There was a moment during our Welcoming Week party when I was dancing my heart out to a Spanish-language version of “Achy Breaky Heart” in the middle of town and smiling so hard my cheeks hurt. I was soaking in the sunshine and feeling thankful it didn’t rain on our outdoor block party, happy to be dancing, and frankly relieved to be done with event planning.
When I first brought up the idea of Welcoming Week with people in my community, it was tricky to explain. They wanted a frame of reference based on something they’ve already experienced. But this was brand new for us.
Admittedly, I had a bit of a head start. I work at Southwest Initiative Foundation and supported communities in hosting Welcoming Week events last year. This time around, I discovered it’s one thing to go about your job helping other people do the work where they live. It’s an entirely different thing to be part of it in your own community.
Knowing I needed more connections, I met a friend at a local coffee shop. With a borrowed crayon, I wrote down a list of names of people who may want to help build belonging in our town. Then I asked people, many of whom I’d never met, if they wanted to be part of something they’d never heard of, and most of them said yes. It was kind of amazing.
An email turned into a group of folks who learned about each other and our city. As we met and dreamed and adjusted our dreams, the Welcoming Week Party took shape. It was still a little hard to explain. It’s for newcomers and for people whose families have lived here since they can remember. It celebrates our differences and the fact that we share this place in common. People often asked who we were “with” — as in, what official group was behind this new thing. But it was just us, as community members, finding resources to make it happen.
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Small businesses, nonprofits, our local leaders and friends came through with what we needed.
The best part is people showed up to the party! They bought tacos and sloppy joes and made chalk art and whacked the heck out of eight pinatas. The Matachines dancers stood out against the blue September sky, and the crowd fell silent to hear the beat of their drummer and the jingle of their bells.
Kids volunteered to help set up lawn games. Neighbors waved hello and smiled at someone new.
I have a photo of me dancing at Welcoming Week taped in my cube at the office. It’s nudging me to think about what could happen next.
During Welcoming Week, community members completed a survey and shared with SWIF what makes them feel like they belong. They named things like activities and community programs, being involved, friendly faces, diversity, acceptance, safety, jobs and caring for others.
How do we keep building that sense of belonging and bring more people in? It’s not easy or instant, but if you start coming up with ideas, you may be surprised at how many neighbors raise their hands to help.
Benya Kraus is a young leader who has inspired me with her work in rural Minnesota. She said, “In order for people to develop a deep commitment to their place, there needs to be a sense that they belong in it, and that it belongs to them. I am this place, and this place, too, is me. Its future is my future.”
Belonging begins with us. What’s our next move?
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Marie Zimmerman works as the communications manager at Southwest Initiative Foundation and connects communities in southwest Minnesota through storytelling. She lives just outside Glencoe and enjoys being a part of community life there.
