Gathering in Joy and Shared Purpose
Guest Post – Jason Lacsamana, Director, Programs and Partnerships
As part of the St. Joseph Fund’s 40th anniversary, we gathered a small group of partners to listen, reflect, and build relationships. The conversation, facilitated by Sarah Middleton of Mission Up, brought together partners from Ahri Center, Project Kinship, and Viet Rainbow of Orange County, as well as members of our team. Together, we shared what this partnership has meant, what communities are carrying right now, and what is needed in the next chapter of our shared work.
There was a lot of joy in the room. Around the table were organizers, executive leaders, program staff, communications staff, and community builders, each bringing their own stories, questions, and wisdom. Lunch reminded us that small-group connection creates room for honesty, laughter, reflection, and the kind of trust that doesn’t always show up in larger or more formal spaces.
Our partners spoke about the importance of wellness, healing, and relationships as necessary parts of community work. Partners shared how meaningful it was to have a funder willing to support wellness directly, noting that healing is necessary for the work to happen. They also described the relief of being in a funder relationship where they did not have to prove their worthiness, but could instead feel trusted, remembered, and able to dream.
We also talked about the heaviness of this moment. Partners named the pressures facing LGBTQ+ communities, immigrants, young people, organizers, and staff who carry secondary trauma. And still, joy kept surfacing as part of what sustains their work. One partner said, “Connection is the curriculum.” In a time when many people feel isolated, afraid, or stretched thin, gathering is not extra. It is about strategy, care, and remembering that we are not doing this work alone.
When talking about the future, partners asked for more opportunities to connect, share learning, build strategy, and strengthen this ecosystem of work. They also shared with us what is integral to SJF – courage, flexibility, wellness, capacity building, sincerity, creativity, care, and consistency.
We left feeling nourished, energized, hopeful, grateful, and motivated. We also left with a clear invitation to keep creating spaces where partners can gather, learn, laugh, reflect, and imagine together. As we continue our 40th-anniversary listening process, we look forward to more conversations that deepen relationships, strengthen community power, and help us build the next chapter together.
