infrastructure projects and secured over a millions dollars of County funding to support its implementation. (Read More)
Michael was quick to credit Onondaga County Executive Joanie Mahoney for her vision in spearheading the “Save the Rain” program, which among other efforts have resulted in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency naming Onondaga County and Syracuse one of the country’s top 10 leaders in green infrastructure. (Read More)
The interconnection of the deterioration and abandonment of derelict buildings with an overall decline in the social state of a neighborhood, a reduction in tax base, declining services, low literacy, high unemployment and chronic drug use seem intuitive. It is also supported by evidence, such as that provided by a report that Michael referred me to by the National Vacant Properties Campaign and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. (Read Report)
This report shows why it’s vital to reclaim vacant buildings in neighborhoods facing social and economic challenges. Understanding this, Michael worked with Onondaga Commons to expand its footprint to include a number of adjacent vacant properties. Restoring these properties will be another way to contribute to the well-being and economic revitalization of this challenged Near Westside community.
In particular, he commended the City of Syracuse, and Ben Walsh in particular, the City’s Deputy Commissioner for Neighborhood & Business Development, for his continued support and assistance throughout the process of acquiring these properties and for serving as a resource on this and other projects that he is working on.
When asked how other young people with similar interests could get involved in efforts to better the community, Michael explained that volunteering your time is key.
“Get involved… you have to be willing to give your time and devote yourself to a cause greater than yourself without the expectation of any individual reward,” he explained. “By doing this you can start to build a reputation as a ‘go to’ person with good ideas who gets things done.”
In Michael’s case, he has served on the board of directors of the Huntington Family Centers since 2010, a local nonprofit settlement house focused on providing year round programming designed to strengthen families and individuals in need through an array of youth, family, and adult services.
“When you get involved in these types of efforts you meet other good intentioned people with similar interests and goals for a better community,” explained Michael who now serves as chair of the board’s marketing and communications committee.
Michael also serves on the Neighborhood Advisory Council for the Westside community center run by P.E.A.C.E., Inc. – also known as the “little white house of hope,” as Michael refers to it. He explains that the work of the center’s director, Mary Alice Smothers, is a particular inspiration to him.
“She works every single day and night to make sure the youth in the struggling Near Westside community have access to opportunities for growth, learning, and enrichment,” said Michael, who considers Smothers a close friend and mentor.
“Mary Alice has devoted her life to making sure these kids know that they can do or be any thing that they set their minds to… she is an inspiration to me on a daily basis and I would do anything to support her.”
And what’s next for Michael Short? He continues to work with a diverse array of clients and says that he has a number of exciting projects in the works. One in particular involves “an exciting opportunity” to partner with the Clinton Global Initiative, which he hopes will bring attention to and further leverage the impressive work being done in Central New York.
“More on that to come soon,” he said with a smile.
He also says he is exploring opportunities for his own development company in order to fully realize his vision of transforming communities in Syracuse and beyond in a positive direction through public/private partnerships.
If you’re interested in doing something similar, I think he might find the time to give you some advice and encouragement.
For more information about Short Enterprises, visit them online at www.shortenterprises.biz
 

Miracles

As I was sitting at home last Tuesday, the day the temperature dropped to 7 degrees with a wind chill making it feel like -20, with the heat turned up wearing fleece pajama bottoms a sweater and a jacket and still feeling a cool draft from the not totally sealed out wind, I found my thoughts drifting to how glad I was to have central heating. Thinking of the video games creator I mentioned in my piece  in syracusenewtimes.com last week who thought the games were the greatest thing since the discovery of fire, I realized how important context is to what we (at least he and I, if not you) think is important, even if we don’t realize it at the time.

At various times I might think movable type, the wheel, antibiotics, or writing is the greatest thing since the discovery of fire (I doubt sliced bread would be one of them despite the once popular expression extolling it). But given the world I inhabited Tuesday which primarily consisted ofCOLD, once I’d determined I had enough food of some kind (mostly spaghetti and tuna) to sustain me, avoiding COLD was all I cared about.

Somehow, (I don’t know how, my mind works mysteriously even to me) this led me to reflect on how limited we are by our own imaginative lacks and our personal environment. It makes us think the only problem we have currently, in this caseCOLD, is all there is and the only miracles that matter are the ones that solve it.

MIchael Davis photo

Perhaps these dramatic imperatives- in this caseAVOID COLD, although productive of miracles (in this case central heating, hot chocolate and snugly socks) can sometimes blind us to other equally important imperatives affecting other people, other communities or even ourselves if we look at things more broadly. Maybe the COLD we assume is all that matters because it’s all that we see and care about right now is not the only issue to be addressed, maybe not even the most important one, not just for others in different circumstances, but even for ourselves. Staying warm and thinking about COLD are preoccupying me right now. But that preoccupation is, as they used to say, overdetermined, by more than one cause. I know the COLD is a real concern. I also know I’m using it to hide from other less visible but personally vital issues. For me, once the COLD lifts, I have to return to less dramatic long-term concerns: what direction to pursue in my career, how to build fellowship. And I wonder what else I may not be seeing that I or the larger community needs to address because of a natural tendency to focus on what’s right in front of me right now and not necessarily what’s most important.

