Listen: On the second Friday and Day 12 of 50 in Meet The Need, we head to the Avenues West neighborhood and the work being done at City On A Hill. Serving that community with everything from a health clinic to youth programs to assistance with basic needs, their work is guided by an intuitive but oftentimes under-considered approach -- ask the community what they want and then figure out a way to provide it for them. Diane De La Santos, Executive Director of City On A Hill takes us inside their work:
-Diane shares a piece of what drives her to do the hard work they do at City On A Hill. "Do you friends and family ever feel like the work you do puts you in danger?" Her answer is so simple and beautiful:
-When City On A Hill started serving the Avenues West neighborhood in 2001, they didn't have an agenda other than providing for the community's needs. So they asked around and started a health clinic:
-The story of a young man, a family in crisis, and how City On A Hill was able to wrap them in their services, serving them beyond their immediate needs:
-Normally every Meet The Need interview start with a simple prompt -- "Tell me about your programming." For some reason, with Diane, it wasn't until the middle of the interview that we got around to that question. Check out what they do:
-If you'd like to get involved as a volunteer at City On A Hill, you can get involved in their health clinic (with medical background or not), their youth program, handyman jobs, and other opportunities:
This year, we ask you to adopt one or two organizations that connect with you. Want to get involved with City On A Hill? Donate, volunteer, or check out their work yourself. And you can start with their website.