Abstract: For more than 25 years Neighbours Inc. has developed a culture of innovation to sustain our capacity to be responsive to people's lives as they grow and change. This writing captures the origins of the need for change, and creating ways for people to direct their lives with the support of an agency. The development of an organizational culture of innovation includes: ongoing clarity of vision and purpose; organizational structures that align with this vision and purpose; frameworks and paradigms to guide the work; staff roles; and reflective action practices that inspire creativity, celebrate failure, and embrace change. Personal stories are laced throughout to demonstrate an innovative organizational culture in action. (DIPF/Orig.)

Have you ever sat at your desk or in your living room and thought, "There's got to be a better way to live?" Have you dreamed about traveling, but figure you'll never get the chance until you're too old to enjoy it? It's not possible for everyone to make the changes these thoughts and dreams require, but I did. I took to the road in 1997 as a solo female full-time camper with three guinea pigs for companions. I wanted to see as much of the country as possible, and I traveled on secondary highways from Washington State to Illinois. After visiting a sister there, then another sister in Kansas, plans to spend the winter in southern Arizona were changed by Mother Nature and I became a "Winter Texan" instead. This is the travel diary I kept as I pursued the full-timing life for the first ten months.