• THRIVE In Hastings
     

    Beginning in November of 2016, a group of community leaders and citizens have been engaged in dialog to understand the state of diversity, equity, and inclusion in Hastings. Periodic discussions presented ever growing and changing statistics, a broadening understanding of diversity, and conversations with a variety of residents to understand personal experiences, concerns, needs, and aspirations for the Hastings community.

    Community leaders are now working to expand the conversation and facilitate community-wide learning opportunities in order to embrace cultural differences and commonalities throughout the city. A partnership with the YMCA Equity Innovation Center was approved for funding and began work in September 2018 on an 18- month journey.  Take a look at the Latest Updates below for current information.

     

     

     

    GET INVOLVED

    Visit the registration page to sign up to receive updates on new learning opportunities, events, and general updates from the Initiative.

    Find us on Facebook! www.Facebook.com/THRIVEinHastings

     

  • Latest Updates

    Throughout the past year and a half, community members and stakeholders have been working together to analyze the increasing diversity in Hastings and learn about opportunities to improve community support for inclusion and equity. In the past 16 months, this group has hosted 13 events including learning opportunities (Hidden Brain & Unconscious Bias, Bridging Cultural Differences), two community conversations, a Leadership Think Tank, five Equity Labs, and two Train-the-Trainer sessions. In addition, community members have hosted at least five spin-off events including the Hastings Reads author series, the Longer Table event, and the Building Bridges event “Reclaiming Our People and History.” The group has created a one-year snapshot to include additional efforts that have taken place in the community since the proclamation that kicked off the initiative on April 28, 2018.

    Through these efforts, three main areas of opportunity specific to Hastings emerged: Increase Cultural Competency, Provide Trust and Safety for All, and Bridging Community. These three themes were heard repeatedly throughout community dialogues and round table discussions. These areas of focus will guide the efforts of this community initiative in the upcoming year.

    As the Equity Labs ended and themes started to emerge from the data, a new steering committee was formed to begin the next phase of work. This community partnership includes members from the city, school district, Community Ed, YMCA, Chamber of Commerce, local non-profits and city residents. While conversations around diversity and equity have proven to be challenging at times, one area of agreement is the idea that Hastings aspires to be a premier community where ALL people can live, work, visit, and thrive. A rebranding effort was completed around this concept and the initiative will now be known as THRIVE.

  • Upcoming Events

    THRIVE THURSDAYS: Join us every third Thursday of the month for continued community conversations about diversity, equity and inclusion. Our recent  presentations have prompted a lot of excitement, curiosity, and conversation. For the time being, we will kick off upcoming discussions with prompts about those recent presentations.