The Team Up Project is invested in the power of connection to bridge divides, to cultivate cooperation across differences, and to create a brighter future for our communities and our nation.
Team Up’s goal is to empower people to build connections across differences with others in their communities. The Team Up Project aims to create avenues for bridgebuilding by offering tools, resources, and programming that equip people and organizations with the skills to celebrate differences, identify shared values, and work together to address shared needs.
The Team Up Project will provide 10,000 Americans training in transformative listening, storytelling, and relationship-building skills, equipping participants with the tools they need to build connections in their communities. The Team Up Project will bring people together to build stronger communities and serve the common good.
Introduce yourself to one of your neighbors who you don’t know.
Ask a friend to clean up trash at a local park with you. Afterwards, talk about why you each serve.
Attend a local event through Citizen Connect.
Visit a faith community that is not your personal faith, learn about their values and practices.
Attend a community program at your local YMCA.
Ask a friend or neighbor how they feel about a hot topic issue in your community. Listen to one another with the intention to simply understand the other person’s perspective.
Get a group of folks together to serve at a food pantry or through Weavers Network. Figure out at least one thing you all have in common, and at least one way you all differ.
Write and send a thank you note to someone in public life or in your personal life who you have witnessed teaming up with someone different from them to do good.
Find the closest Habitat for Humanity chapter and volunteer at a build day.
Volunteer as a poll worker. Ask another poll worker what motivates them to strengthen democracy, and share your perspective.
Attend an event or book club at your local library, share your life with others and listen to their experience of your community.
Invite a group you’re a part of (a political group, sports team, faith community, book club) to partner with a group with a different perspective and get to know each other better.
Contact your local Catholic Charities to see what they most need from volunteers. See if you and a neighbor can help meet that need.
The Team Up Project (Team Up)’s mission is to empower people to build connections and work together across differences with others in their communities for the common good.
Team Up believes people can play a leading role in building a stronger sense of belonging and unity in their local communities by promoting empathy and understanding across cultural, ethnic, religious and ideological divides. Strong personal connections and supportive, constructive and collaborative environments are the foundation of thriving communities.
The Team Up Project aims to bring people from diverse backgrounds together and create avenues for bridgebuilding by offering tools, resources, and programming that equip individuals with the skills to respect and celebrate differences as well as identify shared values. The goal is to elevate and support ordinary acts of kindness, human connection and cooperation – and demonstrate that bridgebuilding is an achievable and worthy pursuit that everyone should take part in. The Team Up Project will not only share stories about the value of building meaningful connections across differences but also create a platform for organizations and leaders to work together to create strong, cohesive communities.
Interfaith America, Catholic Charities USA, Habitat for Humanity International and YMCA of the USA are the founding partners of Team Up.
The initiative is the first of its kind in terms of scope, scale and reach, with several of the largest service-oriented organizations in the country uniting behind a common purpose: creating community in a divided society and achieving more, together. The founding partners will utilize their organizational strengths and expertise – including their vast networks and resources – to facilitate bridgebuilding across the U.S. and elevate the important work that is already under way.
The Team Up Project initiative was born out of a collective recognition among its founding partners that there exists a pressing need for stronger connections and understanding in our communities.
Team Up began as a part of the bipartisan United We Stand Summit at the White House in September 2022, which sought to counter the corrosive effects of hate-fueled violence on our democracy and put forward a shared vision for a more united America.
In the face of growing polarization, these organizations saw an opportunity to not only leverage their unique strengths and resources to empower individuals to bridge differences, but also create a dedicated space for other non-profits, organizers and leaders to collaborate and advance their community-building work.
The initiative will serve two distinct objectives.
First, the Team Up Project will seek to highlight, support and expand the reach of bridgebuilding activities, programs and projects through partner organizations and their networks. Team Up will showcase bridgebuilding in action, share stories about the positive impact of human connection and elevate ongoing organizational work.
Second, the initiative will offer resources, toolkits, best practices, and training to educate those in communities across the United States about the importance of bridgebuilding and prepare them to connect to local efforts.
Yes, the goal of the initiative is to build a vast network of national, state, local and community organizations that will all work together to create personal connection, bridge existing societal divides and create lasting change that benefits all Americans.
For the Team Up Project, bridgebuilding is coming together across differences to respect, relate, and cooperate. There are many organizations leading bridgebuilding work with a range of approaches and priorities. For the Team Up project we prioritize respecting diverse identities and divergent ideologies, building mutually inspiring relationships across differences, and shared action for the common good. Bridgebuilding is a means toward greater organizational impact, and a good in itself.
Bridgebuilding work is already underway. With financial support from generous partners, the Team Up Project engaged with leaders from 32 communities across the country – from Nashville, Tennessee to San Diego, California – and awarded grants to support local projects focused on creating bonds, fostering understanding and collaborating to address a community need among people with different socioeconomic, ethnic, religious, racial and political backgrounds and affiliations. These pilot programs will take different forms based on the needs of the local communities they serve and will explore new approaches and strategies for civic community-building.
