Jackie Wolven: Weaving Civic Love, Belonging, and Community Connection in Eureka Springs

 

Every community has people who organize events, lead organizations, and volunteer their time. But some individuals take that work a step further. They intentionally bring people together, build relationships across differences, and help residents discover that they have the power to shape the places they call home.

Jackie Wolven is one of those people.

Jackie is the Executive Director of Main Street Eureka Springs in Arkansas, a certified facilitator, and someone who describes her work through an interesting term: civic weaver.

I love that description because it captures something essential about building stronger communities. Just as a weaver brings individual threads together to create something stronger and more beautiful, civic weavers connect people, organizations, ideas, and opportunities to create a stronger social fabric.

And that is exactly the kind of work we need more of in our neighborhoods and communities.

What Is a Civic Weaver?

The concept of civic weaving recognizes that healthy communities don't happen automatically. They are built through relationships, shared experiences, trust, and opportunities for meaningful participation.

A civic weaver helps make those connections possible.

Think about the people in your community who introduce neighbors to one another, organize volunteer projects, invite new residents to participate, or bring people with different perspectives together for a productive conversation.

Those individuals are doing the work of civic weaving, whether they use that term or not. Jackie's approach emphasizes three important ingredients: volunteer activation, structured community dialogue, and sustainable civic programming.

Each of these deserves attention.

Volunteer activation is about more than recruiting people to help with an event. It means helping residents recognize that they have something valuable to contribute and providing meaningful opportunities to get involved.

Structured community dialogue creates opportunities for people to listen, learn, and work through challenges together. At a time when disagreements can easily become divisions, the ability to facilitate productive conversations is an increasingly important community leadership skill.

Sustainable civic programming recognizes that community building cannot depend entirely on a single enthusiastic leader or one successful event. The goal is to establish habits, relationships, and structures that continue making a difference over time.

Connection to Place Matters

One of the most interesting aspects of Jackie's work is her emphasis on strengthening people's connection to place.

We often talk about community belonging as a relationship between people. But belonging also involves how we feel about the places where we live.

Do residents feel connected to their downtown? Do they take pride in their neighborhoods? Do they believe their participation matters? Do they see themselves as consumers of community services or as active contributors to community life?

These questions matter because people are more likely to invest their time and energy in places where they feel a sense of ownership and belonging.

Through her leadership at Main Street Eureka Springs, Jackie works at the intersection of place, participation, and community identity.

Her approach reminds us that a thriving downtown is more than attractive buildings, successful businesses, and interesting events. It is also a place where relationships develop, people encounter one another, and residents experience a shared sense of community.

In other words, the physical places we create can help shape the social connections we experience.

From Civic Engagement to Civic Love

Another phrase associated with Jackie's work is civic love.

That is a powerful concept.

We frequently hear about civic engagement, civic responsibility, and civic participation. Those are all important. But civic love suggests something deeper.

It asks us to consider what it means to genuinely care about the people and places around us.

Civic love is demonstrated when residents give their time to improve a neighborhood, when volunteers work together for the common good, and when people choose to remain connected despite their differences.

It is the recognition that our individual well-being is connected to the well-being of others.

And perhaps most importantly, civic love is something we practice.

It is not enough to say we love our town. We demonstrate that love through participation, service, hospitality, listening, and the everyday decisions that make our communities more welcoming.

That is a message that fits naturally with what we teach through Neighboring 101 and celebrate during Missouri Good Neighbor Week.

Being a good neighbor is one of the simplest and most practical expressions of civic love.

Turning Participation Into Lasting Impact

Jackie brings a combination of local experience and national perspective to this conversation.

She is certified in professional facilitation through the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and has been selected as both a National Arts Strategy Fellow and a Citizen University Fellow.

These experiences have helped shape her approach to community building, particularly her emphasis on participatory processes that build trust and develop local leadership.

That word participatory is especially important.

Too often, community projects are designed by a small group of people and then presented to residents with the hope that they will support them.

A participatory approach begins differently. It invites people into the process, values their experiences, and creates opportunities for them to help shape the outcome.

Instead of asking, "How do we get people to support our idea?" we begin asking, "How can we create something meaningful together?"

That change in perspective can make a tremendous difference.

It moves residents from being spectators to participants and from being recipients of services to becoming co-creators of their community.

It also helps develop the next generation of local leaders.

What Can Neighborhood Leaders Learn?

I believe there are several important lessons in Jackie's approach that apply to neighborhood associations, small towns, volunteer organizations, and anyone interested in creating stronger communities.

First, relationships are the foundation of community change. Programs and events can bring people together, but lasting impact comes from the connections that develop.

Second, people need meaningful invitations to participate. Many residents are willing to contribute but are waiting for someone to ask or help them see where they fit.

Third, listening is a community-building skill. Creating opportunities for genuine dialogue helps people feel valued and builds the trust necessary for collective action.

Fourth, places matter. Downtowns, parks, sidewalks, community gathering spaces, and neighborhood events can all become settings where belonging grows.

Finally, community building must outlast individual leaders. Sustainable programs create opportunities for new volunteers, fresh ideas, and emerging leaders to carry the work forward.

These lessons are relevant whether you live in a small rural community, a growing suburb, or a large metropolitan neighborhood.

Why This Conversation Matters Now

We live in a time when many Americans report feeling disconnected from the people around them. We have more ways to communicate than ever before, yet meaningful face-to-face relationships can still be difficult to develop.

At the same time, communities are facing challenges that no single organization, elected official, or volunteer can solve alone.

We need people who know how to connect others, facilitate conversations, activate volunteers, and help residents rediscover their shared responsibility for the places where they live.

We need civic weavers.

That is why I am excited to welcome Jackie Wolven as a guest speaker for Neighboring 101.

Her work offers an encouraging reminder that stronger communities are not created simply by launching another program or hosting another event.

They are created when people begin to see one another as neighbors, recognize their shared stake in a place, and discover what they can accomplish together.

The strength of a community is not simply measured by what it has, but by how its people connect, participate, and care for one another.

And every one of us has the opportunity to become a civic weaver, beginning right where we live.

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Neighboring 101 is an educational program offered through University of Missouri Extension that brings together community leaders, neighborhood organizers, authors, and national experts to explore practical ways to strengthen relationships and build more connected communities.

WRITTEN BY

David L. Burton

For more information, visit the Engaged Neighbor website. Take our pledge and become part of a movement! Or subscribe to our newsletter. Access some of the research documents written by David Burton, the author of this blog. Or better yet, purchase one of his books off Amazon. Contact David L. Burton via email at dburton541@yahoo.