Our Core Values: Change

Change. It’s a word that makes the hearts of some race in excitement while making others want to run in the opposite direction. No matter which camp you land in, the reality of living in a rapidly-changing world requires learning to navigate change. At Cultivate, we’ve recently done just that in regards to our name and visual brand. In making changes to our name and identity, we asked our community—staff, volunteers, senior neighbors, donors and partners—to trust and join us in embracing new directions. This process was uncomfortable at times because it required letting go of long-standing aspects of our identity. It also meant considering new ideas and at times putting aside personal preferences. We ultimately worked through the discomfort of change because positioning ourselves to better serve seniors is a worthwhile effort.

We’re beginning to wind down this series on our core values, but have a couple more to explore…today we’ll take a look at change.

Embracing change can take on different forms. It may look like thoughtfully responding to new developments around us that are beyond our control. At other times, it looks like an actual initiation of the change itself. It doesn’t, however, mean accepting all change without question. For instance, you may have noticed that in the midst of our name change and rebrand, much of what we do has fundamentally stayed the same. This stems from our belief in the importance of exercising wisdom regarding when to make adjustments and when to leave things as they are. So, while we maintain a posture of embracing change, we are committed to always approaching it in a manner that serves and benefits our community.

We invite you to join us in embracing change, both within the Cultivate community and the community at large, all for the sake of helping seniors flourish. To further illustrate this core value, watch the video below to hear from Thalia Foster, our Director of Volunteers, about what it means to her to embrace change.