By: Andrea McDermott—
Muncie, IN—Web of Support: Everybody Succeeds, a mentoring initiative of the Muncie Action Plan, uses a relational approach to help youth and adults identify, expand, and strengthen their support systems. This spring, Web of Support Ambassadors participated in a four-week virtual “Deep Dive” series to explore how the Web of Support model can help build resiliency in families and communities during the COVID quarantine.
The groups have created sharable postcards and informational videos to spread messages of gratitude and encouragement. “We were thrilled to be able to co-create this deep dive curriculum in collaboration with the Institute for Community and Adolescent Resiliency,” said Kyra Zylstra, coordinator of the Web of Support initiative. “The students, teachers and community leaders who participated were able to form deep connections and create very timely messages of hopeful inspiration. This is our first step in offering resources to help the Delaware County community strengthen and expand their webs of support.”
“Our group was inspired by the outpouring of kindness and encouragement from the people in our webs, especially during these challenging times,” said Jacqui Hanoman, executive director of the Ross Community Center and leader of one of the groups. “Part of the initiative is to strengthen support systems, and to do that, we wanted to show appreciation for the people who make up our webs.” The video features participants sharing messages of thanks and appreciation for the various people in their webs whether that be a friend, family member, teacher or neighbor.
The second project aimed to share messages of affirmation to help build one another up. “Feeling supported and affirmed is a major part of having a strong web of support, so our group decided to focus on sharing encouraging messages to one another and our community,” said Chandra Parks, president of the Southside Neighborhood Association and leader of the second group.
The Web of Support initiative will continue to be promoted through the local schools and community organizations. To view the completed projects and learn more about the Web of Support visit our Facebook Page, Instagram Page or Youtube Channel. To get involved with the Web of Support, please contact the MAP coordinator at coordinator@muncieactionplan.net
Web of Support: Everybody Succeeds is an initiative of the Muncie Action Plan Taskforce 1 and is coordinated by the Future of Work Muncie. The goal of Web of Support: Everybody Succeeds is to build a local culture of connected, thriving and resilient lives and communities.
