560 CONFERENCE ON NATURAL BEAUTY 



to halt the blight of ugliness and carry out positive programs to make 

 America beautiful. Citizen action concerns itself with encourag- 

 ing private effort, and providing broad support for the public pro- 

 grams. 



Mrs. STITZENBERGER. As director of the General Federation of 

 Women's Clubs Community Improvement Program, a nationwide 

 program underwritten by the Sears, Roebuck Foundation, it has 

 been my privilege to work with clubwomen all over the country. 

 Projects undertaken by these volunteers have ranged from simple, 

 one-time improvements to vast, over-all community development 

 projects. Many of them have included some aspects of beautifica- 

 tion. 



Through this program, we have seen miraculous things accom- 

 plished by average citizens when once they understand techniques 

 of motivation and community cooperation. In their roles as cata- 

 lysts, clubwomen have discovered that it is necessary to involve as 

 many elements of the community as possible in the early planning 

 stages. This is especially applicable to beautification where the 

 cultivation of indigenous leadership is as important as the cultiva- 

 tion of flowers. 



Where possible, it is desirable for professionals and volunteers to 

 work together to achieve goals. Take North Little Rock, Ark., 

 where for 30 years one of the worst slums in the South crouched 

 behind a floodwall. People lived in old buses and in shacks 

 constructed from tar paper and packing boxes. Using the Fed- 

 eral slum clearance program, the city government razed the shacks 

 and cleared the area. Clubwomen volunteered to assist with the 

 resettling. With this done, they turned their attention to the waste- 

 land where the shacks had stood. Volunteers became the moving 

 force in turning the river front into a beautiful city park. The 

 stark floodwall was a poor background for a beautiful river front 

 park so clubwomen employed a well-known expert to design a mural 

 depicting the history of Arkansas. The mural, which they painted 

 themselves, became a tourist attraction as well as a beautiful back- 

 drop for the park. 



Professionals sometimes discount contributions that volunteers can 

 make toward achieving goals. Volunteers are often intimidated by 

 their exalted concept of the knowledge and prestige of professionals. 

 They need each other for mutual education and exchange of ideas. 

 No matter how expertly planning is done, if programs are not in- 



