It's Not One of Us, It's All of Us
11.03.2023
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LISC Stories
Recently, we were listening to a presentation by David Cicilline, the new President and CEO of the Rhode Island Foundation, who was at the LISC offices sharing his vision for the Foundation during our LISC Leadership Forum. During his discussion of Foundation priorities and plans for the future, I looked around at the audience gathered that morning and swelled with pride to see the overwhelming commitment and dedication represented in that room to making improvements for all Rhode Islanders. The amount of work done by these community leaders is truly impressive. I was reminded that when we all work together, we can achieve tremendous results.
The work can seem overwhelming, certainly, but taking stock of the progress and expressing gratitude for the hard work done is an important part of moving the work forward. And we’ve made progress on so many fronts this year – from housing to workforce development, to improving and creating child care opportunities, and advancing health equity.
It's Not One of Us, It's All of Us
It's the realization that we're all in this together. It's not one of us, it's all of us, and we're grateful for your work. #Gratitude
If we look back on where we were last year, it’s easy to see the momentum. In housing, it’s a dramatically increased pipeline, made possible in part by grant funding to LISC from Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island, the Rhode Island Foundation, Rhode Island Housing and others. This flexible resource has had a catalytic effect that went beyond our expectations. We are grateful for their support and shared vision. There is momentum on addressing the housing crisis that will be amplified by the investment of ARPA funding, and that’s worth celebrating.
Likewise for workforce development. Rhode Island welcomed new partners like the Jane Addams Resource Corporation dedicated to training and identifying living wage career paths. So many partners currently do the hard one-to-one work to change lives and improve wealth equity. It’s important to take a minute to understand that having a good job is not only transformative for the individual, but also their family and their community.
There have been dramatic strides to improve the condition and availability of child care in Rhode Island. After a bond was passed in March 2021 to approve funding for child care facilities, more than $15M has been dispersed and the positive effect will be felt by parents and employers.
And there’s been important progress made to advance health equity. After emerging from the complexities of the pandemic, there is a renewed focus and commitment to improving the Social Determinants of Health in our communities. The Health Equity Zone system is revolutionizing the way communities address health equity, with positive results. Rhode Island is leading this movement to embrace place-based, resident-led initiatives and other communities are intrigued by the benefits.
This place-based, cooperative approach to problem solving is what we do best in Rhode Island. It’s through working together that lets us make meaningful change. I’m always saying that its not one of us, its all of us, and we’re very grateful for all the work you do.
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Join Us!
If you're interested in joining us on this journey, there are several ways to do so. The GiveLively online platform below is an easy way to ensure funds are dedicated to Rhode Island. If you are looking for additional ways, please reach out to eklinkenberg @ lisc.org for more information.
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