Unifying Hearts GVL

Strong communities are built by uncovering and utilizing the gifts of individuals in our neighborhood. We believe in celebrating these gifts as a way to foster connections, empower individuals and unify communities. Unifying Hearts begins by identifying people with talents and passions, and we listen to their stories. After getting to know these individuals, we connect them to other people and organizations who can help them achieve their goals. Finally, we seek to celebrate these individuals and their gifts allowing them to feel visible, heard and valued within their community. The Unifying Hearts process helps people find ways to best utilize their own strengths to build community, friendship, equity, and economic mobility.

Mission Statement
Unify and strengthen communities – one conversation, one connection, one celebration at a time.
 
Vision Statement
Fostering connections and celebrating individual’s gifts brings about communal understanding and the realization that we have more similarities than differences.
 

Why Use The Unifying Hearts Approach?
Other programs look at the needs and deficits of a neighborhood and often seek to provide solutions from outside the community. We build relationships inside the neighborhood, using local community resources first. This approach, known as Asset-Based Community Development, builds agency within the neighborhood and is much more likely to meet the real needs of community members.

Does Unifying Hearts Work?
This is a model with proven success. It is rooted in Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD) principles. Unifying Hearts sprouted from lessons taught by De’Amon Harges who began his work 15 years ago. Harges founded The Learning Tree, an association of neighbors who practice ABCD to improve the quality of lives of people, communities, schools and businesses.

The Unifying Hearts Components

Listeners have the gift of loving people. Listeners enjoy hearing individual’s stories and feel enriched through this type of connection. After discovering their neighbor’s gifts, Listeners pass this information along to our Connectors.

Connectors have the gift of social networking. They know a lot of people inside and outside of their community, and they naturally share discovered gifts, talents, and passions of individuals with others who share the same passions.

Celebrators have the gift of throwing parties! They invite Connectors, Listeners and others to celebrate those with gifts that build our community. By sharing a meal or sharing stories, Celebrators promote individual’s gifts.

De’Amon Harges

The Learning Tree, Community Development, Learning, and Education

Listen to a conversation on the power of listening to help build strong towns and our communities more resilient.

Making the Invisible Visible,  De’Amon Harges

De’Amon Harges trains 35 attendees on Asset Based Community Development, 9/30, 10/1, 2021. This is Poet, Desimber Rose, spoken word, The Listening Tree.

Dot Russell, Celebrating the Gift of her Biscuit making, 2/2022

“Tracey's sincere commitment to question and challenge the racial barriers that still exists, to oppress the mobility of people of color, is heart felt. Besides being an excellent communicator, Tracey is humble, resourceful, slow to judge, but usually one of the first to offer support. I admire her resilience to remain engaged, despite the difficulties and is truly an asset to the community.”
Shuntae Goodjoine, GOAL, Justice Network Ministry, GVL; Community organizer

Tracey Mulvaney shares her gift of flower design with Unity Health on Main, Sterling neighbor and Iglesia Jesus el Rey (Asambleas de Dios) Church.

UNIFYING HEARTS Advisory Board

Jerry Blassingame, Founder & CEO Soteria Community Corp.

Alecia Brewster, CEO Love First, LLC

Cynthia Mitchel, CES The Palmetto Group, LLC, Aiken SC

Jim Mulvaney, Board Chairperson, Ekklesia Global

Norma Jean Suarez, Executive Director, Unity Health on Main, Greenville, SC

Unifying Hearts in Greenville, SC is an outreach of Ekklesia Global, a faith community and 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.

Tracey_2_24_21
Tracey Mulvaney, Cultivator of Joy, Founder of Unifying Hearts

There are some people we come across in life who are the embodiment of service to others. They share everything they have and put all of their energy into making good things great! That’s exactly who Tracey Mulvaney is. She’s a connector. With a passion for listening to others and discovering their unique talents, Tracey uses her wide social network to connect people who otherwise might not cross paths.

Tracey is a founding member of Ekklesia and has been integral in its growth. She works diligently to define her ministry and its role in the form of Asset Based Community Development, an approach that uses the gifts and talents already existing in a neighborhood to build it up and create positive change that benefits the whole community. With ABCD in mind, Tracey founded Unifying Hearts to seek out people’s gifts and celebrate them. Tracey believes her life is much richer with the stories of those she has met through Unifying Hearts.

Ekklesia hopes you will be inspired on your own path to God, and if you’d like to join Unifying Hearts, email Tracey.

"Tracey Mulvaney has played an instrumental role in helping The Motley Fool Foundation (TMFF) explore programs in Greater Greenville. Tracey is committed to TMFF’s mission of Financial Freedom for All and has served as a connector between TMFF and local entities in Greater Greenville, including non-profit organizations, foundations, and civil society leaders. TMFF and Unifying Hearts share similar beliefs and values.”
- George Khalaf -
Program Director, The Motley Fool Foundation


Thank you to our partners

Elbert W. Rogers Foundation

"The choice to accept myself as I am: human, imperfect. To be useful, to be used up, to survive and to thrive so I can use every moment to make the world a better place."
- Edith Eger -
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