TURN ON SOUND
Fox Cities: Creating a Community Where Everyone Belongs
Fox Cities, a region of 19 municipalities in central
Wisconsin, is like many communities across the country,
but it’s doing something different.
People love living there for all the area has to offer: a small
town feel with great cultural and social amenities, vibrant
green spaces, good jobs and schools, and general safety.
But, as in many other communities, there
are residents who feel like they are not
thriving and that they don’t belong.
are residents who feel like they are not
thriving and that they don’t belong.
"Growing up, it was very hard to find a sense of community because of my
appearance."
“…by the time they reach
high school, their faith
and hope in the system
is gone…”
"It's not like people of color are saying, 'give to me to your detriment,' we're
just
saying 'share'."
A few years back, in response to a shifting economic landscape, increased diversity, growing poverty, and
businesses struggling to fill new positions, long-time residents started asking,
“What will happen to Fox Cities?”
“How can we ensure that this community remains a great place to live for generations to come?”
Those community stewards formed Imagine Fox Cities, an
inclusive community-wide initiative to shape the future
of Fox Cities with a commitment to create intergenerational
well-being and a sense of belonging for all.
Stewards are key to bending the
arc
of
history toward a future with all people and places thriving together.
That infinite endeavor is a north star
in a world that is not built for everyone to thrive.
Imagine Fox Cities and other stewards
across the country are working to create a
place where more people have
the opportunity to thrive and feel that they belong.
It’s important work: we are all interdependent; none of us can thrive for long when others are struggling
and
suffering.
Together, we have the power to end that inequity.
That is why belonging and civic muscle are central to the
vital conditions that everybody needs to
participate, prosper, and reach
their
full potential.
Vital Conditions for
Health and Well-Being
Health and Well-Being
The people and organizations who formed Imagine Fox Cities knew that in order to ensure an equitable future
for the community, they needed to understand who did and didn't feel like they could thrive and belong.
Then, they needed to build a broad and growing network of community stewards to develop a vision, implement
solutions, and make strategic investments that would put the community on the path toward the north star.
"We knew there had to be a better way to create systemic change."
Imagine Fox Cities began organizing in late 2017 and by mid-2019 convened 81 dialogues with residents from across the area to hear about what they loved and what needed to change in Fox Cities.
They also conducted a 3,000-person community-wide survey on resident well-being, finding that only about
half of residents reported that they were thriving, with percentages lower among BIPOC respondents.
Two years later, during the height of the pandemic, they repeated their well-being survey. This kind of
ongoing data collection is key to both better understanding the scope of the challenges and, critically,
to chart progress as their work unfolds over time.
The pioneers who launched Imagine Fox Cities knew how important it would be to create the broadest possible
movement of fellow stewards to do this work.
The effort began with a few and grew wider over time.
It gained traction by bringing in community-based organizations, including those led by young people as well
as
various races, ethnicities, and faiths; providers of health care and human services; multiple
philanthropies;
K-12 schools and universities; businesses of all sizes; and elected officials and government agencies.
All these stewards know that they have a vested interest in the future success of the area.
"We're starting to see business leaders, lawmakers, community influencers, and
service
providers using the foundation of the work being done by Imagine Fox Cities."
"This is the right thing to do,
to create a place where
everyone thrives and belongs."
"You can't put a band-aid
on rooted issues or causes,
you have to really to be
able to address the systems
that continue to do harm."
“It’s great to be a part of the community, to learn about the community and to help
the community.”
"Appleton is forward-looking and not status quo."
"Things are definitely
changing here. This
wouldn't have happened
10 or 20 years ago."
With input from a wide swath of community members, Imagine Fox Cities developed four pillars for its vision
of the future:
Kids get off to a great start to life
An economy that works for all
Thriving natural and cultural places that bring people together
Everyone feels like they belong
There is much work to be done,
but Imagine Fox Cities is well on its way.
but Imagine Fox Cities is well on its way.
The work of building belonging and a place where everyone can thrive can happen anywhere.
It takes individuals and organizations from across sectors and with different perspectives all working
together,
connecting across differences, to change systems.
Shared stewardship, which we see in the Fox Cities effort, is key to creating a brighter future for
everybody.
Leaders and change agents who want to have a transformative impact on the health and well-being of their
communities will find pragmatic, innovative ideas at Thriving.US
and the Well Being in the Nation (WIN) Network.
Discover what we are learning at The Rippel Foundation's ReThink Health initiative about what it takes to
thrive
together through shared stewardship here.
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