Caring Out Loud Fellowship
“We are not divided, we are disconnected.” These powerful words from Rev. Pastor Bland Jr. underscore a critical challenge sweeping communities today: disconnection. Fueled by harmful dominant narratives that overshadow our shared values, goals, and life experiences, we lack the unity needed to counter threats to our collective well-being.
The Caring Out Loud Fellowship is an innovative pilot program designed to mend these divides and ignite hope and community care across North Carolina. We will launch this work by empowering three dynamic organizers to transform harmful narratives detrimental to caregiving needs of children and families into powerful catalysts for connection.
Over the course of a 12-month contract, November 2025-October 2026, this Fellowship will support three organizers working directly through our partner, Down Home NC. These Fellows will be on the ground, leading critical work that includes:
- Deep Community Listening: Gaining a true understanding of the challenges North Carolina families and communities are facing, exploring their dreams, and identifying where connections can be strengthened.
- Narrative Research & Analysis: Identifying the dominant narratives about children, families, and care that prevent North Carolinians from thriving.
- Designing Narrative Interventions: Crafting and implementing creative, community-led interventions, like storytelling events, podcasts, short plays, video series, craftivism events, art projects, and more to bring diverse groups together.
- Wellness as a Responsive Tactic: Forming regular community wellness events that prioritize mental health, self-care, and joyful community experiences, serving as a powerful antidote to burnout, overwhelm, and disconnection.
Why North Carolina for this pilot? The need is clear and the opportunity is immense. As the 2024 North Carolina Civic Health Index highlights, North Carolina faces significant civic challenges, including low engagement. In addition, Oxfam has ranked North Carolina as the worst state for workers three years in a row. We see this as fertile ground for growth.
Building on over 15 years of partnership and successful advocacy in North Carolina, FV@W is doubling down on this state. We are here for the long haul, ready to prove how focused narrative work can empower local leaders, foster deep connections, and build a more compassionate and resilient future—a model we hope to expand to other states beyond this pilot phase.
Our Partner: We Are Down Home
We Are Down Home (WDH) envisions a democracy that serves everyone—a society where working people are safe, secure, and treated with dignity. We’re building communities that value labor, protect our water and land, and ensure everyone has the opportunity to thrive.
As a grassroots, community-based organization, WDH is committed to empowering working families in North Carolina’s rural counties and small towns. Our work is grounded in deep relationships and driven by community-led campaigns, civic engagement, leadership development, and multiracial movement building across thirteen counties, from the Appalachian Mountains to the Carolina coast. The Caring Out Loud Fellowship aims to build bridges across divides, strengthen shared responsibility, and amplify the values of care and connection in local communities. It’s a vision that aligns perfectly with our mission at Down Home. After all, the only thing better than building power is building it together.
Our Valued Advisors
We are incredibly grateful to our Advisory Council, a distinguished group of leaders and strategists from across North Carolina. They generously offered their invaluable feedback during the Fellowship’s design phase, meticulously assessed each potential partner organization’s proposal, and will continue to guide the Fellowship as it moves into implementation.
Andressia Ramirez is a Latina activist and community leader based in Wilson, North Carolina. The proud daughter of immigrants from Querétaro, Mexico, she draws from…
Read MoreClermont F. Ripley is Director of the North Carolina Justice Center’s (NCJC) Workers’ Rights Project. Clermont joined the NCJC in 2007 after graduating from the…
Read MoreDonna Washington is an award-winning, internationally known master storyteller, artist-educator, and author who has been performing and teaching for thirty-seven years. She is renowned for…
Read MoreElaine Mejia is an experienced public policy advocate and nonprofit communications expert who lives in Faison, North Carolina. She is the Executive Director of Think…
Read MoreLeslie Garvin is the Executive Director of North Carolina Campus Engagement, a collaborative network of 40 colleges and universities committed to preparing students for civic…
Read MoreMelvin has over fifteen years of experience in community development. He is always seeking knowledge and is driven by a desire to make an impact.…
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