Embrace the News
2022 A Year of Network Weaving
2022 Year in Review Over the past year Embrace has seen tremendous growth in the number of ABCD practitioners who are not only learning ABCD principles and practices through our learning opportunities but an increasing number who are finding on-going support they need to successfully implement an…
Fall 2022 - Power Shift Learning Cohorts
The Empowered Communities Network is hosting this Power Shift - Foundations Series Training event through multiple learning cohorts. Some cohorts will be hybrid and others will be entirely virtual. All cohorts will begin with a Virtual Launch Party on September 14th from 6:00-8:00pm EDT. Each…
Rural ABCD Community of Practice 2022 Update
There are some exciting developments happening in the Rural ABCD Community of Practice! Below are some of the developments happening for the group in the new year.In the January meeting, the group will be revisiting its group covenant together to make any necessary adjustments for the new year. A…
Embrace Communities 2021 Year in Review
2021 OutcomesThis past year has been filled with new opportunities that have helped us forge new relationships and deepen existing ones. In total during 2021, roughly 300 individuals participated in training opportunities, 60 individuals got connected to peers through networks and communities of…
Coaching: A Bridge from Knowledge to Practice
Has this ever happened to you? You come across a new way of doing something that resonates with you, and you want to make the change. Then, you take a training on it, or maybe, you read all the books and articles on it that you can find. The more you learn, the more excited you are about the impact…
Giving Thanks For New Friends
Over the past year, we have been embracing the vision of helping to cultivate stronger communities across the nation and beyond. In April 2021, Embrace launched the Empowered Communities Network to help ensure our training and coaching services are accessible to all community builders regardless…
Congratulations Fall 2021 Graduates!
Please join Embrace Communities as we celebrate the graduates of our first ever Network Sponsored Introductory Power Shift Training Series that was held this fall! We would also like to celebrate our Network Members, Belmont Community Resource Services and Coastal Bend Neighborhood Empowerment, for…
We Did It! Our Soul Care Groups Have Launched!
We are excited to announce that the pilot Soul Care group that emerged from this summer’s listening project has launched! In fact, due to the growing interest and energy behind this initiative, we have already exceeded our goal of 12 participants and are adding new elements that will allow us to…
Outcomes From Our Soul Care Listening Project
This summer, Wendy McCaig and Cheryl Groce-Wright concluded Phase I of the Soul Care For Community Builders Initiative. Through a listening project, Wendy and Cheryl discovered what helped the community builders survive and thrive through the many challenges of the past year and a half. Although…
Congratulations To Our Graduates!
Embrace Communities offers three levels of training in Asset-Based Community Development:The Introductory Power Shift Training Series: an introductory level training series for those who are new to or need a refresher in Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD) principles and tools of practice.…
Introducing the Fall 2021 Power Shift Training Series
Embrace is excited to announce the first ever Empowered Communities Network sponsored Power Shift Training Series. Who is this training for? This training is being offered by select members of the Empowered Communities Network who are inviting stakeholders from their respective communities. This is…
Together We Rise Above 2020!
When I started Embrace more than 15 years ago, we were an all-volunteer organization made up largely of my suburban neighbors and individuals transitioning out of homelessness. We had very little organizational structure and even less financial resources. What we had was each other and together…
Embrace Chesterfield EDU Project Goals and Timeline
In this video we discuss the goals, partner roles and timeline of the Embrace Chesterfield EDU project.
Embrace Chesterfield EDU Launch Announcement
Next Tuesday, October 6th 2020, we are launching our first ever online Youth Power Shift for Educators training! When we developed our online training portal last year through a grant provided by The Community Foundation of Greater Richmond, we never dreamed this would become our primary means for…
Insights for Faith Leaders: Interview with Audrey Smith
Over the past several weeks I have been engaged in numerous conversations with faith leaders who are seeking to figure out how they can support families who are now facing the demands of virtual learning. Audrey Smith is one of many faith leaders that I have had the privilege of training and…
2nd $5,000 Great Neighbor Grant Awarded
As we shared earlier this year, Embrace turned 15 years old on March 30th of 2020. To celebrate we are giving away $15,000 in awards to community builders who are using the Empowered Communities Framework to strengthen communities from the inside out using Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD)…
1st $5,000 Great Neighbor Grant Awarded for 2020
Over three years ago, after a training with Belmont United Methodist Church, the church made a commitment to strengthen the community of Southwood. Over the past two years, several small listening projects were conducted, but the low level of trust among the residents made the process slow and it…
It’s Our 15th Birthday - So, we are Giving Away $15,000!
On March 30th, Embrace will officially turn 15 years old! You gave us 15 Years, so to celebrate we are "Paying It Forward" with $15,000 in Great Neighbor grants.In the very early days of Embrace, all we had was a dream. We were so poor as an organization, we literally rationed toilet paper and…
20 by 2020: Our Big Hairy Audacious Goal
In 2013, as Embrace was turning 7 years old, our board of directors participated in a strategic visioning process. During that season of discernment, we made the decision to shift from being a practitioner of Asset Based Community Development (doing the work) to being an intermediary (training and…