Class Picture CCTP 2009 (Photo: Cricket White)
Where did sixteen people from Richmond, VA, one from France, one from Guatemala and one from Latvia come together? Four were in their twenties or thirties; five were in their forties; thirteen were in their fifties or sixties. There were nine Caucasians, ten African Americans, and representatives of Christianity, Islam and Judaism, as well as those with no religious affiliation.

Can’t guess? It was the Connecting Communities Trustbuilding Program!

Jack McHale, former Chesterfield county supervisor and CCTP class (Photo: Cricket White)Over three residential weekends, this diverse group explored the qualities of a trustbuilder: What does trust mean? What does it feel like to be trusted? And what does it feel like to be treated with suspicion? Through exercises, reflection, small group work, silence, exploration of values, and art work, individuals investigated the concept of trust and its importance in reaching out to others with whom one wants to work but who may hold different points of view. After discussions on transparency, vulnerability and forgiveness, each person ultimately had to wrestle with the questions, “Am I trustworthy? Where is my growing edge and with whom do I need to reconcile?”

Anjum Ali (Richmond) and Erwan Floch (Paris) (Photo: Cricket White)The group gathered at Richmond Hill, an ecumenical retreat center on a hill overlooking the city of Richmond, and spent Friday, Saturday and Sunday of three weekends (February 27 – March 1, March 6 – 8, and March 27 – 29,) discovering how to apply the tools and exercises to the issues of public education. In the Richmond metropolitan region, the city school system and those of the surrounding counties all operate independently. The lack of parity in the distribution of educational resources across jurisdictions brought most of the participants to the program. Many had been working within the system, or trying to impact the system, for many years, and were committed to creating positive experiences for all children. However, participants shared that they had felt progress in teambuilding had been stymied by lack of relationship and trust between individuals in the different jurisdictions.

At the end of the program, one participant said, “I feel that I can reach out more effectively and really listen to folks from other school systems.” Another shared, “This was a life changing experience for me – it has deeply impacted my personal journey, as well as my work in the schools.”

The Initiatives of Change facilitation team was joined by Brenda Exum from Norfolk State University in delivering the program.

Art by CCTP Class (Photo: Cricket White)