Safety Second

Safety Second

I recently had an experience so frustrating that I was left frozen in disbelief. I didn’t even have the energy to scream, curse or bang my head against the wall. All I can do is write about it, so others can learn from my experience and not suffer the same fate. This is what happened:

I ordered a copy of a death certificate for my mother, who died more than a decade ago.After duly filling out all the information online, I was directed by the city’s website to a private company, which would obtain the document for me (and charge a hefty fee to do so).  Since I’d moved away in the years after her death, I agreed to the charge. Just before my transaction was completed, the website suggested I use a private delivery service, rather than the U.S. Postal Service, so my document wouldn’t get lost in the mail.  Well, I figured if the first unreasonable fee was worth it to get the document, a second one was, too. After all, I told myself, we’re talking safety and security here, right? And I really wanted the package to get to me. So, rather than use the U.S. Postal Service free of charge, I paid a second fee and waited for the package to arrive.

Not many days later, it did. Sort of.  By chance, I happened to be home when it arrived but slow of foot. So off the package went with a note left behind saying it had to be signed for.  I called the Philippines or South Korea or perhaps Belarus.

Someone explained to me in long, numbing detail and poor English exactly why the package had to be signed for, no exceptions (sender request) and that the alternative was to pick up the package at a distribution center, which they said was 15 miles from my home.

I explained that I would be away at work during future delivery hours, but agreed to pick up the package at the delivery center. I figured I could go there on the weekend, since it was open only 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.

After I had received two nice notes informing me that the package had passed by my house again twice, I assumed it was now resting safely in the delivery center ready for weekend pick-up.  I called the company back to confirm this and discovered the delivery center didn’t allow pick-ups on weekends.  Oh, well.

The person on the other end of the phone then suggested, in a tone indicating great kindness, that I have the package delivered to and signed for by a neighbor.  I explained to her that I don’t live in 1948 and that all my neighbors work.  She made one final gesture of great good will: When sending the package back to its source, she offered, they can put a note on it stating I would prefer the package to be delivered with no signature required.  But she couldn’t guarantee that will happen.

So when I make my next request for the same certificate and pay the same excessive fee again, I am going to make one change to my order.  I will demand it be sent by the U.S. Postal Service.  It may not be safe, but at least there’s a chance I’ll get it.

To find out more about the United States Postal Service go here.

Adventures in 3D At The Fayetteville Free Library

There’s a lot going on at the Fayetteville Free Library
I recently discovered some incredible things in 3D at the Fayetteville Free Library, starting with a bunch of fully dressed, animated 3D people talking away at the 7:30 am Social Media Breakfast Syracuse monthly meeting, which was held there last month.

The library even provided breakfast (and more importantly to me at least, coffee). The meetings, open to the public, are frequently held in a lecture format, but this month there were discussion groups led by subject experts at different tables.  Groups on subjects including Pinterest, blogging, LinkedIn and social media basics formed and reformed over the course of an hour and a half. I learned a lot at the blogging group facilitated by Renee Benda and the LinkedIn group led by Anne Messenger and met some interesting, new people.

After the meeting, the library staff encouraged us to visit the “Fab Lab.” I did. It’s a “fab” place with a 3D printer, where children and adults are encouraged to use the 3D printer to create the object of their dreams.  Classes are free.



One young child created his own cellphone case. And the lab does more than print 3D objects.  Another child learned how to insert himself into the Minecraft game. There are also kits and classes for creating all kinds of things, including working with fabric, computer circuits, knitting and baking kits to borrow, and many other wonders.  And you can schedule a 45-minute private session with a librarian to learn all about the “Fab Lab” or anything else the library has to offer.

If you want a change from the “Fab Lab,” you can go to the “Digital Lab,” to use the digital equipment to make other kinds of creations, then pick up a book and stop for a coffee or even lunch at the Café 300.  There’s a lot going on at the Fayetteville Free Library.  If you stop by, you can discover it.

Why I love Chopsticks

NEGOTIATING REALITY

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I love chopsticks. Not the tune a lot of us learned to play on the piano when we were very young, but the eating instruments.  Not the plastic kind with ridges seen in budget Chinese restaurants that have red characters imprinted on them at one end, not the ornately carved ivory ones found in souvenir shops and at the backs of cavernous Chinese grocery stores and not even the high-style modernist ones found in hip stores selling food accessories for the high-end minimalist consumer. No, I love the plain, wooden, rectangular chopsticks that come in a snug paper wrapper that I learned to use about the same time I learned to bang out "chopsticks" on the piano.

