GO FORTH AND DO GOOD

Sitting at a table in Carpinteria’s newest cafe, Brass Bird, Carpinteria Community Library Technician/Program Specialist and 2023 Women of Inspiration honoree Jena Jenkins animatedly describes a blog post by one of her students about the meaning of collaboration: “You see, my project is their project,” the student wrote about Community Pioneer Lab and his companions there.

Pioneer Lab, a four-to-five-week workshop held through the Carpinteria Community Library, is Jena’s brainchild. The workshop helps community members cultivate their own projects, narrowing down how they—even in the smallest of ways—can influence and support their community. Sessions are typically held at night, once a week, between 6 and 7:30 p.m., so that people of all ages and all backgrounds may attend. Pioneer Lab has attracted everyone from young moms in their mid-20s to retired seniors.

Jena teaches the workshop on three foundations: care, create, and collaborate. “You don’t have to go huge,” she emphasizes. “Figure out what your values are, what you can do, and take actionable steps … break it down to, ‘What can I do?’”

Her ultimate goal? To help her students learn to create their own projects and change their communities without her after Pioneer Lab is over. “I guess it’s like a parent—when you give somebody their wings and let them fly without you, that’s pretty great,” she says.

One student in Jena’s group completed a “coffee cards” project. Seeking to connect more with fellow hikers, he wanted to create “coffee cards” to hand out to people on the trail. Another participant in the class with design skills made the cards that the hiker passed out on the trail. By collaborating with a fellow student and inviting locals to come and have coffee together, the student expanded his community and carved out a space for people to share his love of hiking.

Jena also describes a project from another student, a physical therapist in Santa Barbara. She wanted to provide a Spanish language yoga class for a demographic that holds physically demanding jobs but has little access to yoga and its benefits. And she did; the class was held at the Carpinteria Community Library.

“It’s super empowering,” Jena says of Pioneer Lab, adding that she wants people to learn they are powerful resources in their own communities and can become “the change” in their own worlds by flipping their perspectives. “I want to help people figure out what’s important to them.”

She enjoys watching participants come together. They are there to launch their own projects, yes, but they are also there to make friends, Jena says.

Interested in Pioneer Lab? Check out upcoming opportunities at carpinterialibrary.org or by calling (805) 684-4314.

-EVELYN SPENCE