Lancaster County’s Work to Bridge Divides is Getting National Attention
Our community’s needs are always changing. Our strategic focus areas help us keep sight of the right goals for today even as we continue caring for our community’s endowment that is building resilience and possibility for Lancaster County’s future.
In a time when polarization is rampant and loneliness has been declared a national health crisis, it is more important than ever to bolster our community ties and care for our neighbors.
Since 2022, a strategic priority has been focused on “Bridge Building” and ways we can support our community to connect across differences. It is often easy to see what divides us, but if we look carefully, we can also see what binds us together. Hopes for our children and grandchildren. The love we have for our family, friends, and neighbors. Our communal spaces, interconnected past, and shared future.
This January marked the launch of Coming Together, Not Apart: Inside the Work of Turning Conflict Into Collaboration, a publication that offers an in-depth look at how communities and organizations throughout the nation are connecting and collaborating across differences. This new report from the Council on Foundations is the second installment in a three-part series exploring philanthropy’s role in fostering connection and collaboration among Americans.
We are proud that the Community Foundation and many Lancaster County organizations are highlighted in this publication for their work in creating common ground and building connections across differences. As recipients of our Community Bridge Builders grants these creative and courageous ideas can inspire additional action for our shared future. Organizations featured include Lancaster Rec and Church World Service, Hourglass Foundation, Lancaster Chamber, YWCA, and Advoz. 
Our local organizations remind us that each step towards one other makes a difference. In a community, it is the intentional choices we make that will continue to sustain and strengthen our social fabric. While there is no single “right answer,” to bringing people together, our sustained commitment to curiosity and a recognition of our shared humanity can point us toward a stronger community for today and ensure that our future generations can thrive.
You can read the entire issue of Coming Together, Not Apart below.