Some wrappers have Chinese symbols or Japanese ones and colorful designs, and some don't.  When you slide them out of the wrapper and pull them apart, you're ready to go.

I use them for stirring vegetables on the stove (but not scrambled eggs), to eat cottage cheese and to stir fried meat and vegetables and bits of chicken both shredded and chunked, rice, frozen entrees and almost anything that does not need cutting or spooning to be consumed.  I use them to poke food to see if it's ready,  and I use them to eat pasta.  

And I don't know why.  How do you explain love?

I know it’s not because I learned to use them when I was little, when Sunday lunch was spent with my grandmother at Chinese restaurants.  We went to old style "Cantonese" restaurants before people became sophisticated about Chinese food and discovered Szechuan and Hunan and all kinds of other stuff and learned to order what they saw people of Asian descent ordering.

My grandmother always ordered "shrimp with lobster sauce" which is probably as close to what people eat in China as pizza is. My parents and I ordered all sorts of things. The chopsticks were one of the high points of the meal, but I left them alone the rest of the week.

I started to using them a lot in my 20s, when I first started cooking regularly, and some of it was Asian. But that's not why I love using them for everything I can.  It has something more to do with the taste of wooden chopsticks and their feel in my hand and against my teeth.  And it has something to do with their rectangular shape and unpretentious nature.  No one ever chose wooden chopsticks for a wedding registry. No one cares about how heavy they are, or if they're sterling silver.  I just use them and throw them out and get new ones. I know I should care more about wasting trees by using them, but I love them anyway.  And when I see them, I want to smile.

What Drives Me Crazy: Style Matters

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.Living in Paris for nine years made me very aware of style. When I first got back, I used to sit in the subway and edit people’s look (shorter hair, no bangs and a green blouse and lose the purple scarf … that kind of thing).

To be honest, I still do it sometimes. But how people dressed never drove me nuts.  It was just the occasion for a private, internal makeover game that the prospective beneficiary (or victim, depending on your point of view) never knew about.

Other pretty insignificant things really do make me crazy though: someone tap tap tapping with a pen or keys on a table when I’m trying to read or have a conversation nearby; an unsolicited robocall on my cellphone; being sent a chain email which says I must send it on to 10 other people to receive incredible blessings (or dire misfortune will befall me).

 But one thing that makes me crazier than the rest are the small, written grammatical errors in documents I see that are intended for public, or at least semi-public consumption.

You know the ones I mean: 

“He was there best man,” 

“John, whom had the highest sales this month excepted our congratulations,” 

“I have went to Bermuda many times.”

Sometimes I make this kind of mistake myself, and that makes me nuts, too. A lot of people probably think this is pretty trivial and maybe find me snobbish for cringing at it. But I think it matters.

I believe writing using a common standard is what lets us all understand one another. I know that English evolves and that there are some pretty arbitrary rules for standard English.  But knowing them and using them correctly is what enables us to communicate effectively, clearly and in a nuanced way across regional, cultural and national boundaries.

What got me started on this today was something I saw in a LinkedIn management group forum this morning. Someone in the group commented in a discussion about “going their.”  I mean, dude, really!! Do u think ur on Twitter? And yes, I know his browser might have finished his word for him, or maybe he forgot to review what he’d written, but just the same, it bothers me.

If you’re commenting on a discussion in some big-shot expert forum on LinkedIn, at least use correct English. You wouldn’t attend a business meeting in a crumpled suit with your fly unzipped, would you? To me, writing this way shows a similar lack of respect for the people you’re communicating with and for the English language.

English is a rich, subtle and flexible language, with a great ability to show things visually. To take just one tiny example, think about the difference between “go in” and “come in” and what your use of one or the other says about who’s where and whether one person is about to approach another. Not every language has that dexterity. And while other languages have their own glories, we should savor those of English.

But to do that we need to know how to use it.

Some people think writing in incorrect language just reflects the glory of the English language in all its diversity or folksiness. I think that’s absurd. If you’re writing prose for general consumption, especially for a business or professional audience, having people understand you trumps everything. Fiction is another story. (See for example, James Joyce and Vladimir Nabokov).

Willful ignorance of grammatical and stylistic rules weakens our ability to express our ideas with clarity, vigor and nuance. Writers who know the rules and bend or break them to their story-telling purposes are the exception that proves it. We all make mistakes with grammar at times, me included, but we can all use style guides (I like Elements of Style, by Strunk and White, but there are alternatives) and other on and offline tools that are available so we can use English more correctly and expressively.

And, of course, the best tool of all is a good book.

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NEGOTIATING REALITY: OR WHY I DON’T FOLD THE LAUNDRY

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By Nina Housman

When I first started to write this blog post, I thought the subject was too provocative. I think I still feel a little guilty that I don’t do it. After all, part of what I do is encourage people to practice self-discipline to achieve goals.

