Circles Dorchester County
Circles Dorchester County seeks to inspire and equip our community to reduce poverty and remove the barriers that stand in the way to financial security. Poverty is more than a lack of material wealth, sometimes it means relying on family, friends, and government assistance which can be dehumanizing. When people achieve financial security, they experience a surge of pride and confidence. Often, they say they have regained their dignity, their value, and their humanity.
At Circles Dorchester County, we believe everyone can work together to reduce and eradicate poverty. The Circles model focuses both on what individuals can do to change their situations and on what society can do to remove the barriers that stand in their way.
Circles Dorchester County is not a faith-based program. In fact, it welcomes participation from any community group, government agency, or nonprofit organization that seeks to reduce poverty. Circles Dorchester County is being sponsored by the Dorchester County Local Management Board as an opportunity for the entire Dorchester County community to better engage and support itself
Circles Dorchester County
The community planning process facilitated by the Local Management Board (LMB) of Dorchester County, Maryland laid the foundation for a three-year initiative to develop a poverty reduction plan. The LMB recognized that in order to affect change in the area of poverty, they would have to strengthen the capacity of the local community. In 2018, the LMB began a community-wide strategy to address poverty and stabilize communities.
In 2019, LMB engaged Circles USA to determine the feasibility and readiness to build a county-wide Poverty Reduction Lab and launch a Circles Chapter to support individuals on the journey out of poverty.
The Circles Dorchester County Team
Nancy Shockley, Director, Dorchester Community Partnership for Children & Families
(410)228-0281
nshockley@docogonet.com
Dion D. Banks,
Circles & Poverty Reduction Coordinator
(443)521-4498
dorchestercountycircles@gmail.com
Highly accomplished, astute, and seasoned Operations Analyst, with more than 20 years of extensive experience in operations management, renewable energy, government affairs with domestic and international business development. Also the co-founder and President of the Eastern Shore Network for Change. a nonprofit where we work to be an allied resource for existing community-based programs, local government, social service institutions, public schools, higher learning institutions, the department of corrections, and our local courts.