By Taneum Fotheringill, Rural Assembly Director Programs and Partnerships and Florentina Kurti, consultant
Morning Connections exists for rural women to gather and make meaningful connections together – without an agenda. Rural Assembly partnered with 100 Rural Women to launch a countrywide version of their Minnesota program in October 2024. Since then, 120 women have registered, and more than 60 have joined us live —finding inspiration, encouragement, and community.
Together, we learn about efforts in rural communities far and wide, share personal experiences, and discover potential ways to collaborate. We reached out to participants recently to learn more about their experience. We found that 88% of women who participated in the survey said Morning Connections supports the work in their communities.
One participant shared: “The women in this group are leaders in their community and are connected. They have knowledge of resources. Their voices affect others.”
One of our goals for the pilot period of this program (October 2024 – February 2025) was to create a comfortable and engaging online space. We know from years of virtual gatherings that establishing friendships across regions and county lines can strengthen our work and our personal resolve. Ninty-four percent of women said they are comfortable sharing with the group, and 89% of women said that Morning Connections met or exceeded the goal of bringing together rural women to find connection, solidarity, and community.
“There’s something really open and inviting about the 30 minutes, it feels like not a huge commitment of time, and the repetition (same place, same time, next week) vibe puts it both on my calendar, but also in a freeing way where I know if I miss one, that’s ok, I can pop back on the next one!”Participants shared some of the connections they’ve made by attending Morning Connections, including:
- Women shared resources on trainings/workshops on effective rural advocacy inside and outside of their communities;
- They shared experience with helping nonprofits apply for funding, and ideas about how to build capacity in local organizations to organize to tap into these resources;
- They shared ways in which their rural communities are working to attract new residents to their communities;
- Women shared different ways to reach lawmakers, including faxing them (yes, faxing!);
- Women shared ideas to capture and preserve rural oral history, culture and traditions.
Going forward, Rural Assembly will continue to host Morning Connections. Join us on Thursdays for one of our two sessions:
- Session 1 – 9:30am Eastern Time
- Session 2 – 9:30am Pacific Time*
In addition to Morning Connections, keep your eye on our newsletter to learn about upcoming events and discussions where you can gain ideas and inspiration.
*Session 2 has been pushed back one hour from its original time.
