Building a Center of Belonging
Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, Access (IDEA) Priorities
Community is at the heart of everything we do, and it has been since our founding in 1952. Our community includes everyone who lives or works in the Sonoma Valley, as well as anyone who visits Sonoma or feels drawn to the Sonoma Community Center’s programs.
To honor our status as a community center, we are on a continuous journey to create a “Center of Belonging” for everyone on our campus. Our goal is to create a space where people of all backgrounds – and especially those who have been historically left out by institutions like ours – feel more than just welcome: we want them to feel at home. A community can only be ‘vibrant’ when it sees and embraces the brilliance of each unique individual and every cultural practice that forms part of it.
We work to center principles of inclusion, diversity, equity, and access (IDEA) in all aspects of our work. We do this because everyone should have access to the incredible power of the arts and creativity. We do this because as a community center, we have a responsibility to foster a thriving community – and we know the only way to do that is by recognizing, supporting, and celebrating every single individual for who they are and ensuring that everyone feels like they belong, both on our campus and out in the world.
