America’s barn still needs neighbors to keep it standing
In a recent Deseret News opinion piece, Do Good principal Michael Parker, who also serves as executive director of the Cities Strong Foundation, joined Dan England and Scott Anderson in reflecting on an old American tradition: the barn raising.
On the frontier, when a neighbor needed a barn, the community showed up. People brought their tools, their labor and their time because they understood that strong communities depend on people taking responsibility for one another.
That idea remains just as relevant 250 years after America’s founding.
The piece argues that the strength of communities has never come from government alone. It comes from neighbors who know one another, families who support one another, schools rooted in their communities and people willing to step forward when someone needs help.
That philosophy is at the center of the work Cities Strong Foundation is supporting alongside myHometown and other partners across Utah. Community Resource Centers are creating places where neighbors can connect with English classes, employment support, immigration services and other resources. At the same time, an expanding partnership with the Utah Legislature, FranklinCovey and private funders is bringing Leader in Me to schools in communities across the Wasatch Front, connecting leadership development, school culture and Utah’s broader focus on literacy.
The larger point is simple: Utah’s strong communities did not happen by accident, and they will not remain strong without continued investment in the relationships and institutions that hold them together.
America’s next 250 years will be built much like its first 250 — one family, one school and one neighborhood at a time.
