To wrap up this series on Nourishing Community: Cultivating Fellowship and Vision in Youth Services, we’re highlighting the purpose of leveraging a sense of renewal and of centering culture, community, and connection: offering opportunities in which young people, their parents/caregivers, and their networks of support (including program staff!) experience belonging.

Many of our programs are just like at a dinner table – everyone brings their appetite and preferences. The best meals are a magical combination of good food, side conversations, small talk, meeting new people, and maybe a lengthy sobremesa to talk over a light dessert and a warm drink.

Centering belonging requires everyone’s unique contributions. Belonging is a feeling, yet our programs often face pressures that distract from the relationship building needed to explore, understand, and support what our program communities need to feel seen, heard, respected, and connected. Even more, our communities are diverse - and, as a community of communities, we are still working to co-create environments where diversity leads to connection instead of disconnection. 

• Diversity and belonging might seem to be distant concepts. Diversity refers to the presence of multiple ways of thinking, feeling, believing, and valuing; belonging comes from experiencing meaningful relationship(s) within the environment(s) we navigate. 
• What bridges diversity and belonging? Opportunities to build relationships among people with shared interests, goals, and passions are the bridge. In other words, fellowship. Fellowship does not contradict diversity. Quite the opposite, fellowship allows communities to tap into the richness brought by diversity and the protective/enabling potential of belonging.  

Reflect

Look at the work that is ahead - the next month, quarter, or year. Your programs most likely include a diverse menu of offerings. Take 15 minutes this week to write out your responses to the following prompts (best by hand, but for your convenience, a fillable PDF is available here).

1. Who are the different members of your program community that will be engaged in program activities? From your interactions with them, would you say they feel like they belong in your program community? How do you know?
2. How will you prioritize opportunities for your program community to connect back to itself?
3. How is your program prepared to welcome a diversity of colors, spices, appetites, and flavors? If the program does not feel prepared, what actions are needed to be better prepared?

Let's Connect

Our team is available to work alongside you and your team as you continue to identify and provide rich opportunities to support youth and young adults, their parents/caregivers, and their networks of support - request consultation and technical assistance here.

Thank you for coming along with us for this series on Nourishing Community: Cultivating Fellowship and Vision in Youth Services. Share your thoughts directly with us at community@youthcollaboratory.org and best of luck for the year ahead!

This toolkit was released as a newsletter series in January 2024, with each module being delivered to inboxes every Tuesday morning. Learn more about new training and funding opportunities, news and policy updates, and how we can collectively strengthen outcomes for youth and young adults. Sign up for our newsletter to get the latest delivered straight to your inbox.