Next team launching early 2027
12 Weeks. Honest Dialogue. Real Connection.
About the Program
Class shapes our lives in powerful ways, but it’s not something we often talk about openly. This 12-week workshop series, inspired by On Class by Deborah Dundas, is designed to bring people together across differences to share stories, listen deeply, and learn from one another.
Who It’s For
This curriculum is designed to bring together three groups:
- People with lived experience of poverty who are seeking opportunities to share their story, be heard, and help shape new ways of building community.
- Caring community members seeking meaningful conversation, and to deepen their learning.
- Boards, staff, and volunteers working in the field who want to strengthen their work and learn alongside people with lived experience.
Together, these groups will explore class through guided activities, reflective questions, and honest dialogue—creating bridges across difference and space for belonging.
Benefits
- Connection: Build new relationships with people you might not normally meet.
- Awareness: Explore your own relationship to class and how it influences your work and community life through
- Empathy: Hear and learn from people with different lived experiences than your own.
- Skills: Practice listening, building resilience, and dialogue to navigate hard conversations.
- Belonging: Take part in a supportive space where every voice matters.
- Understanding: Participate in activities and conversations that help unlearn assumptions and build understanding.
Program Details
- Length: 12 weeks, beginning early 2027
- Format: Weekly 3hr learning sessions combining activities, fun, sharing, and reflection
- Cost: Free to all participants — generously funded by grants and individual donors
- Participant Support: $50 gift cards provided weekly to participants with lived experience of poverty, in recognition of their time and contributions
- Shared Meal: A meal is provided each week for all participants to enjoy together, fostering connection and community
- Timing: Interested participants will be surveyed to determine the timing of the group.