Serve & Connect selected to participate in national community outreach program
Columbia, SC - Serve & Connect, a Columbia-based nonprofit focusing on strengthening relationships between police and community is taking part in the nationwide Heal America movement. Serve & Connect is one of 43 organizations from across the country selected to be a partner of Heal America’s summer-long initiative called “Summer of Healing.” Summer of Healing was created by Heal America to fight racial injustice with love and redemption. South Carolina is one of 12 states hosting events as part of the initiative.
“We are so proud of our police and community partners in South Carolina,” says Kassy Alia-Ray, CEO and founder of Serve & Connect. “They are incredibly committed to bridging divides in communities across our state.”
“Serve & Connect is proud to amplify their important work by uniting with Heal America. It’s an honor to be a part of a movement that brings about racial reconciliation and to help our country heal. Having the support of our friends at Heal America allows us to do more than we could ever do on our own.”
Summer of Healing builds upon the momentum of The Heal America Tour, a series of local events across the country that bring together people of different backgrounds and perspectives to fight racial injustice. Serve & Connect is hosting a series of events over the next several weeks in communities throughout South Carolina, including Charleston, Columbia-metro area, Lexington and Orangeburg.
The events are free and open to the public and will bring tools, resources and citizens together as a racial justice movement that supports bridges built between communities and law enforcement. A list of events throughout the rest of the summer can be found on Serve & Connect’s website.
The next South Carolina community event of the 2022 Summer of Healing will be held in the Woodfield Park community in Columbia at Petersen Presbyterian Church on July 23 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Community partners, along with Serve & Connect’s team, who are helping host the event include Richland County Sheriff's Department, Forest Lake Presbyterian Church, Petersen Presbyterian Church, Richland Two School District, Richland County Recreation Commission, Be Beep Toy Store, LRADAC, PASOs, Forest Acres Police Department, and more.
Antong Lucky, co-chair of Heal America said the following in a release issued last week.
"We cannot change the injustices of history – they will always echo from the past – but we can move forward with the startling promise of human progress and connection, and that's what the Summer of Healing is all about. We are eager to work with these terrific organizations to bring healing to their hometowns and the nation."
The Stand Together Foundation, a national foundation that cultivates collaboration among high-performing nonprofits to bring about community-based solutions that address social issues, introduced Serve & Connect to Heal America and encouraged them to apply to be a part of Heal America and the Summer of Healing initiative. Serve & Connect was originally connected with Stand Together last year when it was selected to participate in Stand Together’s Catalyst program, a cohort-modeled curriculum that supports social entrepreneurs driving transformation within communities.
ABOUT SERVE & CONNECT
Serve & Connect is a SC-based nonprofit that works directly with law enforcement, community stakeholders, and citizen leaders to create police and community partnerships that bring about positive change and promotes safe, happy and resilient communities. For more information, follow Serve & Connect on social media at Facebook, Instagram and Twitter at @serveandconnect.
ABOUT HEAL AMERICA
Heal America is a movement to advance racial justice through empowerment. Heal America does this by investing in the tools, resources, and capital needed by local and national changemakers who seek to eliminate injustice. Grown from a series of local events hosted by Urban Specialists, Stand Together Foundation has partnered to expand the Heal America movement to cities across the country. Heal America seeks to interrupt violence in local communities, strengthen relationships among communities and law enforcement, and address injustice through bottom-up change. To learn more visit healamericamovement.org and follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Twitter at @joinhealamerica.
# # #