The Equality Crew in Northwest Arkansas needs our help!

The Equality Crew promotes diversity, inclusivity, and equality throughout our community. They achieve this by offering various LGBTQIA+ youth programs that promote education and awareness around social justice and equality issues. They exist to positively impact our community and create a brighter future for all people.

The organization is at risk of closing its doors due to lack of funding and maintaining operational capacity and support. Read this important message and consider supporting this organization by attending one of two meetings with the community to discuss solutions:

Circles NWA Needs Allies!

Circles NWA is gearing up for their next cohort to start this fall, and they need more volunteer Allies! Could this be you? Know someone who might be interested? Sign up for an upcoming Ally Info Session:

Bentonville Teachers Homes Project Update

From reporting by Jeff Della Rosa with Talk Business & Politics, “The Walton Family Foundation and the state of Arkansas will provide $18.7 million for the McAuley Place development in Bentonville, according to a Wednesday (July 31) news release.

The 160-unit workforce housing development will be built for employees of Bentonville Schools and other families in the district. The estimated total cost for the development is between $40 million and $50 million.

The Bentonville Teacher Homes project at McAuley Place is a public-private collaboration that includes Bentonville Schools, Excellerate Foundation, Benton County, Mercy Health, Arvest Bank and Strategic Realty.”

Last month, the Quorum Court unanimously (11 of the 15 in attendance) authorized the sale of the county’s Division VI circuit court property at 221 S. Main St. to the city of Bentonville for $4.65 million. The city of Bentonville plans to utilize the land as part of the Quilt of Parks project and the city’s council members are scheduled to approve the purchase at their Aug. 13th meeting.

Upcoming County Government meetings at the Admin Building in downtown Bentonville:

Sexual Health Education

from Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families (AACF):

“AACF began recruitment for a new Sexual Health Education Coalition in 2023. This diverse group represents parents in our state, health providers, abuse prevention experts, and advocates for marginalized groups, who all came together over the past year to make recommendations that form a blueprint for change. The group quickly realized that our state has a long way to go to improve access to age-appropriate, effective, and equitable sexual health education. Thinking long-term, coalition members acknowledged that it will take years of incremental steps to improve the quality of education that young people in Arkansas receive.

This report outlines the current landscape for sexual health education in Arkansas and how that compares to best practices nationally. It includes a list of recommendations from community-level services to statewide policy change and a timeline for taking pragmatic action.”

Want to hear directly about the findings in the report? Join AACF on a webinar Wednesday, August 7th at 4 p.m.. Register HERE.

Northwest Arkansas 2024 Quality of Life Survey

From the Walton Family Foundation media release, “Almost two-thirds of residents in Northwest Arkansas rate their overall quality of life as “excellent” or “very good,” according to a new survey conducted by the Walton Family Foundation.

However, the results also show that while positive perceptions about Northwest Arkansas’s quality of life are high, the sentiment has declined slightly compared to how residents felt when surveyed in 2018 and 2015.

Additionally, the 2024 report found that affordability and infrastructure challenges are impacting residents’ ability to access key resources and quality of life.”

Read the full report HERE.

Ballot Initiatives in the News: