Last week I had the pleasure of participating in The Big Table community discussion that The Columbus Foundation organized. This particular discussion took place in downtown Powell at Jeni’s Ice Cream and I wanted to share a little bit about it!
During the course of our hour-long discussion, 10 complete strangers talked about the diversity of our communities. We also explored the diversity of our small group. We discovered how different we all were by sharing our passion projects. Our diverse passions ranged from human trafficking, to homelessness, to economic stimulation, to environmental protection, to gaping non-academic barriers in our schools. All very different areas we are individually focused on.
How on earth will these 10 strangers unify our diverse passions to work towards accomplishing one common goal?
By reaffirming our end goals are all the same: we all want to make the world a better place.
My passion and focus area will not be the same as yours. Your talent and capacity to give will not be the same as mine. Someone dedicated to giving to the Hunger Alliance or donating items each year to Supplies for Scholars might not even realize they are helping to reduce the demand for human trafficking. Sharing labor trafficking information you learned from our coalition with your neighbor could result in them donating to the Toy Library. It’s all about that ripple effect.
Find your individual passion and give what you can because your gift reaches further than you realize.
One final thought on the concept of ‘you never know who you’ve touched’: At The Big Table I introduced myself as a United Way volunteer with a primary passion of being involved with the Delaware County Against Human Trafficking Coalition. My table mates admitted they were not familiar with DCAHTC, but they wanted to know if the human trafficking banners that used to hang in downtown Powell were ours! Very exciting to hear our banners were seen! And remembered!
Learn more about human trafficking by visiting the links below.
Polaris Report :: Groundbreaking Report on Massage Parlor Trafficking
That is so awesome. I had every intention of sharing in that event but my kids had too many activities. Next time. So happy to hear about and the success of conversation!
I’d like to find out if there are events like this in my area.