GRDC News - August 2005
 

Rochester Mosaic Partnerships is entering Phase IV

This fall the Rochester Mosaic Partnerships will kick off Phase IV of Mayor Johnson’s unique race relations initiative begun in 2000 (previously known as “Biracial Partnerships for Community Progress”). Supported by grants from the City of Rochester and the Rochester Area Community Foundation, the Mosaic Partnerships Program is poised to engage 350 more Rochester area citizens in this year-long program. Beginning with the leadership of the community, Mosaic Partnerships pairs participants across race and/or ethnicity and engages them in a yearlong journey to friendship and trust building. To date over 250 of Rochester’s leaders have completed the program, producing an array of new relationships across racial lines—an essential building block for community development. You can learn more about the program and find testimonials at: www.odysseyofhumanity.org

Odyssey of Humanity is the non-profit 501(c)(3) created to implement Mosaic Partnerships as it rolls out to ever larger groups of community members from 2005 to 2010. With the expansion of the program, a dedicated staff is required. Odyssey is now hiring a full time program director and coordinator to oversee the delivery of the program. These are paid positions. The job descriptions for both are posted on the GRDC website.

We are also looking for partner and coach candidates. Partners meet socially 16 times over the course of a year. They also meet in cluster groups of 6-8 partner pairs (12 to 16 partners) seven times over the year. The cluster groups are guided by volunteer coaches who facilitate the cluster group discussions. Each cluster group has two coaches who are also paired across racial and/or ethnic lines, modeling the program.

Volunteer coaches are the backbone of the Mosaic Partnerships Program and are crucial to its success. We are looking for 50-60 coaches for the year. Successful coach candidates are individuals with experience in race relations or diversity programs, who have proven facilitation skills and a strong commitment to improving race relations in our community. Coaches will receive training and support throughout the process and must be willing to attend two days of training at the beginning of the year, two more days midway through the year, and two hours of training prior to each of the seven cluster group meetings. In addition, coaches work with partners throughout the year to assist the development of their relationships.

Volunteering to be a participant in the Mosaic Partnerships Program is an exciting opportunity to grow in understanding of yourself and someone from a different cultural group. The end result of hundreds of mosaic partnerships is a changed community, one with many new personal and professional networks enabling diverse people to reach out to work together in ways never before possible.