From community volunteers and local leaders to PTA parents and t-ball coaches, we want everyone to get involved – in big ways and small. If you’re interested in ending the cycle of distrust and alienation and creating communities that celebrate differences and foster understanding, Team Up With Us.
If you are an organization looking to become a partner, fill out the contact form and a representative from our team will be in touch.
YMCA of Greater Birmingham (AL)
The YMCA of Greater Birmingham hosted a Teen Bridge Building Summit with 117 students from 17 schools on a Saturday, with assistance from almost 40 adults from YMCA, the church, the schools, NewGen Peacebuilder’s Project, and parents. Since the event, students and parents have remarked on the amazing impact and schools have been interested in hosting a similar event.
After two sessions on bridgebuilding, students from 17 different schools explored ways to build bridges within their schools, homes and communities, sharing barriers they face from building bridges in their daily lives and what solutions could look like. They were very eager to share their thoughts, and they realized everyone had something to offer to the conversations.
They identified ways that the YMCA and other community organizations can stand in the gap to create program and civic opportunities. Several of the teens agreed to be a part of a youth advisory council for the YMCA to be a leader to continue conversations and help put plans of action into place. The council will have students represented from a diverse group of teens across the community.
Pike’s Peak Habitat for Humanity: Colorado Springs Dialogue Focuses on Neighborliness
On Sunday, February 4 Pikes Peak Habitat for Humanity hosted a panel with speakers from various religious backgrounds and worldviews discussing what their traditions have to say about neighborliness. A representative from the Colorado Springs Mayor’s Office also shared remarks. Following the speakers, participants spent 45 minutes in small groups discussing their own identities and views as well as challenges and opportunities for their own neighborhoods when it comes to housing and building stronger social bonds. Earlier in the weekend participants from different congregations had also taken part in an in interfaith build.
Austin Y and Catholic Charities (TX)
YMCA of Austin and the local Catholic Charities partnered with Mobile Loaves & Fishes, an outreach ministry working to support unhoused community members. Members of the YMCA, Catholic Charities, and unhoused residents shared lunch and bridgebuilding dialogue that reflected on differing and shared experiences of home and homelessness. The event culminated in shared service during which all participants build outreach packets that could be shared with other unhoused people in the community and included material and informational resources.
Catholic Charities of Santa Clara (CA)
Catholic Charities of Santa Clara hosted a Lunar New Year celebration for community members and its early childhood education center families in the Santee neighborhood, a predominantly Hispanic and Vietnamese community. The program ran during the typical pick-up window for children from EduCare- to enable families to participate. When families registered on site they were given red envelopes and could earn tickets for multiple raffle prizes by participating in the many educational activities throughout the halls. Vietnamese and Hispanic staff from Catholic Charities and their partners co-staffed tables to enable easy communication, education, and fun for everyone who participated.
YMCA of Pierce and Kitsap Counties (WA)
The YMCA of Pierce and Kitsap Counties hosted a series of dialogues called “Bridge of Hope” starting in the fall of 2023 and continuing through April 2024. The topics of the dialogues centered on imagining and expressing to others the future each participant desired for the community and also identifying how democracy was or was not serving this future. The ultimate focus was to bring generations together to hear each other’s stories and the values that drive their perspectives and understanding. Conversations were hosted within the seven distinctive communities the YMCA of Pierce and Kitsap Counties serves; Tacoma, Gig Harbor, Bremerton, Silverdale, Lakewood, Sumner, and Puyallup. Various stakeholders and Y partners were invited to engage in the dialogues. The dialogues were intergenerational, including members from the Y’s Youth and Government program, students from the University Y of UWT (Tacoma), Y youth leadership groups, participants in young adult programming, family programming, and 55+ Y members.
Truman Heritage Habitat for Humanity
The Truman Heritage Habitat for Humanity did a 6 week intergenerational project called BuildUP which brought out 4 young adults who were aging out of the foster care system and brought them out once a week to work with our retired senior volunteers on our Habitat construction site. Big Mike, one of the young adults, got really excited with the project. He connected especially well with 2 of our senior volunteers. He started getting so excited he was arriving up to an hour early. He applied for and was accepted into our AmeriCorps construction program and will be gaining his drivers license and GED in order to participate in the program. This has been such a great outcome. He’ll get to continue working with these volunteers and others.
Catholic Charities New Orleans (LA)
Catholic Charities of New Orleans brought together formerly incarcerated people and local community and business leaders. The groups shared a meal and interacted in three facilitated listening sessions where system impacted people shared their stories and community and business leaders listened and asked questions, In the subsequent two meetings there were opportunities for shared storytelling from all participants. There were ground rules for all participants to promote accessible opportunities for all to contribute. At the end of the third session, participants discussed continuing to meet and engage in advocacy connected to criminal justice reform.
