CAN Mid-Gathering!
Another CAN gathering has come and gone further solidifying my belief that teleportation needs to be invented so that we can meet in person EVERY week. The energy of the group just hits different when we’re all together in the same room!
I'm positively awful at remembering to take pictures at events (forgive me). Here is a quick picture that we snapped at the end after some folks had already left!
Left to Right: Kerrie, Kieryn, Cynthia, Chianne, Grace, Jessica (Fall 2024 cohort)
Front & Center: Nalah (Spring 2024 cohort)
In mid-September, the Fall 2024 cohort came together to celebrate making it halfway through the cohort and to meet some of our CAN alumni! As a group, we chatted about the dates and details for the gatherings that they will throw in October as part of completing the 8 Front Door Challenge. After the alumni showed up, we completed a round of introductions that included what animal you would be if you could choose (narwhal, in case you were interested). By far the most interesting animal chosen was an insect that possibly still lives on the moon called tardigrades (you’re welcome for that deep dive).
We all enjoyed dinner from Las Casuelas and Kerrie thoughtfully baked three types of delicious cookies for dessert! Most of the evening was spent connecting and conversing with fellow cohort members and alumni - it was an absolute blast! The night concluded with an exercise comparing leadership versus connectorship. Animators that participate in the Community Animator Network are natural connectors, when we function from a space of how we can lead through connection it opens up incredible possibilities in neighborhoods. Instead of only accessing the gifts and capabilities of one to two leaders, leading through connectorship enables multiple voices, talents, gifts, and skills to be activated to collectively contribute to the neighborhood as a whole.
I’m so excited for this cohort as we enter into the latter half of the program. Their continued commitment to their neighborhoods is impressive and the gifts they’ve already been able to activate is incredible. Stay tuned at the end of the month as they finish out the program and present their asset maps! I’m so proud of their progress!
