For the Virginia Cluster, MIRA was a vehicle to bring people together around a common goal. As a direct result of the community team requirement to attend the workshop series and their ability to take advantage of the training, the New River Valley has become stronger as a region and team members have discovered that they have common interests concerning the future of the valley.
Communities in the New River Valley region are isolated from each other by the natural environment and as a result many communities do not collaborate with surrounding communities. Although all the counties involved in MIRA experience this isolation, there was a common sentiment at first that the four counties did not have much in common with each other. Some individuals said that the natural environment was too different. Others said that economic and cultural factors differentiated the counties. The MIRA project allowed the communities within the four counties to learn about common strengths, issues and concerns about the future. A new-found sense of regionalism has resulted from the MIRA experience.
Relationships were forged on each community team, between community teams and with outside community groups and individual throughout the MIRA project. Individuals interviewed commented that they felt that they could make a difference in their community. The general feeling was that the MIRA project also provided a network and established relationships from which future projects could be initiated.
The workshop series not only provided a vehicle to build relationships, it also provided the teams with valuable skills. Overall, the participants interviewed felt that the workshops provided a skill base from which the communities within the New River Valley can build. Most of the participants were new to community development initiatives and learned many techniques and processes to apply to community initiatives. More advanced participants commented that they observed the growth of the group over the course of the workshop series.
