Reflections on Complex Work in a complex world…

We began nearly 7 years ago focused on grassroots efforts to foster community connection at the local level. Our work takes various forms, all with the underlying goal of building connections that bind our community together and help define it in a positive light for all who are here.

We believe in listening with curiosity and empathy; learning together and from one another; building our resilience skills together; serving together; having fun together; belonging together; promoting positive social norms and modeling shifts away from negative ones; making mistakes and growing from them.

Sometimes, our work can seem slow. No matter how many people attend our programs or read our newsletters, we always wish for more. We constantly remind ourselves that this work takes time. Sometimes, the impact is clear. Other times, it brings incremental shifts - one relationship at a time.

This is complex work in a complex world!

Last spring, the U.S. Surgeon General's Advisory on the healing effects of social connection and community felt like a strong gust of wind at our sails, highlighting the need for community connection as part of critical steps to address an epidemic of social isolation and loneliness that has demonstrated negative effects on our health. The WHO's recently established Commission on Social Connection underscored the breadth of this "pressing health threat" and elevated it to global priority (World Health Organization, 2023). We continue to be inspired and feel renewed conviction in our core mission as a community connector helping build a thriving, kind and connected community where everybody belongs.

As part of a small staff (3 part-time!) and alongside an army of Volunteers (over 80 served this year!), I am incredibly proud and humbled by what our organization has done in 2023 (see our highlights below). With all that "under our belt," we continue to develop and build the foundational relationships that will help us pursue our mission. There is a lot ahead for us. We are small but we are mighty and growing. I look forward to what is ahead in 2024 and beyond!

Yours in community,

Kelley Petralia, Executive Director, Westborough Connects