Community leaders willing to commit to working toward a more Inclusive Community meet for a kick-off luncheon Wednesday, Oct. 24, 2012, in a community room of Redstone Federal Credit Union. The plan, which has been organized by the city's Human Relations Commission, Vanguard and dedicated volunteers advocating a simple plan: Invite people to share time with someone unlike themselves.(Kay Campbell|kcampbell@al.com)
HUNTSVILLE, Alabama – There's no budget, no outline, no membership, no fees – just the simple notion of inviting the people of Huntsville to make a new friend, someone unlike the individuals themselves.
"Let the enlargement of the circle begin with us," Kreslyn Kelley, executive director of Vanguard told more than a dozen community leaders who attended the kick-off luncheon Wednesday, Oct. 24, 2012, in a community room of Redstone Federal Credit Union.
The Inclusive Community Luncheons are one of the goals of the Inclusive Community commitment that the City of Huntsville has made by joining that program from the National League of Cities. The project is also supported by the mayor's Office of Multi-Cultural Affairs and Huntsville's Human Relations Commission.
It’s a move bolstered by the work of Vanguard, an organization formed by Leadership Huntsville’s 2011 class as their Impact Project. Vanguard is charged with initiating projects that will help Huntsville become more welcoming to all.
For the luncheons, people are encouraged to think of someone they have met, but don’t know well, someone from another ethnic, religious, social or cultural background, and make time to talk, one-on-one, at least once a month.
It sounds so simple that it takes a while to explain.
“This is really serious, but we can have fun while we do it,” said the Rev. Dr. Wanda Gail Campbell, a Leadership alumna who is also volunteers with the Human Relations Commission. “It’s like getting to the moon – it’s a long ways, but this is one step.”
Huntsville Councilman Bill Kling, Willie Love, the chairman of the Human Relations Commission and Sharon King from the Office of Multi-Cultural Affairs also spoke briefly.
Framing the invitation officially might make it easier for some people to step outside of their comfort zone to invite a near stranger for coffee or a walk on a regular basis, the organizers say.
“Equity is a good policy, but policy won’t solve everything,” said Robin Cox, a projects specialist with Huntsville’s Operation Green Team and a consultant on energy and environmental sustainability planning. “It’s about relationship. We can set policy, but it’s relationships that will matter.”
Recent arguments in the city and the state over immigration, community housing, religious differences, political and class clashes demonstrate that even in Huntsville, a community that prides itself on being cosmopolitan and welcoming, residents can benefit by working on strengthening friendships across normal boundaries.
“’Normal’ is just what you have gotten used to,” Campbell said. “So let’s expand our circle a little.”
To sign up for the program and for more information, go to the Facebook page for Inclusive Community Luncheons.