“We empower people and change lives.” It’s a tagline, a reworking and summary of our mission statement – for more, check out “About Us” at poc.news. It’s printed on some cards and postcards. One of my favorite POC shirts (from my ample collection of branded swag) has it right on the back.
We empower people and change lives. I think when you hear that sentence, if you know something about POC is just makes sense. Yes – empowering people. Yes – changing lives every day. It’s what we do. But if you don’t really know anything about POC, it is pretty vague – it can admittedly sound superficial. So let’s dig into it.
What does it mean? What does it mean to empower people? I want to look at it from two angles: what it means and HOW we choose to do it.
First of all – what it means. Well – obviously it’s moving somebody from the category of “without power” or “having limited power” to “having more power.” Specifically when we think about the work of POC, we think about our clients – any members of our communities who come to us for help. We help people who want it to learn English so they have the power to participate in community in a new way – maybe getting a job, maybe participating in parent-teacher conferences.
We connect people to resources for which they are eligible like SNAP benefits and home energy payment assistance so they have the power to feed and keep themselves and their family safe and healthy. Our goal is that each and every person who encounters us whether in one of our centers or in their neighborhood or school walks away from the interaction with more power – more power to do the things they and their family need and want.
Just as important as leaving people with more power is the HOW. How do we empower people? One way you could think about empowering people is that I empower YOU – I give you something you don’t have and how nice of me! Another way of thinking about this is to uncover the power that has always been there. It’s to nurture something that already exists rather than create something from the outside.
At POC we believe that every member of our community, every client that comes in our doors, every child and every adult – already has the power they need. Every mom and dad we meet has the desire to help their child succeed. The systems of the world, history (both personal and global) and more sometimes conspire to make that more difficult for some of us than it is for others.
So we try to provide the tools to unleash that desire and help guide it. It’s not our job to give our clients power. It’s our job to uncover, to reveal, to nurture the power that’s already there. It’s our job to help the client find a way to let their own power out.
As we have solidly entered the fall season, I think about one way we annually help empower people and change lives – our Roots Community Garden on the grounds of Falcon Park in cooperation with the Palatine Park District. All growing season long, families come together to plant, to weed, to water and to harvest the produce. People from age 2 to 92 gather weekly. In and around gardening, they learn about one another, they build community and relationships – in relationships are power. In and around the work, they laugh and share joy – in joy is power.
And together, we harvest peppers and tomatoes and even eat together. Around a table, there is power. Thank you for empowering one another and everyone in our community.
Seth Moland-Kovash
