Tycoma Miller shared how the West Anniston Foundation has taken a leadership role in addressing environmental threats facing her Georgia community by investing in a community information project.

For nearly 40 years, the city of 25,000 was unknowingly exposed to PCB contaminants from a nearby chemical factory, which led to a myriad of health problems including cancer and diabetes.

With support from Knight Foundation, the community foundation launched the weekly radio program West Anniston Today to provide a way for people to ask questions and share stories.

A handful of calls turned into hundreds a month. Miller described how the show not only gave people a voice, but also the ability to share what mattered most to them about what to do moving forward.

The project wasn’t without its obstacles, however. Miller said her biggest challenge was getting young people - 18 to 25-year-olds - to participate in the radio program: “We tried using Facebook and Twitter. Young people were engaged in the website, but they weren’t calling in to the radio program to discuss the issues.”

The next phase of the program will work on identifying ways to increase trust in the community and focus on creating a larger impact for the program, Miller said.