Thank You For Your Patient and Practical Work

Guest Post – Jason Lacsamana, Director, Programs and Partnerships

At SJF, we hold many kinds of relationships. We work with grantees, partners, and initiative leads who are consultants, co-designers, and coaches. Above all, they are community experts who bring technical skill and lived experience. Over the decades of our work, as we’ve refined this partnership model, we’ve been able to enter communities with humility and make a meaningful impact.

We lead with relationships, built on respect, honesty, warmth, empathy, curiosity, and gratitude. When you lead from a place of understanding, deep connections are made.

In community building, the first year of our partnership is all about relationships. We listen and we work to understand the local story and the power map. We learn who has carried the water for a long time. Then we move into multiple years of work together. This approach is slow and steady at the front end, allowing for a thorough understanding of each person’s motivations and leadership journey to discover what success means to them. And we do not assume we already know.

While the holidays are a good time to pause and share our gratitude, we know it doesn’t fit neatly within the confines of a calendar. It should be a daily choice. We should look for the small things in everyday life that contribute to our overall well-being. We shouldn’t just huddle up for one seasonal moment. When we limit gratitude to the holidays, we miss the essence of it.

We live in uncertain times. Crises feel constant. Peace cannot wait for a holiday. In finding small acts of peace each day, checking in with partners, and asking what has changed since last month, we can adapt to meet the moment. This also helps keep equity and racial justice in view, supporting our partners in building community capacity so they can be stable, self-sustaining, and strong advocates for regional needs.

This work is patient and practical. It is values in motion. Our partnerships share power and celebrate wins. Together, we keep warmth and gratitude at the center. That is how we build stronger, healthier, and more equitable neighborhoods and how we honor the people who trust us to walk with them.

Thank you to our partners, initiative leads, community members, and our vast network of individuals for understanding how long the work takes and who lead with patience and empathy. Your efforts ensure that communities become more whole, healed, and capable of flourishing, hope, love, and growth.