Community Focus: Twinspire
We recently opened the doors of our Otis Booth campus, in the heart of Historic Filipinotown, to welcome our community partner organizations for a much-anticipated roundtable discussion. Hosted by our Community Relations team, this marked the first community roundtable at Otis Booth since the onset of the pandemic, with partners eager to come together and engage in person.
“There’s been a hunger to reimagine the collaborative spaces we enjoyed pre-pandemic—to welcome back community partners, old and new. It reminded us that there is so much power in simply sharing space, breaking bread, in discussing common experiences and opportunities for partnership in service to families. This was an exciting first step,” says Deborah Riddle, the Senior Community Relations Specialist at Children’s Institute.
The gathering reflected our North Star, which centers on four pillars: educational success, emotional well-being, economic mobility and lifelong health. These pillars ground us as we work in underserved communities and guide us in the relationships we build. And we know that our work cannot be done alone. True impact is achieved through collaboration, which is why we’re so proud of the strategic partnerships we’ve developed with organizations like Wesley Health, Saban Clinic, P.S. Arts and Twinspire.
As we sat down to discuss current challenges, opportunities and to better understand community needs, one thing was clear: while our missions aligned, each of the organizations brought a unique set of strengths and areas for growth to the table. This diversity in experience reinforced our belief that we are better together.
Among the voices at the table was Twinspire, an organization that has become near and dear to us. Not only are they our new partners, but they’ve also recently moved into our campus. Twinspire’s work is transformative, as they advocate for marginalized young adults and foster youth, equipping them with financial literacy and life skills. By empowering their youth to open doors to educational and career opportunities, they break down barriers and elevate voices that often go unheard.
What stands out most about Twinspire’s approach is their intentionality behind the relationships they build with their youth. Not an easy task. The leaders of the organization, often take the first step to connect with the youth on a deeper level by sharing in their own personal experiences as Black men who have navigated similar struggles. Angelo Agunae, Twinspire’s Program Director, shared, “I love the youth we serve, and I relate to them. I relate to their struggles, and I believe it is our duty to invest in youth and kids because when we do that, they become the people they’re supposed to be.”
Their shared experiences form the foundation of trust, allowing vulnerable stories to be told, real emotions to be felt and healing to begin. This relationship-building is just the first step to making their programs so successful and resonant, in topics including financial literacy, career development, social-emotional learning and social justice.
Tae Thompson, Twinspire’s co-founder and Executive Director, eloquently framed it during our discussion. He says, “It’s not about seeing individuals as independently sufficient but rather, as community sufficient.” This powerful mindset highlights the interconnectedness of our work, emphasizing that we all play a vital role in the development of the whole person within the larger community ecosystem.
We’re thrilled to continue our collaboration with Twinspire and as we embark on our new joint initiative supporting foster youth, LAUNCH, aimed at supporting system-involved youth, we can’t wait to share more about the impact we’ll create together. Stay tuned for exciting updates on this partnership!
