Greetings from South Charleston, West Virginia! We’ve just wrapped up the first day of our first January Gathering to train program leaders in the skills they need to run their Summer of Solutions programs and to build community across programs. Today got off to a hectic and snowy start, but we closed with a fantastic session on the story of our organization and practice on how we can each tell our own stories.

Looking around the Rock Lake Community Center, I feel that this is a perfect space for us. It’s spacious — enough room for the Full Circles Foundation programs from Raleigh and Lexington to brainstorm together, for Duncan and Evan from Pioneer Valley to play music downstairs, for Jen and Joe from Hartford to make tea in the kitchen, and for four different teams and individuals to prepare trainings and logistics tomorrow. The space is in construction to make room for more, better, and more locally relevant programing — sound familiar? Moreover, it’s being shared with generosity, love, and a dedication towards a better world. Jenny, Dana, and Steve shared their stories and enthusiasm with us to welcome us here.

I am so excited to learn and grow with my fellow solutionaries over the next week!