Initiatives of Change - News of ACTION for a change in the USA

Inspiration. Hope. Connection. Opportunity. These words passed around the closing circle at the farewell dinner in Dayton, Ohio. The collection of Local Coordinators, hosts, friends and the ACTION team reflected on the impact and meaning of the ACTION visit.

Dayton High School students with the ACTION team

Students listen to an ACTION workshop on leadership at a Dayton High School.

The ACTION visits to Dayton and Cincinnati focused on individual changemakers and community development.

Angela Staravoytova (Ukraine) writes about what she saw: “Dayton is a very rich city! It is rich with passion that changes lives, transforms communities, and gives hope. Everyday in Dayton we were privileged to meet people who really cared about what was going on in their community. They were passionate about their work and calling. Dayton has a great hope because of those individuals and their love expressed in service to the city.”

Spearheaded by three local coordinators, Amy Jones, Jim Hagan and Emily DiAloia, the non-stop week began at the University of Dayton with a reception sponsored by The Fitz Center, a campus group focused on community work. The next day the team split up to work at the House of Bread, a local soup kitchen, and to participate in the Gulu Walk to raise awareness of the violence in Northern Uganda.

Students shared openly about diversity and leadership during ACTION’s visits to local schools. In one discussion, the ACTION team used different exercises to move students out of their “comfort zones” in order to understand the importance of working in diverse communities and teams.

Two visits to the Sisters of the Precious Blood were special contributions to the week. In addition to their hospitality and warm meals, the sisters provided valuable perspectives on the meaning of community.

The team also met with elected officials to discuss local issues. A conversation with City Commissioner Matt Joseph centered on corruption. He shared his personal tactics on how to maintain integrity and values-based leadership by holding fast to a personal set of principles and by having “accountability” relationships.

Youth Development Coordinator Dr. Donnell E. Gregory demonstrated the ACTION approach to story-sharing as a means to engage and inspire others. He shared his own powerful story of overcoming the odds of his “at-risk” childhood to complete his doctoral studies in education.

Later in the week, the team traveled to Cincinnati to meet with students at Xavier University. There, the team met a group involved with raising awareness about poverty and homelessness. The ACTION team’s presentation on global poverty turned into a fascinating conversation about race relations on campus. After some honest discussion, the message turned from simple assessments of the situation to tactics that could build real community across the divides.

After the discussion, ACTION team members accepted an invitation to spend the evening outside in “Shantytown,” a collection of ramshackle edifices created to simulate the conditions of the homeless. A sub-zero night left everyone cold, but with a new appreciation for the difficulties faced by many people.

A visit to the Freedom Center told the history of slavery and the Underground Railroad. This was followed by a dialogue with a former assistant police chief who now works in the difficult field of police-community relations.

Richard and Trong pose for a picture in "Shantytown," in Cincinnati, OH.

After the cold night in Shantytown, the ACTION team returned to a warm closing reception in Dayton. As new friends gathered around, one could feel a new spirit of community created.

Selly (Senegal) concluded: “Our hosts shared how much they were touched by our stay and emphasized the impact of our visit on them. I realized then that a small group of people from around the world, willing to travel together, actually can change a piece of this world. ACTION is a powerful and meaningful project.”

At the heart of the ACTION experience is discovering what brings different people together to form community—whether in big cities or small towns. That sense of belonging that so many people feel—no matter where they call home—it inspires some to celebrate, some to find faith, some to fight for its preservation. The ACTION team is privileged to be welcomed into so many homes and communities. A poem given to the team during their visit to Dayton City Hall expressed these sentiments:
“Love of home, sublimest passion
That the human heart can know!
Changeless still, though fate and fashion
Rise and fall and ebb and flow...”