Conversations that Connect
Our Commitment to Knowing Our Neighbors.
When we say community-led, we mean community-led. Our commitment is to be and stay a big-tent organization, and as part of that commitment, each summer, our organizers and members knock doors and get to know more of our neighbors.
When we knocked Laura Arneson’s last year, she finally felt like there was a community of folks she could talk to about the issues in her community without fear of divisiveness. She’s gone on not only to attend GrassRoots School, but to help shape GROWW events and to join a leadership team.
In summer of 2022, we knocked 942 of our neighbors’ doors and had 299 face-to-face conversations. And we aim to only do better.
Each conversation is an opportunity to build trust, identify shared values, and create new relationships. Our hope is for this effort to engage more people in the work to help make Western WI a place where all people can thrive.
For a democratic society to function, we need to be able to consider and reflect upon opposing viewpoints. For that to happen, we need to hear from people who disagree with us, people from different backgrounds. For that to happen, we need to see each other as family, friends, neighbors, co-workers, and human beings, not as political enemies or moral opponents. It all starts with a conversation.
Bill Hogseth
GROWW Organizing Director
Why is this important?
Polarization has contributed to a communication breakdown in communities.
Many people are too uncomfortable to talk to their own neighbors about the real issues we’re facing for fear of backlash or division. Rural Wisconsin is saturated with messages that reinforce narratives villainizing other working people along racial, geographic, and partisan lines. We recognize the best way to push back is to take back our community conversations. It’s how our communities can move forward together.
Want to learn more?
Reach out to us using the form below and we will put you in contact with Bill Hogseth who can answer any questions you might have and help you understand if this is a good opportunity for you! Reach out now!
