Prebys Coffeehouse: An Energizing Night of Gathering, With Great Music, and Don’t Worry we will have iced coffee next time

Thank you to all who took part in the pilot Prebys Coffeehouse! Your time, energy, and ideas were uplifting and energizing, and we hope you found your own personal joy in the moment, too. 

The Prebys Coffeehouse pilot, held earlier in August, was created in response to community feedback during our strategic rollout and a desire for collective gatherings to discuss and share ideas. This initiative was also inspired by Tim Phillips who suggests that creating spaces for convergence is essential for bringing people together with dignity and a spirit of collaboration, fostering relationships and ideas that transcend polarization. We know when people have fun, we are more likely to learn from one another and connect in a way that builds trust. 

We started the evening with the musical stylings of San Diego’s own Lyrical Groove. We were moved, inspired, and comforted by their music.  

We heard from 4 of our Leaders in Belonging on their vision for well-being across San Diego County.  

Diane Moss shared her vision for a well-fed community. Through the sharing of resources, teaching those who do not know how to cook and nourish their family – Diane and the people that make Project New Village a community – are ensuring well-being through food, connection, and learning. Diane closed with a vision of a San Diego County where no community is marginalized. 

Macedonio Arteaga Jr. shared his experience as a mentor and healer in part through his organization Izcalli. He discussed how the Circulo de Hombres (Men’s circle) is inviting men, mostly young men, into what becomes a sacred space where the men share and heal one another. This process of connecting, listening, sharing, and healing helps break the trauma of generations past. Macedonio attested to the fact that a research study of approximately 100 of these young men reveals that these individuals are now able to be better partners and fathers because of this healing. 

Amina Sheik Mohamed of the UC San Diego Center for Community Health, Refugee Health Unit invited us to think about how we operationalize welcoming refugees and others to a space, event, or even community. Do community members know where to get information? Have we taken the time to personally invite people to join us at an event? Amina points to the idea that building belonging is practical but requires intentional action. 

Finally, Dr. Isabel Newton of The Interventional Initiative shared her experience as medical doctor who finds that not all communities are offered the same quality of healthcare. She revealed that when you work in medical research, sometimes you need to also become an advocate for the communities you serve to ensure those patients have access to the least invasive procedures, but also access and inclusion within research trials. This type of inclusion requires partnering with likeminded organizations like Cure Bound to ensure Hispanic, Asian Pacific Islander, and others who have been historically excluded are factored into medical trials, which will yield better results and well-being for entire communities. 

Each speaker approached well-being from their unique perspective as both members of the community but also a working professional, or experts, in their fields. We are so grateful for their reflection but also how their reflections were conversation starters for the rest of the evening -- during the breakout groups and the informal networking session. 

Thank you to all of you who came out and took part in small groups to share your ideas about well-being and your hopes for San Diego County. We were excited to hear some coffeehouse participants made a connection or reconnected with a fellow community member and may end up collaborating as thought partners or working together toward a shared goal.  

If you did not have a chance to hear from these 4 leaders, you can check out their interviews with Host Grant Oliphant on Prebys Foundation’s Stop & Talk Podcast. 

Diane Moss: Removing Barriers to Good Food Is a Community Effort

Macedonio Arteaga Jr: Taking Time to Help People Heal is a Basic Human Function

Amina Sheik Mohamed: Health equity, cultural awareness, and belonging are key to well-being

Dr. Isabel Newton: Centering humanity in all aspects of healthcare

Finally, we appreciated your takeaways and feedback from the event, here is some of what we heard in the survey: 

We will keep you posted on future events as they come online. Your feedback and vision will help us shape future events and how we engage. 

Thank you again for being in the community with us ?️