If you try to park in the lot at the offices of Strengths-Based Community Change (SBCC), don’t expect to find a parking space. SBCC staff and volunteers have commandeered the space to make room for an outdoor classroom. This resourceful team has scrimped, saved, and trimmed to purchase tents, tables, desks, and extension cords to ensure that every child in the community has an opportunity to learn.

In its 45th year of operation, one thing about SBCC remains fixed: an unrelenting drive to adapt to the changing needs of the community. Founded by a trailblazing team of licensed marriage and family counselors, SBCC is now a model for collaborative, community-driven change. Executive Director Colleen Mooney had aspired to be a social worker, and then she discovered SBCC at the Hometown Fair in Manhattan Beach. After a few years of volunteer service, SBCC’s Board of Directors placed Mooney at the helm. She’s been claiming that, while there’s an important place for therapy, healing also happens in families and communities. The evidence? SBCC serves 10,000 families a year in Los Angeles County.

“Community organizing is the cornerstone of our work. As a result, we’ve moved away from offering programs to building community capacity through what we call ‘ventures.’ The three ventures center on community activation, economic vitality, and the capacity to thrive,” explained Mooney. “We are catalyzing a deeper investment in communities through the ventures that we co-create with the residents in the communities we serve,” she added.

“SBCC’s mission is to help residents gain access to power. Access is driven by our belief that every person has gifts and talents and when those are lifted up, families can determine opportunities that make the best use of their talents; they can decide for themselves how to make the best use of their time.” This emphasis on strengths-informed choice is what attracted Mooney to Thrively. The alignment between SBCC and Thrively was clear to Mooney from the start: “Thrively helps young people discover and share their strengths, interests, and aspirations,” said Mooney. “Thrively is a natural fit.”

Imagine an entire community where the members value themselves and one another for the internal assets that they bring to the table and where what’s on the table is shared. “When people are on a path to meaningful and values-aligned discovery, they become excited about making a positive impact and the entire community benefits,” emphasized Mooney.

Whether it’s distributing 2,000 grab-and-go meals a day, providing essential self-care products, registering people to vote, or educating children in a safe and welcoming outdoor setting, SBCC and their resident partners are making an impact where it’s needed most. This responsive and flexible approach is supported by the United Way and other values-aligned foundations that believe in the community’s power to drive positive change. Mooney sums up the veracity of this approach: “What we are seeing from residents is that no matter the level of their specific need, they want to help, they want to be of service and give back in whatever way they can. We all feel empowered by these remarkable acts of courage.”