Milwaukee Habitat for Humanity (WI)
Milwaukee Habitat for Humanity hosted various events focused on bringing faith groups together across differences. They hosted a “Faith Blitz Build” day which brought together 10 groups of volunteers from 10 congregations and included bridgebuilding activities at the beginning of the workday, an interfaith guest speaker, and time for discussion during the lunch break. They also hosted a number of advocacy gatherings including an Interfaith Housing and Racial Equity Workshop and a World Habitat Day Neighborhood Prayer Walk. The walk included an opening bridgebuilding training session, and a Building on Faith Breakfast with conversations across difference. Additionally, they developed a learning community of 8-12 faith leaders to meet monthly to increase bridgebuilding engagement.
Habitat for Humanity of Greater Nashville (TN)
Habitat of Greater Nashville invited 15 local clergy to participate in a nine-month ministry cohort, from September to May, to create more space filled with intentional dialogue around the subjects of bridging gaps in a divided city, concentrating on the miracle of interfaith relationships for the common good of any city, large or small. Clergy were invited from a cross section of race, congregational size, denominational affiliation, and faith background and affirmed the role of male and female senior leadership. To model bridgebuilding leadership, area clergy engaged one another to create safe space for leadership renewal and to encourage and equip one another to call their respective congregations into bridgebuilding efforts in their neighborhoods and communities too. Each month the “Bridgebuilding Fellows” came together for 90 minutes to share a meal and dialogue with a moderated topic driven discussion. Fifteen volunteer build slots were reserved at the end of the spring build season exclusively for the Bridgbuilder Fellows to come together on the Habitat build site for bonding and purpose driven work. A prominent keynote speaker was invited to the last meeting in May, after which a commissioning service was held to “send out” these Fellows into the diverse city they are called to serve.
YMCA of Metropolitan Detroit (MI)
The YMCA of Metro Detroit hosted a public dialogue entitled, “Stand Up for Something: Peace.” This conversation is part of a series of activities, which started with an artist’s call, inviting local artists to submit a mural design for the YMCA’s external wall. Subsequently on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, when schools are closed and the foot traffic at the YMCA is high, the YMCA hosted a dialogue in the lobby of their metro Detroit location. The dialogue opened with a call not to change one’s mind but to listen with openness to learn about the neighbor sitting next to you. In addition to a panel of local community members engaged in peace building efforts in Detroit, participants were invited to sit next to someone they didn’t know, and turn to them as prompted throughout the discussion to discuss what peace means to them in daily life. Designed to help strengthen community by building bridges woven together from diverse perspectives, the programs’ ultimate aim is to inspire their YMCA family to create a culture of inclusivity. Peace is the focus as a direct response to rising violence in our world from gun violence, domestic violence and war.
In a time of heightened divisiveness and deepening social fragmentation, creating meaningful connections among neighbors can help lessen the chasm. Through this coordinated and wide-ranging effort, we hope to forge uncommon partnerships and collaborations in communities around the country by embracing our common humanity, celebrating our shared values and respecting our differences.”
Catholic Charities USA President & CEO
Living in modern America often means living and working with those with whom we deeply disagree. The institutions we lead show that it is possible to have conflicting views on major policy issues, even vote for different candidates, and still work with one another to build a Habitat for Humanity house, support a YMCA summer camp, or feed people at a Catholic Charities agency.
Founder and President of Interfaith America
Civic institutions across the nation have been living by this ideal for generations. As leaders of four prominent nonprofits, we are proud to renew our commitment to bring people together, facilitate conversations across differences, and unite our communities around common goals. We have the opportunity to address one of the greatest challenges of our time, and we urge leaders from civic institutions across the nation to join us. Together, we can build a more unified nation.”
YMCA of the USA President & CEO
This partnership demonstrates what we all know to be true: that we accomplish more together than divided. Through each of our organizations, millions of mission-driven volunteers collaborate to build bridges and a greater sense of community with neighbors from all walks of life. Meaningful and lasting change happens when people put aside their differences to work alongside one another toward a shared goal.”
CEO of Habitat for Humanity International
The trainings on being a good listener have helped. Trying to fully understand another person’s viewpoint and where they are coming from has allowed me to empathize with them which encourages me to find some sort of common ground – to be solution oriented.”
Catholic Charities of Southern New Mexico
Watching various groups interact respectfully, seeking to understand each other, and cooperation to improve their community in service to another struggling community member who is not like them is incredibly inspiring. … It is even more inspiring to watch vastly different groups working together to understand despite their differences; they can achieve good outcomes together. Habitat for Humanity’s core mission is the perfect incubator for bridgebuilding work.”
Greeley-Weld Habitat for Humanity
Reminding myself that others might have different opinions and is not a bad thing but an opportunity to grow and learn more.”
Catholic Charities Diocese of Nashville
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