Current projects

Craft brings people together!

In 2024, the project’s Bridging and Bonding partners :

• Offered artist residencies and exchange opportunities at JCCFS that leveraged craft and art as a starting point for community dialogue,

• Utilized a multi-faceted approach grounded in participant observation, trust building work, group dialog, and shared buy-in between communities,

• Created an African American Craft Alliance Planning Committee with local and national African American craft entrepreneurs, scholars, artists, and community organizers, planning the next steps, and

• Improved social cohesion and collaboration between folk schools, like movements, and beyond, leveraging a community-based approach to sustainable change.

This project is funded by the Office of Research and Evaluation at AmeriCorps under Grant No. 22REACA001 through the National Service and Civic Engagement research grant competition. Opinions or points of view expressed in this document are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official position of, or a position that is endorsed by, AmeriCorps.

Singing together brings communities together!

Throughout 2024, the Center for Belonging  Folk School will host and facilitate a series of community singing leadership and listening experiences! These experiences will provide valuable insights, resources, and practical techniques to integrate the power of song into folk schools.

We hope that this project seeds an expansion of community singing through folk schools.

• Interweaving song into the daily rhythms of folk schools;
• Creating belonging and well being through song;
• Supporting communities to better cooperate across differences; and
• Ensuring song leaders and singing have a place in folk schools.

This project is funded by the Office of Research and Evaluation at AmeriCorps under Grant No. 22REACA001 through the National Service and Civic Engagement research grant competition. Opinions or points of view expressed in this document are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official position of, or a position that is endorsed by, AmeriCorps.

Living Traditions Corps