Cheryl Honey
Individualized Program: Transformative Community Building and Participatory Democracy
B.A. Liberal Studies, 2006
 Weaving webs of support to create caring communities won Antioch B.A. graduate Cheryl Honey of Bothell a prestigious 2007 Jefferson Award for her public and community service.
Honey created the means for people to have a voice and to leverage change through a design called Community Weaving. It all started when the mother of four organized her neighbors into a strong support network. Soon, it became a bigger neighborhood gathering at a local elementary school.
The neighbors took inventory of their strengths and assets and discovered many had faced similar life struggles: job layoffs, vandalism, parenting frustrations, health issues, "I wouldn't be here if Antioch hadn't galvanized all my knowledge.... It wasn't always comfortable, but it stretched my understanding of the conditions and realities of people's lives."alcoholism, domestic violence and more. They began to share resources with one another and formed the all-volunteer Family Support Network with Honey as community coordinator. By the end of that first year, the network had more than 300 members.
"Community Weaving created the space and conditions for people to tap their creative genius, organize with others who shared similar passions and realize their dreams in the world. This support network takes open space to the community level," Honey says.
"It was serendipitous that I ended up going to Antioch. I didn't know what a liberal college was at the time. I do now. The Art of Learning and Social Movements course opened my eyes to the injustice in our world.
"I began understanding why there was so much resistance from systems to connect people together. I met Peggy Holman, an open space practitioner, in my large group interventions class and I had an ‘aha’ moment.
"My advisers – Mary Lou Finley, Anne Harvey and Marv Thomas – saw something in me that I didn't see in myself. I didn't grasp how to make this grow. They made me stretch into new dimensions of understanding. I learned how to trust. I didn't have that before Antioch.
"My advisers taught me I had special gifts to offer this world and I didn't have to ask for permission to make my unique contribution. That's the key that Antioch gave me to unlock my potential.
"It has been interesting these past few months as I realize all these change masters I studied at Antioch are now my colleagues. Dick Axelrod told me at the Nexus for Change conference that whatever I'm charging it isn't enough for what I have to offer.
"Peggy Holman invited me to submit a chapter on Community Weaving and it was incorporated into the new Change Handbook (2nd edition) as a structural design change method. I now travel the country training Community Weavers how to implement Community Weaving in their communities," she says.
Honey also offers certification training in Community Weaving in the Seattle area. Visit www.communityweaving.org for more details.
Honey and the four other recipients of the Jefferson Award were honored at a CityClub luncheon at the Westin Hotel in early April 2007. The annual awards are sponsored by the Seattle Post-Intelligencer and Microsoft Corp. and pay tribute to those who make a difference through community service.
Honey also has been invited to the White House to participate in the White House Compassion in Action Roundtable. She is briefing staff of Faith-Based Initiative and Corporation for Public and Community Service on how to build community capacity using the Community Weaving model.
"I'm getting closer to achieving my goal of serving as an adviser to the feds to shift the paradigm of service delivery from reliance on government to empowering people to share resources and help one another," she describes.
Honey credits Antioch for helping her find her way.
"I wouldn't be here if Antioch hadn't galvanized all my knowledge," she says. "Antioch is the best thing that ever happened to me. It wasn't always comfortable, but it stretched my understanding of the conditions and realities of people's lives."
Note: Antioch students and alumni may sign up for free as Good Neighbors at www.familynetwork.org. Enter group ID: AUS (all caps).
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