But, since choosing which goals we want to achieve is part of the joy of being a grown up, I decided to reveal my “dirty little secret”: I don’t fold the laundry. I just don’t like doing it.

If it needs to be hung so it doesn’t wrinkle, I do it (reluctantly, without joy and as slowly as possible). The rest of the stuff gets stuffed in drawers. Does it wrinkle? Not the sweaters, and I never really notice if my undergarments are slightly creased, although I have heard tales of people who (shudder) iron them.

Recently, I got this great idea, I’ll buy a set of large, attractive hampers with lids that can line my bedroom walls instead of dressers, and I’ll drop the laundry in there, nothing crumpled, everything gained. No fuss, no muss and attractive (to me) bedroom furniture at the same time!

So, why am I writing about this? No, it’s not because I want to share my deepest self or start a not-folding movement. And it’s not because I want to eliminate those prospective clients/employers/friends or suitors who would be horrified by my lack of laundry etiquette, although I might have done so.

But I did want to share something I’ve learned about reality: Sometimes, it can be negotiated. Examine your assumptions, and you might discover some ideas you take for granted that you don’t really believe anymore, just like I did. (Not folding  = being spoiled or lazy). Some of them might even be more important than how you treat newly washed clothes.

While there are some things I have to do even though I don’t like to because of the consequences in terms of health, housing, morality or legal problems (cleaning the house, paying the bills, etc.) and there are some I love doing (writing, cooking, traveling, etc.) there are a lot of things that I don’t like doing that are negotiable.

They’re the things I might be able to get out of, if I examine my preconceptions about what I should do or should want to do.

In this vein, I remember when my son was tiny and he lectured me because, according to Barney, the purple dinosaur on TV, I’d left the faucet turned on too long. I didn’t like his doing that.

I’m all for water conservation, but I didn’t want my behavior at home legislated by some imaginary being on television. And, similarly, we don’t need the things we do in our lives legislated by some imaginary rulebook that we’ve incorporated internally but which was originally written by our parents, neighbors, friends or employers. Even if the rulebook comes from ourselves, it’s a good idea to re-examine it from time to time. We change and so do our ideas and circumstances.

If you hate doing something or don’t do it well, maybe you don’t have to do it at all. Or maybe you can get away with doing it well enough to get by, and focus on spending time on the things that are important to you.

An ex-boyfriend used to say he wanted to do everything he did the best he could. He was shocked that I didn't feel the same way. Well, I don’t. I want to do what I love and care about the best I can. As for the things I don’t like doing, I’ll do them the best I have to or not at all, if possible.

Life is short. I don’t know about you, but if I don’t focus on doing the things I care about, I never seem to get around to doing them.

So go ahead, don’t fold the laundry, or vacuum twice a week, or read the right newspaper, or keep up-to-date, or shave or jog – or whatever else it is you don’t really want to do. As long as you’re willing to put up with the consequences, it’s OK. Go ahead and spend the time doing something you really enjoy, or doing nothing at all.

Now that’s a really revolutionary idea!

What Has Candy Dots, a Red Velvet Chair, Homemade Doughnuts, and a Plate Decorated with Loony Tunes Characters?

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By Nina Housman 

What has candy dots, a red velvet chair, homemade doughnuts and a plate decorated with Loony Tunes characters? Anna’s Country Store, in Fabius.

I landed there by accident while searching for the farm that provides my CSA share.  After turning around twice on a two-lane, 55 mile per hour twisting road, with fear in my heart and a cramp in my neck, I needed directions, so I went into Anna’s looking for help.

Joan is the proprietor.  She opened the place 15 years ago and added a back room full of antiques and collectibles on consignment five years later. (Anna was her grandmother, and photos of Anna hang on one wall).

Joan installed wood furniture as display cases, put personal mementos on the walls and provides many kinds of penny candy, grocery items,a deli, homemade cookies, cupcakes and doughnuts (fresh doughnuts are available weekends only). Joan says the people who work with her add a lot, like Marge, who does bakes homemade cupcakes, mops floors and more.

Prices are reasonable, with a daily lunch special, usually a hot sandwich, for about $3, which she explained to me is especially for the farm boys who don’t have much money. The subs and sandwiches are generous, reasonably priced: $5.25 or $6.50 for a half or whole sandwich/sub with veggie toppings among the freshest I’ve tasted. The dark chocolate truffles are melt-in-your-mouth good.

Joan says she keeps the store going because she’s found her place. If you drop by, you might find it’s one of your places, too. And by the time I left, Joan had asked someone for directions for me who turned out to be the owner of the farm I was looking for. So in addition to everything else, I even got what I’d come in for.

Anna’s Country Store, 7849 Main St., Fabius. Open seven days a week.

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